Religion

[ShinyTomato]

Except for....... Buddhism, Confucianism, Hare Krishna, Hinduism, Black Islam, Jainism, Rastafarianism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, Vedanta, Agnosticism, Atheism( not a religion but..yeah), Marxism, Naturalism, Secular Humanism, Necromancy, Rosicrucianism, Wicca, Christian Science, New Age, Scientology, Theosophy, Transcendental Meditation, Unitarian Universalist, The Way International, The Boston Church, Paganism in general

Don't forget Judaism.

[pudding]

Athiesm is technically a religion. Not an organized one, mind you, but a religion.

 

But I prefer to trust what can be proven to a reasonable doubt rather than something that exists in a state that you cannot prove or disprove it. The entire definition of most universal religions includes a deity that cannot actually be disproven or proven.

[MasterWeavile898]

But I prefer to trust what can be proven to a reasonable doubt

So you don't trust anything? You know one of the main rules in science is that you can never universally prove anything, ever, right? (Except things like language and stuff) I do see that you say reasonable, and many consider a deity of any kind to be unreasonable, so there's that. But considering it's actually impossible to prove that you exist at all, you're in trouble if you're going to rely on "proof"

[pudding]

I am aware of the philosophical argument but I like at least some kind of evidence supporting what I'm going to believe in. Like dinosaurs having feathers, that sort of evidence. The fact that deities seemed to be designed in a way that you cannot disprove them at all makes me... Skeptical of their existence. There should be some kind of evidence supporting something that huge, especially if our ancestors were able to record it in a book or scrolls or whatever you believe in.

[Shienvien]

Athiesm is technically a religion. Not an organized one, mind you, but a religion.

 

Atheism isn't a religion. Atheism = no belief in god or gods. An atheist can equally be a highly religious person belonging to a religion which doesn't have a god or a person completely indifferent towards religion.

 

Saying atheism is religion is like saying vegetarianism is a type of fruit. It is a broken statement.

 

[Awdz]

Athiesm is technically a religion. Not an organized one, mind you, but a religion.

I did not think it was precisely that, but I could be wrong. Atheism is a belief or tenet, but religion typically encompasses gatherings of people and rituals of some sort. I do not know of any atheist rites that are customarily followed or particularly recognized by governments (I consider civil ceremonies to be of the state/government, not of atheists). Are there any such things?

[pudding]

Atheism isn't a religion. Atheism = no belief in god or gods. An atheist can equally be a highly religious person belonging to a religion which doesn't have a god or a person completely indifferent towards religion.

 

Saying atheism is religion is like saying vegetarianism is a type of fruit. It is a broken statement.

Religion is a set of beliefs about the world and how humans fall into it, not belief in a deity or deities. It is not the opposite of religion as that is irreligion. Buddhism, for example, is not really an organized religion and most Buddhist regulate their own beliefs. Religions do not require gods or groups. Athiest is technically a religion because people have their beliefs about how we fall in place in the world.

 

So yes, it is a religion.

[Shienvien]

Religion is a set of beliefs about the world and how humans fall into it, not belief in a deity or deities. It is not the opposite of religion as that is irreligion. Buddhism, for example, is not really an organized religion and most Buddhist regulate their own beliefs. Religions do not require gods or groups. Athiest is technically a religion because people have their beliefs about how we fall in place in the world.

Atheism is *not* a set of beliefs. It says nothing beyond belief or lack of belief into god(s). Being an atheist does not determine anything else about how the person views the world. An atheist might or might not believe in souls or "life force", an atheist might or might not believe the world is a hologram, etc, etc, etc. An atheist might even believe in afterlife or ghosts. "I am an atheist" says nothing about what you believe about the world other than this one detail. There is no set of beliefs. Everyone who doesn't believe in god(s) is automatically an atheist, regardless of all other beliefs.

 

By your definition, vegetarianism is definitely a religion, for example. It is FAR more defining as far as a person's behaviour and beliefs go.

 

 

And please, do not lump all buddhists into the same bowl, and definitely do not state it is less organized than, say, christianity. Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, Zen, etc buddhists all have slightly differing views.

