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 | Anon: "Almost every American denies the existence of Artemis, Baal, Cybele, Fergus, Thor, Wotan, Zeus, and thousands of other gods and goddesses. The difference between a Christian and an Atheist is that an Atheist either denies the existence of the Trinity or has no belief in the Trinity. The difference is truly insignificant. It is only one part in thousands." |
| Isaac Asimov, from the article "On Religiosity" in Free Inquiry magazine: "Although the time of death is approaching me, I am not afraid of dying and going to Hell or (what would be considerably worse) going to the popularized version of Heaven. I expect death to be nothingness and, for removing me from all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism." |
| Dan Barker, Author of "Losing Faith in Faith:" "I have something to say to the religionist who feels atheists never say anything positive: You are an intelligent human being. Your life is valuable for its own sake. You are not second-class in the universe, deriving meaning and purpose from some other mind. You are not inherently evil -- you are inherently human, possessing the positive rational potential to help make this a world of morality, peace and joy. Trust yourself." |
| Annie Wood Besant: "No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism." |
| George H.W. Bush, as presidential nominee for the Republican party; 1987-AUG-27: "No, I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God." 1 |
| H. Havelock Ellis: "And it is in his own image, let us remember, that Man creates God." |
| Guy P. Harrison: "...atheism is not a conscious act of turning away from all gods. It is simply the final destination for those who think. ...you will be pleased to discover that the sky does not fall down on your head. ... if you still want to pray, you can (the success rate of your prayers is unlikely to change)." |
| Doug Jesseph: "As an atheist, I deny exist of all Gods: those of the Mayans, the Hindu, the Ancient Egyptians, and the God of the Old and New Testaments. If I am right, all of these are fictional constructs invented by clever humans for ... a variety of purposes, ranging from psychological comfort to entertainment." 2 |
Overview:
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:
"... 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 and many individual Atheists. |
| Atheists 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. |
Topics covered in this section:
| About Atheism (description, religion and nationalism, numbers of
Atheists) | ||||||
| Definitions of Atheism (lack of a
general consensus) | ||||||
| What proof would it take for an Atheist to believe in
God? | ||||||
| Why do people become Atheists? | ||||||
| Personal stories by three Atheists
| ||||||
| How non-Atheists view Atheists
<< A big section | ||||||
| Differences between Atheists & non-Atheists;
discrimination against Atheists | ||||||
| Pascal's wager (A not too robust
argument why it is a better bet to not be an Atheist) | ||||||
| Some Atheism symbols: (atomic symbol,
invisible pink unicorn, empty set symbol, ...) | ||||||
| Attack on the "new Atheism" by comparing the
activities of Yahweh with Evolution's "god" | ||||||
| Resources:
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| Essays by visitors to this web site:
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Two news feeds of interest to Atheists and others:
| One newsfeed is supplied by American Atheists. |
| The other is supplied by About.com's Agnostic/Atheism site. |
Sponsored links:
Reference used:
- "George Bush: Citizen's quote," at: http://bennyhills.fortunecity.com/
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Home > Ethical groups etc > Non-theistic groups > here |
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Home > Christianity > Christian personalities > God > here |
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Home > Religious information > God > here |
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Home > Spirituality > God > here |
Copyright © 1996 to 2008 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2008-FEB-22
Author: B.A. Robinson
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