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Do you consider atheism a religion?
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@Michael Cyrulnik I disagree. I think that atheists, and yes I'm generalizing, are those that do their best, at the very least, have a fact based belief system that is open to change when more facts come to light. The big bang is based upon the measured observations of the universe, not some fanciful story made up by some goat herder in the desert.
Moreover, a philosophy can be compatible with a religion, or with another philosophy, even when it doesn't come from the same ideological strain. Quakerism and Buddhism, as philosophies distinct from their respective religions, are practised by people of various religions. There are also atheist Quakers and atheist Buddhists. But I have trouble seeing where someone could claim to be, say, a Christian and a Muslim at the same time. (Some claim to follow Christianity and Judaism at the same time, but whenever there is a conflict of belief, it is the Christian belief that wins out.)
I don't have a belief in the afterlife. I *think* I am going to be worm food. @Julius E. Sea Jr , I would argue that atheism is not a "belief" at all: it's the *lack* of belief. At least etymologically speaking, this his what it SHOULD mean--and what it *does* mean, to me--though I will agree that there are annoyingly militant atheists who behave as if it were a religion just as there are extremists/fundamentalists of every religious creed who act crazy, and I think it's not incredibly off-base to be wary of the designation of "atheist."
But I also think there are enough good people who also consider themselves "atheists" to help reverse the negative connotations associated with the term to rebrand it, at least if you're willing to judge people by actions rather than by beliefs... of lack thereof.