Edited February 1, 2014 by Shienvien

[pudding]

Atheism is *not* a set of beliefs. It says nothing beyond belief or lack of belief into god(s). Being an atheist does not determine anything else about how the person views the world. An atheist might or might not believe in souls or "life force", an atheist might or might not believe the world is a hologram, etc, etc, etc. An atheist might even believe in afterlife or ghosts. "I am an atheist" says nothing about what you believe about the world other than this one detail. There is no set of beliefs. Everyone who doesn't believe in god(s) is automatically an atheist, regardless of all other beliefs.

 

By your definition, vegetarianism is definitely a religion, for example. It is FAR more defining as far as a person's behaviour and beliefs go.

 

 

And please, do not lump all buddhists into the same bowl, and definitely do not state it is less organized than, say, christianity. Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, Zen, etc buddhists all have slightly differing views.

But their lack of belief is, in itself, a belief. Unlike agnostics, Athiests say there is no deity or deities. Not all Christians are united in the same beliefs. Not all belief in Heaven. Not all believe the bible and its recordings actually happened. People celebrate religions just as differently as they do atheism. It is a set of beliefs and that belief is no god or gods.

[Shienvien]

Belief does not equal religion.

 

Atheism is one of the three categories people can be divided into based on purely their answer to the question "do you believe in god(s)?"

 

Yes - theist

Don't know - agnostic

No - atheist

[pudding]

Belief does not equal religion.

 

Atheism is one of the three categories people can be divided into based on purely their answer to the question "do you believe in god(s)?"

 

Yes - theist

Don't know - agnostic

No - atheist

Except Theravada Buddhism does not assert the existence of a god and they do not nessissarily define themselves as Athiests.

 

 

I guess this starts with what your definition of religion is. Because we obviously have differing definitions.

[Shienvien]

And buddhism is one of the major religions most often cited as atheistic.

 

The definition of "atheist" is literally "a person who does not believe in god(s)."

[Kiran]

Belief does not equal religion.

 

Atheism is one of the three categories people can be divided into based on purely their answer to the question "do you believe in god(s)?"

 

Yes - theist

Don't know - agnostic

No - atheist

There are also agnostic atheists and agnostic theists. An agnostic is just someone that thinks that we can't (or haven't) prove or disprove the existence of a god.

 

[lightbird]

Atheism is *not* a set of beliefs. It says nothing beyond belief or lack of belief into god(s). Being an atheist does not determine anything else about how the person views the world. An atheist might or might not believe in souls or "life force", an atheist might or might not believe the world is a hologram, etc, etc, etc. An atheist might even believe in afterlife or ghosts. "I am an atheist" says nothing about what you believe about the world other than this one detail. There is no set of beliefs. Everyone who doesn't believe in god(s) is automatically an atheist, regardless of all other beliefs

 

This.

 

When I realized I'm an atheist, I found out that at that time I still had a lot of suspicious beliefs, which had nothing to do in whether there is a god or not.

 

I've, too, read that Buddhism is in its core an atheistic set of beliefs.

[georgexu94]

Can someone explain to me what agnostic means? I kind of confuse it with atheism. I know it's different though.

 

Thank you in advance.

[Shienvien]

Agnostic is basically a person who doesn't have a definite stance in regards to whether god(s) exist - the undecided/don't know/might or might not be/not enough proof to sway either way camp. Atheist believes that god(s) don't exist.

 

 

[georgexu94]

Agnostic is basically a person who doesn't have a definite stance in regards to whether god(s) exist - the undecided/don't know/might or might not be/not enough proof to sway either way camp. Atheist believes that god(s) don't exist.

Oh, okay.

[Likewise]

Agnostic is basically a person who doesn't have a definite stance in regards to whether god(s) exist - the undecided/don't know/might or might not be/not enough proof to sway either way camp. Atheist believes that god(s) don't exist.

Not exactly.

 

Gnosticism is different from theism. Theism deals with belief; gnosticism deals with knowledge. Strictly speaking, all atheists are also agnostics because no one can know that god does or does not exist. A person who claims to know would be a gnostic atheist or a gnostic theist.

 

One can also be an agnostic theist. This would be a person who believes in a certain god, but also admits that they may be wrong. They would say something like, "I have faith in X, but X may not be the right answer for everyone."

[KageSora]

There are also agnostic atheists and agnostic theists. An agnostic is just someone that thinks that we can't (or haven't) prove or disprove the existence of a god.

