Difference between revisions of "Atheism is a religion"

Revision as of 21:07, August 3, 2014

GOD IS DEAD

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-'''[[Atheism]] is a [[religion]]''' and this has implications in terms of the disciplines of [[religion]], [[philosophy]], [[Christian apologetics]] and [[law]].
+GOD IS DEAD
-If the view that there is no God (or are no gods) is a religion, it is argued its expression is constitutionally protected  in the [[United States]]. <ref>The Supreme Court has said a religion need not be based on a belief in the existence of a supreme being. In the 1961 case of [[Torcaso v. Watkins]], the court described "[[secular humanism]]" as a religion. [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45874 Court rules atheism is a religion] </ref> The government cannot force [[atheists]] to recant and adopt the opposite belief.
-If [[atheism]] is not a religion, then the expression of atheistic ideas is still covered by the First Amendment, but only by the [[free speech]] and [[free press]] clauses.
-The implications go deeper, affecting [[public education]]. If [[atheism]] is a religion, then the [[atheism]] inhering to the [[methodological naturalism]] of [[physical science]] cannot be given excessive government support. That would violate the [[establishment of religion]] clause. So, [[evolution]] education would have to allow students freedom to dissent from the "orthodox" scientific view that human beings evolved from earlier forms of life without any intervention from God.  It should be noted that biology courses only require knowledge of what the theory of evolution, its mechanisms, and the evidence supporting it, rather than belief that evolution occurred.<ref>See [[Kenneth Miller]]'s testimony in ''Selden v. Cobb County', available at [http://ncse.com/files/pub/legal/selman/district_court/20041108_testimony_rogers_mccoy.txt], p. 178</ref>
-In 2013, a trend of atheist services began and atheist services were reported in the ''[[New York Times]]'', '' [[The Blaze]]'' and other major news outlets.<ref>
-*[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/24/us/in-the-bible-belt-offering-atheists-a-spiritual-home.html?_r=0 In the Bible belt offering atheists a spiritual home - NY Times, 6/24/2013]
-*[Bizarre Trend: Atheist Sunday Morning ‘Worship’ Services Are on the Rise (Minus God, of Course)]
-*[http://gawker.com/5973377/londons-first-atheist-church-opens-tomorrow London's First Atheist Church Opens Tomorrow]</ref>
-== Ninian Smart's scheme for study of worldviews and its application to atheism==
-Many of the leaders of the atheist movement (such as [[Richard Dawkins]]) argue for atheism with a religious fervor - atheism plays a role in the life of Dawkins', or other atheist leaders, similar to the role which Christianity plays in the life of a Christian minister or author.
-Roderick Ninian Smart, a Scottish writer and professor, defined a seven-part scheme of understanding both religious and secular worldviews<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=14j2UrLCi64C&pg=PA130&lpg=PA130&dq=ninian+smart+narrative&source=bl&ots=Hq3WwG_mVT&sig=j-8FpwSdqohURYodSdcl46erSJY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FgybT6zxIc-_gAe864X6Dg&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=ninian%20smart%20narrative&f=false Dimensions of the Sacred, page 2]</ref>. These can be understood as narrative, experiential, social, ethical, doctrinal, ritual and material.
-English Pastor Daniel Smartt defines atheism as a religion, using Ninian Smart's seven dimensions of worldview as a list of criteria. It is not necessary in Smartt's model for every one of these to be present in order for something to be a religion.<ref>[http://www.helium.com/items/1227784-atheism-religion-naturalism-morally-relative "Atheism vs Religion"], Daniel Smartt</ref>. However, it can be argued that all seven are present in the case of atheism:
-*''Narrative'' - this dimension is concerned with stories which explain the origin of the universe and the human life. For Christians, there is the Book of Genesis. For atheists, the [[Big Bang]] theory, the [[abiogenesis]] [[hypothesis]], the [[evolution]]ary [[paradigm]], etc., play a similar role<ref>[http://creation.com/atheism-a-religion "Atheism: A religion"], Daniel Smartt, Creation.com</ref>  See: [[Evolution as a secular origins myth]]
-*''Experiential'' - this dimension is concerned with personal or spiritual experiences. Many religious believers report experiences of being near to God. Many atheists report an experience of "liberation" in the moment when they first rejected God<ref>[http://creation.com/atheism-a-religion "Atheism: A religion"], Daniel Smartt, Creation.com</ref>
-*''Social'' - the social dimension of religion is concerned with religious leadership and community in congregations. Contemporary atheism has its own leadership (authors such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris) and social gatherings (e.g. the Global Atheist Convention held in Melbourne, Australia)<ref>[http://creation.com/atheism-a-religion "Atheism: A religion"], Daniel Smartt, Creation.com</ref>
-*''Ethical'' - this dimension is concerned with the ethical teachings of a religion. Logically speaking, if there is no God, how can there be any objective ethics? Ethics is reduced to each person's individual whims. Despite this, the leaders of atheism are insistent that they do have ethics, and even claim to have better ethics than religious people<ref>[http://creation.com/atheism-a-religion "Atheism: A religion"], Daniel Smartt, Creation.com</ref>
