Atheism isn't necessarily a religious belief. However, it is certainly a
religious issue because it deals with concepts that are found throughout many
religions.
On this site, we define the term "religion" as:
"Religion
is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, a
philosophy of life, and a worldview."
Atheism is not a complete religion in the sense that Christianity, Islam, and, Judaism
are. Atheism is not generally perceived as offering a complete guideline for
living as do most religions. However, Atheists frequently derive their own
ethics and philosophy of life and worldview using their Atheism as a starting
point. They are generally derived from secular considerations, and not from any
"revealed" religious text. Many Atheists now celebrate the Winter Solstice.
Some Atheists, when asked what their religion is, will answer, simply,
"Atheist." Others will say that they have no religion, they are an Atheist.
Note that:
*Atheism relates to a belief in the existence or non-existence of a
deity, or whether the person associates any meaning to the terms "God" or
"deity."
*Atheism can involve the positive assertion that there is no deity; this is
sometimes referred to as "strong Atheism." It is the most common dictionary
definition for the term "Atheist," and is probably the definition used by
most theists.
*Atheism can be the absence of a belief that there is a deity. This is the belief
promoted by the American Atheists group and many individual Atheists.
*Atheism often promote the belief that all Gods and Goddesses (as well as
angels, demons, ghosts, etc.) are nonexistent entities created by human
minds.
In one way, most people in North America are Atheists. Christians will
generally deny the existence of the Mayan, Hindu, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek,
Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Sumerian, Sikh, and many hundreds of other Gods and
Goddesses, even as they assert their belief in the Christian Trinity. Thus, the
difference between a typical Christian and a typical Atheist is numerically
small: The strong Atheist believes that none of the many thousands of Gods and
Goddesses exist; the Christian believes that one God exists in a certain
structure -- a Trinity -- whereas all of the other thousands of deities are
nonexistent, artificial creations by humans. Although the numerical difference
is much less that 0.1%, the philosophical difference is immense.
There exists massive discrimination against Atheists in the U.S.
*Part of this may be based on the historical linkage between Communism and
Atheism. Most Communists are Atheists. But many people do not realize that most
Atheists in North America are not Communists.
*Another reason for this discrimination is the common belief that a person
cannot be motivated to lead a moral life unless they hope for the reward of heaven, and fear the punishment of Hell. In the past, this belief had been
codified into law. Conscientious objectors opposed to participating in warfare
were thrown in jail if their opposition to killing other humans was not based on belief in
God.
*Still another cause of discrimination is a widespread linkage between
theism -- the belief in the existence of God -- American citizenship, and
Christianity.