That's because believing that you don't know doesn't also contradict that you can believe there is or isn't.

 

You can believe that there IS one or more god(s)/goddess(es), but also believe that you will never be able to prove that.

 

You can also believe there are no gods/goddesses but also believe that you'll never be able to prove or know that.

 

 

Believing isn't always the same as knowing. I consider something I "believe" to be something I cannot prove with verifiable facts. I "believe" that there is some sort of life essence like a soul or something, and that as a result it can linger after death which causes ghosts and spiritual activity. I don't "know" this, though, because I cannot prove it.

 

I know that the world is round, because I can prove it with facts.

 

 

 

The reason there can be atheists who DON'T consider themselves agnostic is because, as far as they're concerned, the facts they can point to and things they can observe DO disprove the existence of any sort of god(s)/goddess(es). Where religion and faith are concerned, absolute knowledge that is 100% provable is often not a possibility, so you have to be willing to bend a little on the idea of what "knowing" something means.

[georgexu94]

Now your debating about the real definition of agnostics? This is a bit confusing.

[LadyFoxfire]

Definitely not going to bash any religion or lack thereof, but will tell my own. I left the Roman Catholic faith about 10 years ago to become Eastern Orthodox Christian. Granted, both are Christian, but their beliefs do vary here and there. While I'm no master on the subject, there are things that my Eastern Orthodox faith believes the Roman Catholics do wrong - and some things about the Vatican I'm finding pretty scary these days.

 

Ok, so most of those fears relate to things others would call "conspiracy theories" like aliens being our gods and such, which I actually have something of a belief in. I don't believe aliens put us here, but I do believe they were the old gods of ancient legends, like the Egyptian and Greek gods, or Sumerian gods. I've recently taken a serious interest in the ancient Egyptian gods and actually feel a loss since Egypt has turned away from that belief system, though I won't condemn anyone for their choices.

 

I'm also extremely in love with the Hindu religion. I've been trying to study up on Krishna in particular. I've found out that Buddha was really a Hindu prophet, but that was just one person telling me this, so I don't know if it's true. Anyway, I think the most peaceful religions I've learned of so far are Buddhism and Hinduism. I can't recall any bloody crusades they've been on, but would be happy to learn otherwise if I can. Not that I'm happy to know that there are bloody crusades or anything, just that I find knowledge a good thing.

 

One religion in particular that interests me now - Zoroastrianism. The Middle East practiced it in parts before Islam entered the scene. I can't find much about it though, so it's still a mystery to me, though I've read that they had a belief in one supreme being too.

[7Deadly$ins]

I believe in aliens, but as far as them being involved in Egypt, no. First of all, why would they? Then why did they leave? Not to mention the overall lack of any evidence to that effect, which is the same thing I have against religion.

 

As far as Buddha being a Hindu prophet, no as well. Some Hindus consider him to be one of Vishnu's incarnations, but that's about it.

[georgexu94]

So many questions swarming in my head!

 

So what are the different branches of Christianity? I know Catholic (Roman Catholic), Protestant (which is further divided to Baptist, Evangelist, etc.), Born Again, and Iglesia ni Cristo. I know there's more to that.

[TikindiDragon]

So many questions swarming in my head!

 

So what are the different branches of Christianity? I know Catholic (Roman Catholic), Protestant (which is further divided to Baptist, Evangelist, etc.), Born Again, and Iglesia ni Cristo. I know there's more to that.

Well Protestant is pretty much any denomination not considered Catholic. So, basically, everyone but the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox etc (pretty much anything with 'Orthodox' in it's name). There are also the 'bridge' groups that are not in full communion with Rome, but which maintain full Apostolic sucession - including Anglicanism and the Old Catholic churches, as well as certain Lutheran branches. And then you get into Protestant churches... and there are many, meany denominations of those.

[Awdz]

So many questions swarming in my head!

 

So what are the different branches of Christianity? I know Catholic (Roman Catholic), Protestant (which is further divided to Baptist, Evangelist, etc.), Born Again, and Iglesia ni Cristo. I know there's more to that.

I'm no scholar on it, but I do like the graphs found in the Wikipedia article on branches of Christianity.

 

Please note that "Born Again" is a term typically used for Christians who come to accept Jesus as adults, not really associated with any one branch.