-*''Doctrinal'' - this dimension is concerned with the philosophical teachings of a religion, its claims about the ultimate nature of reality. Some of the central dogmas of atheism include the non-existence of God, the non-existence of afterlife or an immortal soul, that all which exists is ultimately reducible to matter (materialism), and that faith is illegitimate<ref>[http://creation.com/atheism-a-religion "Atheism: A religion"], Daniel Smartt, Creation.com</ref>
-*''Ritual''<ref>[http://creation.com/atheism-a-religion "Atheism: A religion"], Daniel Smartt, Creation.com</ref> - this dimension is concerned with rituals, the celebration of rites, ceremonies or festivals. Although atheism at present has few rituals, there are explicitly atheist versions of rituals to celebrate major life events (birth, marriage, death), and some atheists have proposed annual festivals to substitute for Christmas or Easter, such as Charles Darwin's birthday
-*''Material''<ref>[http://creation.com/atheism-a-religion "Atheism: A religion"], Daniel Smartt, Creation.com</ref> - this dimension is concerned with the physical artifacts of a religion, such as buildings, monuments, art, etc., and with physical places considered sacred. Many atheists argue that all nature is sacred
-All of these seven dimensions are present for atheism, and hence atheism is a religion under Smartt's model. Although atheism possesses some of these elements more strongly than others, Smart's model does not require all of these dimensions to be present, or present equally, for the existence of religion to be established.
-== Kitzmiller vs. Dover case ==
-The Kitzmiller vs. Dover case which focused on the issue [[intelligent design]] being taught in public schools did not take into account arguments that evolution is religious in nature.<ref>http://creation.com/atheism-a-religion</ref><ref>http://www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org/Kitzmiller%27s_error_summary.pdf</ref><ref>http://www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org/Kitzmiller%27s_Error.pdf</ref>
-[[File:Question-Evolution-Campaign.jpg|thumbnail|250px|right|The Question evolution! campaign by [[Creation Ministries International]] is a worldwide campaign which poses 15 questions that evolutionists cannot satisfactorily answer.<ref>http://creation.com/question-eviolution Question evolution! campaign] by [[Creation Ministries International]]</ref> The 15 questions posed to evolutionists can be found [http://creation.com/15-questions HERE] ]]
-The atheist philosopher of science [[Michael Ruse]] said "Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today."<ref>Ruse, M., How evolution became a religion: creationists correct? National Post, pp. B1,B3,B7 May 13, 2000.</ref> In the their [[Question evolution! campaign]], [[Creation Ministries International]] asserts that evolution is a religion.<ref>[http://creation.com/15-questions 15 questions for evolutionists]</ref>
-== Blind faith and the religion of atheism ==
-In his book ''I don't have enough faith to be an atheist'', the [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologist]] [[Norman Geisler]] pointed out the unreasonableness of the atheist religion and why it requires blind faith and a willful disregard of the available evidence for God's existence to posit that God does not exist.<ref>[http://impactapologetics.com/i-dont-have-enough-faith-to-be-an-atheist-book-mp3-or-cds/  Review of the book ''I don't have enough faith to be an atheist''], Impactapologetics.com</ref>
-The popular [[Christian]] [[YouTube]] video maker and [[ex-atheists|ex-atheist]] [[Shockofgod]] has referred to atheism as "faitheism" and has repeatedly asked the atheist community for "proof and evidence that atheism is accurate and correct".<ref>
-*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhzjf7cIdPc FAITHEISM]
-*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjS__cWr0Y0 The question that is causing atheists to abandon atheism]
-*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bBE1bos6JU Shockofgod calls into Atheist Radio show - Hilarious! Part 1]
-*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKBZoWDfQA4 Shockofgod calls into Atheist Radio show - Hilarious! Part 2]</ref> He said he left atheism due to its lack of proof and evidence and that [[Christianity]] has  abundant proof and evidence supporting its veracity.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhr88HZtkmE Ex-atheist shares why he left the lie of Atheism ]</ref>
-== Quote ==
-John Calvert, a lawyer and [[intelligent design]] proponent declared:
-{{cquote|The Seventh Judicial Circuit of the Court of Appeals of the [[United States]] held that atheism is a [[religion]]. Therefore, it cannot be promoted by a public school. Currently, public schools are often unwittingly promoting atheism through a dogmatic and uncritical teaching of [[Evolution|materialistic theories of origins]].<ref>[http://www.highway30cofc.truepath.com/Articles/SpiritualWarfare;AtheismisaReligionPart1.pdf Spiritual Warfare; Atheism is a Religion Part 1
-] by Darrin Morehouse</ref>}}
-== Atheist cults ==
-''See:'' [[Atheist cults]]
-==See also==
-*[[Evolution as a secular origins myth]]
-*[[Atheist factions]]
-*[[Definition of atheism]]
-*[[Atheism and morality]]
-*[[Atheism and science]]
-*[[Atheism and agnosticism]]
-*[[LaVeyan Satanism]]
-*[[Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian]]
-== External links ==
-*[http://creation.com/atheism-a-religion Atheism: A religion]
-==References==
-<references/>
-[[Category: Atheism]]

Difference between revisions of "Atheism is a religion"

Revision as of 21:07, August 3, 2014

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