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By Jim Downard
Has atheism become a religion?
No.That is, if the word “religion” is used in anything like the way normal people use it, which is belief in supernatural entities that involve claims about the history of things, proscriptions about behavioral dictates, and degrees of veneration or worship.
Now if you define “religion” extremely broadly, as a description of social systems that take their convictions very seriously, then atheism may be called a “religion” in the same sense that politics and sports enthusiasm are “religions.”
And remember, everybody is an atheist regarding all the gods they don’t believe in. Full atheists just manage a level of consistency and add one more name to the list.
The (subtle) and not so subtle discrimination towards atheist or other secular “humans” (because that is what we are) is a mind boggling display of theist love many times.
Consider the innocent question asked by the reader….
“That is, if the word “religion” is used in anything like the way – normal – people use it,
I’m sure they were not even aware…. and that’s why more theist should strive for consciousness.