It somehow resembles a religion, but it isn't one in true meaning of the word. I mean, we don't worship anything, do we?
If we say that Atheism is a religion, then you cannot be not religious? O_?

I cannot speak for all Atheists, but as far as I am concerned, if you gave me an irrefurable evidence of God, I would have to exept it. If you look at the acctual members of religions, they were historicaly refusing to acknowledge even the most obvious truths about the world that didn't seem to go well with their beliefs (Earth is not flat; Earth is not center of the Universe, the witches don't exist, etc., to give just some examples for the Medieval Europe) and they are still doing it now (members of other religions can be good, evoulution does happen, double blind experiment did not confirm effectivnes of praying, etc.).
From that prospective, my Atheism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs based on observation of the world.

I do not think that it is a religion. We don't worship anything.

"OK, a lot of people on here are assuming atheism is a religion on this spot, so I'll just be the one to disagree: 1. Atheists have no holy books. 2. Atheists have no place of worship. 3. Atheists have no profit or god.
So, if you think about it logically: atheism isn't a religion.
" OMG, i just got quoted again!! :D


I really need to stop wasting the comment space, think of something intellegent to write. O.O

I found another reason against it: Religions are movements, ideas that spread as more and more people bacomes members of those groups. This is not the case with Atheism, however. Atheist (or at least religious sceptics) appeared in differnt historical periods, places and in different social enviroments (by which I mean religions of that society). Most of people thinks it's obvious that religions of others are wrong and the only thing somebody of a specific religion has to do is to view their religion as such as well to become an Atheist.

Summary:
Theist - member of a religion
Atheist - un-membered person of a religion in which s/he had been raised

Of course there are movements of groups that connect Atheists (such as this spot), but they appeared after Atheism and nobody invented it. Atheism is a respond to religion, not another religion.

Oh yes and the other thing: Religion is not just a belief in god(s), it usually also includes rules and principles about how to live and act, while "Atheist" simply indicates that one does not belive in any god and says nothing about that person's other convictions, lifestyle or values.

They teach it in schools in place of religion
They have a creation story, they explain how things work, and they have the hearts and minds of thousands convinced we descended from monkeys-
Yep. It's a religion (IKR? Fun with oxymorons)

^ You are confusing Atheism with Evolutionary Theory. Absolutely NOT the same thing.

But does Atheism accept/denounce the Evolutionary Theory?

Well, Atheism is not an organized religion... do the majority of Atheists beleive in evolution?

I would suggest that evolutionary theory is more readily accepted by Atheists than by, say, christians. But I can't say if the majority of Atheists believe in evolutionary theory. There is an assumption that Atheism = Evolution because evolutionists tend to be Atheists, but I'm not convinced that it is true the other way around.

Atheism is a social group related to religion but not a religion in itself. Atheists may congregate and generally agree on things, but as a social group.

re: evolution: Evolution is a scientific theory. Based on scientific study, evolution is most likely true. It is possibly not true, but that's as unlikely as gravity possibly not existing. If some better evidence for intelligent design shows up that can disprove evolutionary theory, then scientists will discard it. Scientists may be religious and see evolution as just part of God's miracle, or they may be atheists and just see it as part of the wonderful order of the natural universe. Atheists, not believing in God, will not believe God directs the change of species, but they may believe aliens do or that we're in the Matrix.

What is taught in schools is science. Science shows us the nature of the universe as can be observed through experiments. Religious miracles take place outside of the natural world.

"They teach it in schools in place of religion
They have a creation story, they explain how things work, and they have the hearts and minds of thousands convinced we descended from monkeys-
Yep. It's a religion (IKR? Fun with oxymorons)"

They teach it in schools? I agree with Dragonclaws, they teach science. And how would you teach atheism? Without mentioning god(s)?
We have a creation story? Once again, you are refering to science.

BTW I just had to respond to your "argument" about science being a religion.
Science is not a religion. It organizes knowledge in form of testable explanations and predictions about the Universe (experiments = the opposite of faith). Technology is based on science, as it used to solve problems (everything from medicine you are taking when you are sick to the car you drive and computer you are using is somehow based on observations and conclusions of science). Science doesn't have stories and dogmas, it has theories and hypothesis. They are based on observation and not on faith and imagionation. They are testable and they are set in the way that allows other to find wheter they are true or not. The exact opposite of religion.

