MattisManzel 11:29, 18 Aug 2005 (UTC): This is basically a good idea I think. There is space for everybody here. Maybe even someone creates a religion? Me, I'm too busy these days to do it. ;) Just please don't bother each other neither cancel the wiki-node. It would be a pitty for the good spirit on religion-wiki, wouldn't it?
nature vs. nurture[]
I like the last line of the article:
- "...thus many people choose to not believe in any god. It is a simple matter of lack of evidence."
I also like to think about why it is that some people require evidence, and others do not. Obviously we are hugely influenced by our early years of life. That is when we learn (or not) phobias, such as an irrational fear of mice or bugs or heights ... or eternity. And many religions are based on a fear of (or at least an uneasiness about) eternity.
The things you learn early are your foundation. They become your "common sense". They generally do not require evidence. They feel like "nature", but nature is actually just your ability to learn and experience fear. The fear you learn is nurture. My own nurture did not include fear of eternity, so I was freer than most to reach my own conclusions. And the only evidence I have is the eternity prior to my birth. I expect the next one to be the same.
--Bob K 19:30, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
Another response[]
"This theory does not deny the existence of any higher power, just the specific deity mentioned in it. Many Christians have presented the counterargument that "God works in mysterious ways" to refute this proof."
There's also this response, which doesn't sound as much like it's skirting around the issue:
The Christian God is presumably infallible. (Most?) Humans are not. Therefore, questioning that something is true which people believe is the word of God is unproductive.
Atheism - religion?[]
It seems contradictory to say "not religion" is religion. While this article is appropriate among religions, I don't think you have to call it a religion for it to be here.
Atheism is not a religion.[]
I agree with many of the comments above. Atheism is a lack of belief in God(s) - it is not a religion. This lack of belief is frequently caused by the fact that there is no evidence for the existence of god - or any other supernatural entities for that matter. Religions, on the other hand are based (so I believe) on faith - the absolute antithesis of evidence-based investigation.
Apart from their belief in some sort of higher power or other, religions also have rituals, holy books and churches. These are all glaringly absence in Atheists´ lives.
It is obviously in the interest of religiously motivated people to try shoe-horn athiesm into a religious context either by trying to claim that some form of faith exists somewhere in athiesm; that some religions are more like philosophies; or that somebody somewhere may have invented an atheist church. But this is wishful thinking on their part.
Religions have faith and churches - atheists have evidence and logic.
- R Fitzroy 12:48, 22 June 2008 (UTC)
- I would have to disagree regarding evidence. No one has conclusively proven the existence or non-existence of a deity. Believing in either direction is an act of faith. So far as I can tell, only the Agnostics take a fully evidence based approach. And that approach seems to say that evidence is totally inconclusive leaving us knowing nothing.
- Kirk 20:38, 22 June 2008 (UTC)
- Great discussion. In an attempt to give the forums feature some use, I have moved these discussions to the atheism forums page.
- Rev Bem 21:14, 22 June 2008 (UTC)
Atheism a Religion?[]
How can anyone say that atheism is a religion? That is like saying not building model airplanes is a hobby. Atheism is not a belief system. atheism only says there is no god. I understand your use of the word religion and I tell you that you are using it where it does not belong. Atheism is not a religion the same way theism is not a religion. Different belief systems under theism are religions but theism itself is not a religion. Atheism has no subheadings. it is just atheism.
- This 'there is no god' claim is what atheists try to avoid by opting for 'lack of belief in god'. They are aware that claims need proofs. JanVEDA 82.208.2.200 07:17, 25 August 2009 (UTC)