Is Atheism a Religion?

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Not long ago, I joined in on a debate with an atheist on a social networking site.  This is not something I do much anymore, mainly because most individuals participating in debates have already made a decision and not open to dialogue.  On rare occasions, there is an openness to other views, but not always.  On one such occasion, I spoke with an atheist about his naturalistic convictions being his religion.  He said, “I don’t have any religion.”  I responded, “Well, as an atheist, you hold to certain beliefs and convictions.  This would seem to be a religion.”  He would not concede this point; neither would he even concede that he held a worldview.  Essentially, he was saying that didn’t believe in atheism although he was an atheist.  Go figure that one out.  That is on the same level as Lawrence Krauss’ “nothing is something” philosophy.

Nonetheless, this forces one to consider whether atheism could be considered a religion.  Does it meet the criteria of the “religion” definition?  In order to answer this, a definition of “religion” will be presented, marking some of the key characteristics of religion.  Then, the atheist worldview will be plugged into the definition to see if it matches.

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What is “Religion”?

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term “religion” as

re•li•gion \ri-ˈli-jən\ noun

[Middle English religioun, from Anglo-French religiun, Latin religion-, religio supernatural constraint, sanction, religious practice, perhaps from religare to restrain, tie back — more at rely] 13th century

1       a : the state of a religious 〈a nun in her 20th year of religion

b       (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural

(2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance

2       : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

3       archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness

              4       : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith — re•li•gion•less adjective[1]

Definition 1b would definitely not apply to atheism.  However, the remaining definition seems to indicate that “religion” is a set of beliefs that one holds concerning reality.  One’s views about God (or the absence thereof); the universe, morality, life, and everything in between seem to be included in this definition.  Therefore, can atheism be considered a religious system?

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 Atheism and the Qualifiers of a Religion

Atheism, like any other belief system, can be entered into the definitional testing grounds of religion.  Taking some of the core qualifiers for religion, does atheism meet the criteria?

What about “personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices”?  Is there a structure to the atheist paradigm?  Yes.  In some locations, atheist communities are developing.  There are even rituals in which some atheists participate, such as “de-baptisms.”[2]  Although beliefs among atheists vary, as do with almost all religions and worldviews, atheists hold many core tenets to their faith, such as: the rejection of God, the rejection of theistic and polytheistic institutions of faith, any notion of faith, the elevation of science above all other disciplines, and the glorification of hedonism.  If the reader does not think that these tenets are held by the majority of atheists, then check out visibly identified atheists on social networking and blogging sites.  The unity is amazing.  Even the debating styles are very similar.  The unification of these tenets causes atheism to possess qualities of a religious system.

What about “scrupulous conformity”?  As mentioned in the previous section, atheists hold many conformed ways of viewing the world.  In their quest to embrace inconformity, atheists have become conformed in their inconformity.  Many atheists use similar tactics in argumentation.  Even some illustrations used by atheists have become icons, such as the infamous “Flying Spaghetti Monster.”[3] Despite the atheist’s objections, this conformity has the attribute of a religious system.

flying spaghetti monster

What about “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith”?  Richard Dawkins is an atheist evangelist.  On his foundation’s website, it is written, “The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK) is a registered charity which promotes rationalism, humanism and science in a quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and suffering.”[4]  On this site, the reader will not only find the cause, listed above, but will find principles and a system of belief that is held by the supporters and adherents of Dawkin’s worldview.  These principles are held with great ardor and are supported by faith…faith that these principles are true.  Everyone has faith in something!  Therefore, atheism has another mark of religion.

Conclusion

Atheism clearly holds traits that correspond with the core definition of religion.  It is a system held with great faith and is promoted by the New Atheists with the fervor of an American Christian evangelist.  Atheists, and secularists in general, do not want you to believe that their worldview is religious in nature.  They will claim “separation of church and state” when Christians, Jews, and Muslims express their faith with symbols and literature.  Yet, they hold certain symbols and literature with great reverence.  Many hold similar social beliefs and even dialogue in the same fashion.  Therefore, it is in this writer’s opinion that atheism holds all the hallmarks of a religion.  The trouble is that those from the Freedom From Religion Foundation and other like-minded organizations are really not seeking “separation of church and state.”  Secular supporters actually support “separation of any other belief system than ours and the state”.  In the end, atheism is a religion just like any other belief system.  Let us, who know the true power of God, pray that their eyes will see, their ears will hear, and their hearts will be softened to accept the truth found in Christ Jesus.

Jesus with Prayer Hood


        [1] Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003).

     [2] De-baptisms are irreverent acts in which atheists employ the use of hair-dryers to “de-baptize” themselves, or revoke their previous baptisms.

[3] The “Flying Spaghetti Monster” is an atheist’s attempt to present make-believe things as real.  The “Flying Spaghetti Monster” is a creation of Bobby Henderson.  Henderson attempted to debunk creationism and intelligent design with the fictional character.  A famous quote from the argument is “may you be blessed by the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s noodly appendage.”  What the irreverent argument neglects is the argument from necessity.  There is no necessity to a Flying Spaghetti Monster’s existence.  Certain beings can be known to exist due to necessity.  For instance, a person’s existence necessitates the existence of a mother and father regardless if they are known by the person’s friend.  In like manner, God’s existence is logically necessary due to the existence of the universe, the laws of nature, and the information found in the universe (along with many other reasons).