Science does not equal Atheism. Some of my Atheist friends believe in other creation stories, but minus the God part.

I think Atheism is an anti-religion. When someone asks you what you are, you can say Christian, Muslim, Islamist, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic.

Which suggests that it IS a religion, but the lack of a God figure kind of undermines that. So I would call it an anti-religion!

The question of whether atheism is a religion or not is really only subject to what our definition of a religion is. If you look up religion in dictionary.com (1st dictionary that came up in a google search), it says this:

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.

What I take from it is that we regard religion as a set of beliefs that a group of people share regarding the "cause, nature, and purpose of the universe", especially (Note:it doesn't say exclusively) with regard to a belief in the supernatural, or at least belief in more than the mundane. According to this definition, atheism would be included because even believing that there is no cause,nature, or purpose for the universe to exist is still a belief in the cause,nature or purpose of the universe. Likewise, even believing that there is no governing set of moral practices is a belief of some kind regarding moral practices. Lastly, if you share a belief with a group of individuals (even if it's a belief against believing in God, it's still a belief) a set of beliefs is established and accepted by the group that you could not belong to were you to believed in something else. For example, you could argue that as not practicing ritual is a hallmark of atheism, atheism's ritual is to not observe rituals, which could technically be defined as religion. If anything, I would say that agnosticism is the closest thing to not being a religion, but if you asked them what their religion was, they would still claim to be agnostic. The definition of religion is kind of broad now, whether it was always that way or not. Otherwise, if someone were asked what religion they affiliated with, they would just say "none" and would have no need to go on to explain what distinct non-religious affiliation they are a part of. Technically, you can still be a Christian and not observe ritual, not associate with a christian sect or set of practices and not know or claim to know what happened in the beginning of the universe- a form of distancing oneself from religion. This can be attributed (as many Christians will now argue) to the idea that that Christianity is also not so much a religion as it is a faith. That's kind of another topic, so I won't get into it here. By this definition of religion, for what it's worth, I get the vibe that atheism might fit into the category of religion.

In any case, I think that establishing atheism as a religion/nonreligion/WHATEVAH is kind of a moot point. It really doesn't matter unless you're an atheist and the word religion really rubs you the wrong way because your personal definition differs from that of the typical dictionary version. The word religion is pretty subjective, so it's pretty much arguing over semantics and you can call it whatever you want.:)

^Wow, this is long. :) I appreciate your participation in this debate, but I don't agree with one point.

"For example, you could argue that as not practicing ritual is a hallmark of atheism, atheism's ritual is to not observe rituals, which could technically be defined as religion."

And being dead is a lifestyle? XD Just kiddin'.
Of course you can say not doing something is doing something, but that not doing does not equal doing. (Not doing = doing?). This can be argued and it's pretty much in one's prospective, but I am leaning to Atheism not being a religion or at least not being a religion in a true meaning of the word because of the no does not equal yes argument.

Haha, I understand your point, and I didn't say that that was my take on it. I just said that it could be an argument, and in the end, that's another debate on semantics. The definition of religion from dictionary.com says that religion *usually* involves devotional and ritual observances. Religion isn't synonymous with and doesn't necessarily mean "worship", although that's kind of what we automatically think of. That was the point that I was driving at. Beliefs shared by a group of people about the subjects of our existence, a supernatural existence, morality, (etc) are the backbone of religion and ritualistic practices are *usually* coupled in with it. There are many semantical tangents to go off on (especially on the topic of religion), and I apologize if I brought too many in with my first original post, but this was the main point that I was trying to make.

I'm not trying to step on toes, I could have saved a lot of time by saying short that I only mean that people have varying definitions of the word religion. That makes debate on what is and is not a religion somewhat of a moot point. If you mean it in the sense of worship, then no, atheism is not a religion. If you go by a dictionary definition, then one might claim that it could be a form of religion.

^ That's cool. That is why I set up this forum, to discuss this type of stuff.

Yeah, it is kinda weird.

I'm hoping thetacoman can make me laugh some more.