To the atheists.

Atheism is what you get when person believes only in pure laws of universe with no explanation for their existence, for existence of matter, for existence of energy, for existence of time (A time or B time theory)....ect.

How do you define religion?

I would say atheism is a religious position, but whether it constitutes a religion is heavily dependent on how you define the term.

I seriously doubt it. I've been with a group of atheists in which I was the only non-atheist a frequent numbers of times in my life in several different countries. After hours of discussion, the subject never came up. I just don't think atheism is a group-think session, even in that term's best light.

Nah.

Atheists can run with all sorts of creation and existence hypotheses, but without the need for belief.

Which isn't the same as believing in fantasy religious baloney.

Will you be willing to put your family last?

What are you on about Mal?

The reason why I am not a theist is because I wasn't taught to be one.

It really is that simple.

Atheists are humans too who love their family. They are not distracted by the metaphysical theories surrounding the world.

In general, atheism is a religion like not football is a sport.

But I do believe that there is "type" of atheism that is a different breed of cat so to speak, and is, in fact, a form of religious extremism. because they exhibit all of the characteristics of an extreme religious and fundamentalist point of view. It is mostly an internet phenomenon, where they don’t just proselytize a metaphysical belief; they have an “us vs. them” paranoid siege mentality that is completely intolerant of anyone who holds different metaphysical belief. They condemn other beliefs, they mock and denigrate anyone that disagrees with them, and they express superiority for being atheists. They have their own bad science in the form of Scientism, they have their own Priesthood in people like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett, and they have their own constantly repeated dogmatic assertions that are impervious to logical discussion. They live in a bipolar world of good and evil, seeing their own metaphysical beliefs as good, and all others as evil. Good is not a function of actions or behavior, but conformity to the one true metaphysical belief that they hold, that and only that determines whether or not you are "good" (logical, intelligent, scientific), and those who hold any other metaphysical belief are the evil “others” (illogical, superstitious, unscientific, and stupid).

Crap, still can't edit, I meant to say "In general, atheism is a religion like not playing football is a sport."

You might be talking about the atheist activists who are people that really promote the non-existence of God, as well as other necessary measures to disappear the evil influence of religions in our society. I have no objection about the last, but the first is unnecessary because people are free to believe in whatever they want.

So, to a certain extent, they display a similar behavior to religions, but it's not a religion because you need rituals and they have no such thing to my knowledge.

Atheism is simply a lack of belief iin a deity of any kind. There are plenty of atheists involved in spiritual practices. There's all kinds of woo woo yoi can get involved in that doesn't involve a god of any kind.

I suppose it 'can be,

Though I think it depends a bit on how one looks at it.

Black mascara and black clothes can be fashion groups, Goths, Emos, and such, I assume.

But there's also people who just like black mascara and black clothes, without overly being involved with a group of people or their ideas.

I suppose 'technically one might see various. . . metaphysical? Ethics, Morals, Ought's, Creeds, as religions of sorts.

I 'think people tend to categorize them more group culturally though.

Not that individual religions can't exist, solely for the one.

. . .

I 'did wonder when making my Profile, whether I ought put Atheism under religion, but I went with none.

I'm not a militant atheist. Though not all militant atheists might see such as their religion.

I just don't have 'too much of a cultural belief/ritual on my mind,

Though I 'did put Atheism under Beliefs.

. . .

"Will you be willing to put your family last?"

Well, I suppose 'some people of various religions 'do put their Gods or Ideals first before family,

Even some people 'without stated religion, 'still have Ideals they might put above family.

Individuals who turn in family members for being serial killers for instance. Putting morality, law, society, other humans first.

Though they might also put their family member first by such an action, to turn them in is to help them be a good person, ideally some might say.

Well, 'I'm an Atheist because I don't think God exists,

I suppose I might have been an Alatrist or something similar for a time before my Atheism,

Believing in but not worshipping God, out of my self interest.

We think about things relative to conditioning and sensory suggestion.

