There are times when discussing religion that people will point out that Atheism is a religion. It is true that Atheism is a doctrine that states supreme beings do not exist, where as religion is the opposite doctrine. This debate continues because of the social awkwardness that people bare when choosing to call themselves atheists. There are also atheists that have criticized people who are afraid to call themselves atheists. I personally do not call myself an atheist, I prefer "non-believer" These are the reasons why:
Giving Self Titles: When people devote themselves to any belief system they automatically give themselves the title of "Christian", "Muslim", "Jew", "Buddhist" and so fort. This is the same for atheists, no matter how much they debate about their disdain for religion, they will separate themselves by giving the title of "Atheist". I find this to be ridiculous because there is no need for this self identification. As a "non-believer" (not a title I've given myself, just a term to use for clarification for my argument) I believe when you give yourself a title you cause yourself to be...
Stereotyped: If someone says to you "I'm a christian" and you respond " an atheist" there is a possibility that you will be viewed as someone with no morals and someone who will surely go to hell one day, and in doing so as an atheist you would possibility judge a christian as being a religious nut and someone who is arrogant. I believe no matter what title you could give yourself, life is life, whether it is good or bad, you will feel the same with or without a title.
Atheist quarks: Every time I see some news regarding the "war on Christmas" it pisses me off. I'm sorry but I'm not part of the group that says "you can't say Merry Christmas because I don't believe in Christ, you have to say Happy Holidays" This is stupid. If you are an atheist why would Merry Christmas offend you? It is just a greeting used for the Christmas holiday. I celebrate Christmas and I'm not a christian. You don't need to be religious to celebrate Christmas, it is just another holiday to get together with friends and family.
Fact Based: One reason that atheists give that supports their beliefs is that they believe in the facts and are not fooled by faith based beliefs. This does not need to be a core argument. People believe in facts because, well.... facts are studied and restudied. Facts are also proven, if someone is going to be arrogant to the vast some of facts then they are arrogant. You don't need to have religion to be arrogant. If you are an atheist then make a better argument than this, this statement only will harden the oppositions stance.
Politics: This is probably the biggest reason why I decided not to call myself an atheist. There is too much bickering over religion that there doesn't seem to be time to actually argue over the things that need to be done such as giving people health care, provided better schooling, making sure people have a roof over their heads, better income equality. In politics it forces you to take a side, and it is usually not the side of "getting shit done". People will instead of looking at political candidates platform, they will see if he belongs to a certain sect of Christianity. I mean look at the backlash at President Obama, people are worried that he is a Muslim, when he has stated personally that he is a Christian. People it is time to move on.
In closing, if people are afraid that by disclosing their non-religious beliefs because of being viewed as an atheist or having to call them self an atheist, then I say there is nothing to worry about because you don't have to. Each person has there own set of values, you don't need to give people an excuse to discriminate against you.
It is too bad that there is still such a stigma to being Atheist, but I can see why that is sometimes. In fact, a Christian is much more likely to feel uncomfortable talking with an Atheist than a Muslim.
ReplyDeleteA Muslim's beliefs do not necessarily negate a Christian's beliefs. There are ways to rationalize the different religeons like "different paths to the same God" or "their God is different from my God but at least we both believe", etc. The reason an Atheist is so threatening is that they believe that God does not exist (an active belief) and both people can't be right. Either there is a god or there isn't. An Atheist's doctrine cannot be reconciled with the Believer's.
Furthermore, both groups are naturally contensious because they need others on their side to ratify their beliefs; any active belief doctrine does. But for Believers it's more about believing in belief or having faith in Faith if you will - you're more like someone who believe's in something than someone who believes in nothing.
Being Atheist also says "I'm prepared to go it alone here and hereafter. This counter-culturalism can also be a source of pride (arrogance) to the Atheist and a source of confusion to the Believer (i.e. How can you NOT believe? By stating your disbelief so assuredly you are either condemning yourself to Hell or resigning yourself nothing, both options unthinkable to the Believer).
So if you're an Atheist why not take the high ground and convert to Agnosticism? After all, an Atheist cannot prove God does not exist any more than a Believer can prove God does exist.* Agnosticism is something we can all rally around and relate to because EVERYONE has SOME doubt at SOME point. Why not just say "I don't know."? Because if you're truly honest, you don't.
Thank you for reading my blog. I appreciate your comments and your time to respond. My personal point of view is quite different. To me doubt is not there, but what I call titles like "Atheist" and "agnostic" only seems to put myself into a cross roads as I mentioned in my article. Doubt is not there for me because it doesn't matter to me. God or no god the world is going to be what it is. To myself this equals that if there is a god, this being does not care or quite simply, there is no god. I choose to believe that there is not a god. Also, I choose to not have a title because I personally do not ridicule people's beliefs. People's beliefs will be what they are, they can believe in Zeus, Jupiter, Oden, Thor, Jesus, Allah, etc..What I am against and where my anger and ridicule comes from is how people use their beliefs to cause pain to others. As an example, I don't care if you believe in Jesus, but what purpose is it to say "God Hates Fags" or "9/11 happened because we are allowing gays to marry" this is pure hate and oppression,not to mention the crimes the Vatican commits and the Muslim terrorists. I also do not want to give people the opportunity to twist my words or have prejudice against me.
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