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Is Atheism a belief system?

The knee-jerk reaction of an atheist is “no of course not. It’s the disbelief in God“

Now I just read a very intelligent linguistic breakdown of the true meaning of agnostic, but let’s just go with the current popular meaning which is “ I don’t know if there’s a god, there could be.”

My experience is self-described agnostics find themselves to be very open minded. They can’t prove a negative so they leave it open ended.

So what does that say about atheists? By definitively saying that we don’t believe there’s a god what we are also saying is that we do believe God is a human invention. This is still not an assertion of a religion. It’s a theory. It’s based on observation of the entire history of our species, around the globe, and history of every major religion. But there’s no way around the fact that it still involves a small leap of faith. The most I can tell a theist is that I’m satisfied with the evidence I see that the I concept of God was a creation of human beings. Just as I am satisfied with the observable evidence behind evolution.

I just find it a somewhat interesting paradox that it does take some faith to be an atheist.

It’s the Agnostics that have no faith. And frankly I find it an indefensible position. If you properly egg knowledge we are hard evidence leads, then it is the most lazy and apathetic conclusion to draw that you simply “don’t know“. I have far more respect for the the theist who makes no claim to be able to prove his belief, and simply says it’s a matter of blind faith.

It’s a shame, I wish this website had a more inclusive name. The content is great, but I have no business on “Agnostic.com” because I am not one.

Your thoughts as always are deeply appreciated.

Pier

Pierscapacity 4 June 17
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43 comments

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0

There is absolutely no doubt that all the ideas about gods, angels, fairies, hell, paradise etc. all come from human imagination. This includes of course all the terminology that comes or goes with it. So the argument whether humans created gods etc. is somewhat lrrelavant. The narrative is a human invention.
Atoms existed well before the Greeks coined the term. Now we call these old buggers Atomists. We just like labels. Millennia later quarks were discovered. Strangely I have no yet heard the term Quarkist.
I am not satisfied with the term atheist because it still included the -theist part. For me the very question of the existence of gods and their little helpers is a nonsense.
Agnostics discribes those who don't know. We find all believers from all religions in this group.
It is really pussyfooting around. As if there was a sort of primitive fear lingering, the fear that some divine authority might be watching.
Perhaps the term atheism could be replaced by universalist but Catholicism means exactly that. Perhaps I should try Rationalist and the opposition as "Irrationalists.
Though I am not totally satisfied with the term
atheist* it describes best my position in regard to the opposition.

0

I don't know why some people make it so difficult to explain Atheism. It's very simple. You say there is a god. I say I don't believe you. The end.

0

Every knowledge we have, we got it either by experience (e.g. you know that a knife is sharp because it cuts well or if you spin around much you get dizzy), or by being told/thaught. Now for the part of being told, it can be a scientific fact that we actually believe (e.g. heliocentric solar system, opposed to a geocentric that we believed over 400 years ago), it can be something cultural as religion or "common sense" (e.g. you'll get a cold if you [...]), or anything generaly accepted as true. Now, everything you know and believe, is based on the above. You make interpretations about the world as you see it, and you fill the blanks with reasonable, logical explanations, or with simple "I don't know"s.
But not believing in a god is not a belief system on it's own, in my opinion, it's more like a logical conclusion.
And I never heard anybody say " I have faith that there is no god" nor "I have faith in scientific facts". This ideas are contrary to the definition of faith.

And you really get bothered by the name of the site? Lol

0

I agree with a lot of folks here that it isn't a belief system, as it's specifically the lack of belief that makes someone an atheist.

0

Yes, atheism is a belief system. I have no evidence of your supposed deity. Neither you nor I can produce any evidence. That's it. End of the belief system. No meetings to attend either.

4

Insisting that atheism is a belief system is like saying "off" is a TV station.

Wow! Great analogy. I'm stealing this one! 🙂

0

NO! We can think for ourselves.

1

My way of seeing is that I am agnostic just to be strictly logical.
I am a de-facto atheist, I make my decisions as there is no god.
If there is a god it makes itself undetectable by not interacting at all with reality or interact and cover its tracks by adjusting and compensating in a way to let a white noise behind its actions.
But you can't prove a negative so, a being out of objective reality that does not interfeer in a detectable way is a (useless) possibility, the same thing as the garage dragon.
So for me yes, Atheism is belief in the sole existance of the objective reality, agnosticism is "do not pretend to answer a question that cannot be answered" but until any evidence is shown, act as if a god is inexistent (because if you can't detect anything, even if it exists there is no way to know what it wants).

0

Surely, atheism is based upon empirical observation and requires no faith. For example, observing the close resemblance between related species and diverse species sharing a common environment, or the wide range of dog breeds that can be produced by selective breeding, is evidence of a process of gradual change or evolution. Faith requires explaining causation by forming theoretical and imagined connections that cannot be proved - such as the belief that all forms of life were shaped by the hand of the Almighty - in defiance of accumulated evidence that offers a conflicting and more rational explanation.

