4 ms·

> I fail to see how religion will ever help guide the human race to a better place. Then you fail to see any progress the US has made in the world at large in

> I fail to see how religion will ever help guide the human race to a better place. Then you fail to see any progress the US has made in the world at large in the past 200 years. The US was founded on the Judeo-Christian ethic. http://www.godandculture.com/blog/ravi-zacharias-on-a-mormon-in-the-white-house http://www.godandculture.com/blog/ravi-zacharias-on-a-mormon... > Organized religion scares and saddens me. I know you didn't say you were atheist, but just so we're clear: atheism is a religion as well. http://reason.com/archives/2012/03/10/atheism-is-a-religion http://reason.com/archives/2012/03/10/atheism-is-a-religion

themartorana 11y ago
The U.S. was not founded on Judeo-Christian values. The moral code of "do not kill" and "do not steal" etc. existed long before Judaism. "Judeo-Christian" - a term coined in the 1950s - is an attempt to claim human decency and respect as a recent religious invention, and is ridiculous. Speaking of, there's an effort to replace "Judeo-Christian" with "Abrahamic" so as to include Islam in that group - would you agree? As for "atheist" being a religion, no it's not.[0] Reason.com is a libertarian/conservative-leaning publication that has a bias in this game. Their labeling atheism a religion is an attempt to take teeth out of the argument of religion as a social negative. Try using the actual definition instead. That said, I'm more agnostic than atheist. I believe we can't know if there is a supreme being or beings until they reveal themselves. Since there are 270 or so "large" religious groups and any number of smaller offshoots of those, each with adherents that would tell me theirs is the one true religion, and condemn me as a non-believer with anything from pity to death, I'm going to stay agnostic for right now. I sure hope there is a god, though. I'd hate to think that humans are the best the universe can do. [0.a] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/agnostic?s=t http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/agnostic?s=t [0.b] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atheist http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atheist
- lake99 11y ago
  > Reason.com is a libertarian/conservative-leaning publication that has a bias in this game. No, that was an article by one of their religious-leaning members. Other atheist-leaning members often write articles that are more friendly towards atheists/atheism, and they don't claim atheism is a religion. See the range here: https://reason.com/tags/atheism https://reason.com/tags/atheism
  - themartorana 11y ago
    I stand informed. Thanks for that.
ionised 11y ago
Atheism is not a religion. It's a lack of belief in any deity.
- notdonspaulding 11y ago
  Agreed that a "lack of belief" is strongly correlated with irreligious behavior. So then, when the author of the Reason article cites the religious indignity she encountered when claiming that atheism is a religion, it makes one wonder if atheists actually have an affirmative belief in no god. Can you imagine anyone getting upset if you were to accuse them of being religious about their lack of belief in the tooth fairy? I can't. That's what a lack of belief looks like, no strong ties to any portrayal of your involvement in the idea. On the contrary, modern atheists in the Hitchens/Harris vein care very much how their beliefs are portrayed, and hold dearly to their cause of ridding the world of "religion".

themartorana 11y ago

The U.S. was not founded on Judeo-Christian values. The moral code of "do not kill" and "do not steal" etc. existed long before Judaism. "Judeo-Christian" - a term coined in the 1950s - is an attempt to claim human decency and respect as a recent religious invention, and is ridiculous. Speaking of, there's an effort to replace "Judeo-Christian" with "Abrahamic" so as to include Islam in that group - would you agree? As for "atheist" being a religion, no it's not.[0] Reason.com is a libertarian/conservative-leaning publication that has a bias in this game. Their labeling atheism a religion is an attempt to take teeth out of the argument of religion as a social negative. Try using the actual definition instead. That said, I'm more agnostic than atheist. I believe we can't know if there is a supreme being or beings until they reveal themselves. Since there are 270 or so "large" religious groups and any number of smaller offshoots of those, each with adherents that would tell me theirs is the one true religion, and condemn me as a non-believer with anything from pity to death, I'm going to stay agnostic for right now. I sure hope there is a god, though. I'd hate to think that humans are the best the universe can do. [0.a] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/agnostic?s=t http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/agnostic?s=t [0.b] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atheist http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atheist

lake99 11y ago
> Reason.com is a libertarian/conservative-leaning publication that has a bias in this game. No, that was an article by one of their religious-leaning members. Other atheist-leaning members often write articles that are more friendly towards atheists/atheism, and they don't claim atheism is a religion. See the range here: https://reason.com/tags/atheism https://reason.com/tags/atheism
- themartorana 11y ago
  I stand informed. Thanks for that.

ionised 11y ago

Atheism is not a religion. It's a lack of belief in any deity.

notdonspaulding 11y ago
Agreed that a "lack of belief" is strongly correlated with irreligious behavior. So then, when the author of the Reason article cites the religious indignity she encountered when claiming that atheism is a religion, it makes one wonder if atheists actually have an affirmative belief in no god. Can you imagine anyone getting upset if you were to accuse them of being religious about their lack of belief in the tooth fairy? I can't. That's what a lack of belief looks like, no strong ties to any portrayal of your involvement in the idea. On the contrary, modern atheists in the Hitchens/Harris vein care very much how their beliefs are portrayed, and hold dearly to their cause of ridding the world of "religion".