[MD] Re; How is atheism a religion?

[Ham Priday]

Marsha said:

> Recently I've heard from multiple sources atheism being
> described as a religion.  I don't get it.  I don't adhere to
> organized religion of any kind.  I also deny the existence
> of a deity, anthropomorphic or otherwise, of any kind.
> So how is atheism being called a religion?
>
> Matt said:
> Atheism is still a system of belief (however it just happens
> to be non-beliefs), which I guess classifies it as a religion??

Obviously, atheism by itself can't be a religion insofar as religion is
understood as the worship of God.  However, the adjectival form "religious"
is defined [Webster's New Collegiate] as "relating to or manifesting
faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity."  Almost any
avowed philosophy fits that description, and even Matt concedes that "if one
pulls implications
from this, like the truth of, say, existentialism or Darwinian evolution,
then one plausibly starts extending the number of beliefs housed under the
system of belief called 'atheism'.

Following on Matt's thought, I think a case could be made for classifying
doctrinal or "organized" atheism as a religion.  A federal court ruled in
2005 that Wisconsin prison officials had violated an inmate's rights because
they did not treat atheism as a religion.  According to the 7th Circuit
Court of Appeals ruling. "Atheism is [the inmate's] religion, and the group
that he wanted to start was religious in nature even though it expressly
rejects a belief in a supreme being."

I found an article at the www.geocities.com web site titled "Is Atheism a
Religion?" in which the editor quotes and then dissects this letter,
apparently from a disgruntled religious subscriber:

"Dear Sir,

I am afraid I will have to kindly decline your offer to rewrite my post.  I
stand by my original contention; atheism is a religion.  Whether it fits
technically with the semantics or not is not a concern of mine; the
practical definition of religion is what matters to me, not the letter of
the law.  And the practical definition, distasteful though it may be to
those
who disdain religion in all its forms, is that the very thing most atheists
hate is what they have become: a religion, with clearly defined rules,
eschatology and a philosophy by which to live.  Religion is a means of
understanding our existence. Atheism fits that bill.  Religion is a
philosophy of life.  So is atheism.  Religions has its leaders, the
preachers of its tenets.  So does atheism (Nietzsche, Feuerbach, Lenin,
Marx).  Religion has its faithful believers, who guard the orthodoxy of the
faith.  So does atheism.  And religion is a matter of faith, not certainty.
Your own faithful say that, as that is what I was referring to in my
posting. Welcome to the religious world!"

The Encyclopedia of Philosophy lists some belief systems that are
characteristic of religions.  If you remove the references to "god" and
"prayer", I think you can see that an anti-theistic philosophy like the MoQ
has several characteristics in common with religious belief systems.

1. Belief in supernatural beings (gods).
    Belief in a pan-esthetic (i.e., supernatural) reality?

2. A distinction between sacred and profane objects.
    A distinction between high and low Quality experiences?

3. Ritual acts focused on sacred objects.
    (not applicable.)

4. A moral code believed to be sanctioned by the gods.
    A moral code believed to be innate in the universe?

5. Characteristically religious feelings (awe, sense of mystery, sense of
guilt, adoration), which tend to be aroused in the presence of sacred
objects and during the practice of ritual, and which are connected in idea
with the gods
    (Probably not applicable.)

6. Prayer and other forms of communication with gods.
    Latching onto the Intellectual level?

7. A world view, or a general picture of the world as a whole and the place
of the individual therein. This picture contains some specification of an
over-all purpose or point of the world and an indication of how the
individual fits into it.
    A view of the world as a multi-level heirarchy from which man evolves?

8. A more or less total organization of one's life based on the world view.
    A more or less total organization of one's life based on the world view?

9. A social group bound together by the above.
   The MOQ MD group?

So you, too, could be religious!  Perhaps it is best that we all refrain
from throwing stones at glass windows.

--Ham