And we all think separately because we are all conditioned separately and exposed to varying suggestions.

Theism and atheism are labelled options, but basically consider the same ideas, resulting in different conclusions.

To believe is to conclude without any real proof.

Not believing is the alternative, though one can still consider the same relevant data.

We humans 'do like categorizing existence into various boxes,

Course some sciences such as biology, end up with a lot of said items 'leaping out of their boxes years later.

X animal is X, oh wait, exception found.

Man is a featherless biped, until Diogenes walks up with a plucked chicken, then we have to add broad flat nails.

I can't say I think 'too much of why some people believe,

I just assume they've had different "conditioning and sensory suggestion" as you say.

. . . Some people might argue a number of Atheists have degrees of Spiritual Blindness, but as Polytheistwitch says "plenty of atheists involved in spiritual practices".

I admit, I've not been looking 'for God or various spiritual ideas so much, and what I 'might see or hear of, I am quick to discount.

Yep, in my mind, until it reappears in a spaceship, GODDO will remain a sci-fi or fantasy concept.

No, let's be fair, GODDO will remain a reasonable hypothesis.

But then you have the whole church sing song, yabba yabba, sin, repentance, salvation heaven and stick your tenner in the collection box for the church roof...Would Mr Omni be so stupid as to require all that?...I'm 99% certain, not.

Well, that's where one gets Deists, I imagine.

Will you be willing to put your family last? If not , is that why you're an atheist?

Can you (or anyone) explain wtf this means.

Why not just say there are some atheists who treat their atheism in a religious way rather than making the broader claim that atheism is a religion? Not all atheists are "religious" about their atheism, are they?

Why not just say there are some atheists who treat their atheism in a religious way rather than making the broader claim that atheism is a religion?

I suppose it's because that's what I did say.

Not all atheists are "religious" about their atheism, are they?

No, like my first sentence said, "In general, atheism is a religion like not playing football is a sport.".

Then I described some as "being a "different breed of cat", which implies they are not the typical atheist, I don't know how to be any more clear than that.

@Wryly

"Will you be willing to put your family last? If not , is that why you're an atheist?" - Mal

"Can you (or anyone) explain wtf this means." - Wryly

I assumed it meant that in religion, people often put God or Highest Value above family.

Berean Standard Bible

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;"

https://biblehub.com/matthew/10-37.htm

@philochristos

Because even if someone isn't 'religious about their atheism,

They likely still have Metaphysical Beliefs and Claims that they operate on.

Though I'm not sure everyone would agree such 'constitutes a religion.

Atheism cannot be a religion. It has no God.

Buddhism, Jainism, some Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto do not have a god in them. Also, some Unitarian Universalism and Satanism are also considered non-theistic or atheistic. In the US atheism is a protected belief system. The same as a religion with a deity in it.

Religion is a belief system.

So you were taught to be an atheist ultimately.

The atheists themselves are their own gods.

The atheists themselves are their own gods.

No, atheists are mostly slaves. I have talked to countless atheists, almost every one of them is depressed, many suicidal. Their life is basically drinking and going from one relationship to another, if not something worse like drugs and self harm. I keep telling you, atheism is a poor choice, because in life you actually cant rely on people, and if you dont have divine, then you end up being hopeless.

I mean, if you use that broad a definition for religion then almost anything can be called a religion.

But is atheism a belief system (with emphasis on the word system)? That would depend on how you define both system and atheism.

But I ultimately think that with as broad a definition of "religion" that you are using, that it the entire argument is meaningless to begin with.

Remember that if you are religious you think like Trump and if you are an atheist you think like Einstein.

Remember that if you are religious you think like Trump and if you are an atheist you think like Einstein.

No.

I assumed it meant that in religion, people often put God or Highest Value above family.

Ohh. Thanks.

That was a rather sharp left turn from "atheism is another religion." I was trying to figure out how the two statements were related.

And I don't think theists really put their family last. They may put God before family, but that's not the same thing.