      [4] http://richarddawkinsfoundation.org. Accessed July 28, 2013.

bchilton77

Brian G. Chilton is the founder of Bellator Christi Ministries and the co-host of the Bellator Christi Podcast. Dr. Chilton earned a Ph.D. in the Theology and Apologetics at Liberty University (with high distinction), a M.Div. in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his B.S. in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); earned a Certificate in Christian Apologetics from Biola University, and completed Unit 1 of Clinical Pastoral Education at Wake Forest University's School of Medicine. Dr. Chilton is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philosophical Society. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, working out in his home gym, and watching football. He has served in pastoral ministry for over 20 years and serves as a clinical chaplain.

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Nate
10 years ago

Okay, I was wondering where you were going with this article… after all, if we call atheism a religion, what does that really matter? But I see now that you were driving toward the point of church/state separation.

Do you honestly want a melding of church and state? Should the government punish someone for not keeping the Sabbath Day holy? Should our government force us to make a donation to a church every Sunday? Should we be forced to pray? And if so, should it be in a certain way? Should women be kept from serving in positions of authority, as many Christians believe? Should it be illegal for someone to be non-Christian? If so, does that mean Judaism would also be outlawed?

And what if the US was majority Muslim? Would you want to live under that kind of society?

Or, is it perhaps better to have religious freedom? Where each individual has the right to practice (or not practice) religion as he or she sees fit? Where people practice a religion, not because they’re forced to, but because the merits of the religion compels them to?

If you agree with the latter setup (as I do), then why should it matter to you if atheists also prefer it? Islam teaches that theft is wrong — should we embrace theft just because Islam is against it? I think pragmatism is a far better approach, don’t you?

Stan Adermann
10 years ago

I’d answer your question with a question: is fire alive? Fire meets most of the requirements for the definition of something which is alive: it “breathes” oxygen, consumes food, produces waste as a result of the food it consumes, moves, reacts to its environment and reproduces. But we know it is a chemical reaction, not a living thing.

Calling atheism a religion is like saying fire is alive. You can make some convincing-sounding arguments in that direction but you really have to ignore the ways in which they are different to do so. By the same logic one could argue many things are religions: Democracy, Communism, Patriotism, even being a Republican or Democrat. Some people may even think so, but that doesn’t make them religions.

Stan Adermann
10 years ago

The fact remains, if I follow your logic there are a host of things which I could incorrectly label as religions. You can correct me and say they’re not, and the same way I can correct you to say atheism is not. Here are some reasons why I say it differs from religion:

Atheism may appear homogenous from your perspective, but try being one. I can assure you it is not.

Things you cite as being symbols such as the flying spaghetti monster are only used satirically and don’t represent any actual belief.

I hesitate to equate science and atheism, but atheists do tend to follow science. But to contrast relgion vs. science as a source of knowledge is striking. When one religion grows independently of another, they generally have different morals, stories and gods. If you look at science, you find the same things are often discovered separately by different scientists. If you stripped science from the world completely, we would eventually rediscover it. If you stripped Christianity and its relatives, we would just end up with a new and different religion.

Science doesn’t require faith because anything science promotes can be proven. If that’s not true, science discards it. No faith is required. “Blessed are those who believe without seeing” is a central tenet of religion, Christianity in particular, and is the main reason atheism is not one.

Stan Adermann
10 years ago

I’m familiar with both the story of Thomas and the scientific method. I know that when a scientist makes a claim, it will be examined, criticized, tested and refined. Yes, I trust that process, but trust is different than faith. Faith is believing in something when there is no logical basis for that belief. My own church was quite clear on that teaching. With the scientific method I can read the papers, examine the methodology, read the criticisms and see that protocols have been followed. If I have the time and inclination, I can repeat the experiments myself. Frankly, if your trust in science is faith-based, you’re doing it wrong.

Arkenaten
10 years ago

Posts like this usually make atheists sigh and shake their heads.
Another insecure religious person wishes to label an atheists absence of belief in gods as a ”religion” so as to give them yet another target to aim at when attempting to feebly justify their own silly beliefs.

This is s really so tiresome, so I too will merely sigh and shake my head. However, I will smile benignly while doing so.
Silly person.

Arkenaten
10 years ago

This argument has been through the mill so many times and shown to be silly, so why on earth do you believe it is now worthy of addressing in a dignified and intellectual fashion?
All you are trying to do is point score, and you are doing it very poorly, I am afraid.
If you have to try to bring atheists down to your level merely to try to demonstrate the veracity of your own beliefs then sadly, it doesn’t say very much for Christianity.

I maintain that you are entitled to believe whatever you wish…just don’t proselytize and most importantly do not preach this to children.

May your god go with you.

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