1

Events in history and in the world disprove the existence of a loving creator super being that needs everyones love can create asteroids and cosmic rays, but ignores babies being thrown into ovens back in Europe, allows perpetrators of same to escape with the help of his "servants" in Rome, or has individuals that try apply "free will" to things like pediatric bone cancer, or gigantic tsunamis, to explain why no miracles save us. Then youd also get a "oh ye of little faith" or something thrown at you, when you bring up yaweh's blind spot for starving african children. That he never helps.

1

IMO, depending on the individual, it would or could depend on how god is defined. In other words, in speaking to anyone, I would ask, what do they mean by a god? Where is their god? How does their god operate? Does their god enter into the lives of humans? If yes, Ask for the evidence that proves their assertion and so forth. Please define what it means to believe in god. If they give a definition, you can then ask questions like what experience of living or existence leads them to believe or accept their definition of god as an acceptable answer. The typical answer given by christians is that god is all knowing, all powerful and benevolent. Just the slightest observation and or knowledge of history renders this definition completely unjustified and absurd and I have heard it said also an insult to those lost in the bloodbath of history.

Casey07 replied Jun 28, 2018 0
Why would you ever ask an Atheist where their god is? How god operates? Does god enter into the lives of humans?..... How can I render an observation on something that I don;t observe on any level? That's akin to asking a blind man to give an opinion on the color red. Get over it. There is no controversy here amongst us atheists..

0

I suppose you could call it a "non-belief system," if you really wanted to. But I'd just not bother with the word "system" at all. That's misleading.

Deb57 Level 8 June 17, 2018
1

An atheist by definition merely rejects belief in gods until proven otherwise. There's no positive assertions and therefore no burden of proof.

People who definitively assert there are no "gods" make an assertion and set themselves up for people who demand proof for any assertion. I've found several "atheists" like this and they're generally toxic bc they're as rigid and assertive as many theists.

People who want solid proof of something before believing in it and condemn people and organizations that mess with our lives based on unsubstantiated fantasies don't have a belief system, we merely don't believe something unless it's been proven and are intolerant of whimsy screwing with out lives.

I'm not waiting around thinking Baal, unicorns or whores with a heart of gold exist but if given proof I'll believe in but not worship any of the above.

1

Don't make this to complicated .My mind examine the facts and stated religion is a business that preys on those who do not choose to accept facts over fiction. I am not an agnostic because I believe with all my heart there is no god the universe has existed forever and will continue to do so in many different ways forever. The conception of a god that could create the universe is beyond belief and out of nothing.

Marine Level 8 June 17, 2018
2

The 13 year old me would have loved this

0

Even the word "atheist" has Theist in it, so the god people got ya coming and going. I don't give that much regard to weird stories about giants and talking snakes.

Look, just look at all the headspace this stuff takes up, and none of it is real. You can have a moral center without object lessons like "The Parable of the Harsh Master" and other heartwarming tales of Slavery.

1

An honest atheist will tell you they are agnostic as well. No one 'knows' that a god exists, so everyone is actually an agnostic, including theists. They don't know either, but they are real good at petending that a god exists.

That is about as inclusive a name that a web site could have IMO.

zblaze Level 7 June 17, 2018
0

No, atheism is not an ideology or a philosophy, but can be used as a building block in both.

6

An atheist does not have to disprove god(s). The responsibility for proof rests solely on those making the claim. All 3000+ religions out there have the responsibility to prove their god(s) exist. No proof. No god(s). Therefore atheist.

CK-One Level 6 June 17, 2018
4

Calling atheism a "belief system" is disingenuous, at best, and deliberately dishonest, at worst.
I find that those who will insist that atheism is a belief system are almost always
believers who are looking for ways to discredit atheists.
It's pathetic and a waste of time. Not to mention, it's just plain false.
I wish they'd just stop.

4

Many confuse atheist with anti-theist.

2

Atheism is a knowledge system. No one can prove a positive, therefore it is not true. I know there is not one billion $ in my bank account. Therefore it does not exist in my bank account. Though that I do wish lol.

Atheism is no kind of system. For christ's sake, it's. so simple it begs analysis by people educated beyond their intelligence.

Isn't that no one can prove a negative? You can, for instance, prove that sausages, if eaten, can provide calories but not that devils don't pester those who eat sausages because of the sausages they've eaten.

2

Its old people trying to tell us how we think. First Atheist there is no god FACT! No proof there ever was one!The Earth is over 4.5 billion years old FACT! It is older than dirt FACT! Gods and was invented to control people and give people a reason not to look for the truth. Humans are very superstitious and there is your gods and religions!

2

I'm an Agnostic Atheist, and I play the odds. It takes no faith whatsoever to believe that there probably is no god, as god is completely superfluous to the universe.

0

You say potato I say patahto.

Does anyone ever say patahto? Admittedly, as a Brit, I say tomahto.

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