Do Catholics think atheism is a belief?

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aprilfloyd

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I have read numerous posts on this forum, where atheism is is discussed as though it is a belief, or a religion, or a cohesive group of people with an agenda, or position.

Am I wrong? From what I can see ‘atheists’ simply suggest that there are no deities. Considering that there is no testable proof for any deity , why is this position so difficult to understand for religionists.

Religion is based on faith or the hope that a God exists. I would imagine that if it does transpire that one of the Gods, is THE God, then atheists would have no problem with accepting it.
 
aprilfloyd said:
I have read numerous posts on this forum, where atheism is is discussed as though it is a belief, or a religion, or a cohesive group of people with an agenda, or position.

Am I wrong? From what I can see ‘atheists’ simply suggest that there are no deities. Considering that there is no testable proof for any deity , why is this position so difficult to understand for religionists.

Religion is based on faith or the hope that a God exists. I would imagine that if it does transpire that one of the Gods, is THE God, then atheists would have no problem with accepting it.
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This thread will probably be closed because we aren’t supposed to have Atheist threads.
However, until then - there are many types of Atheists. For those who claim their Atheism is intellectually based, their Atheism is based on faith because it is impossible to prove God doesn’t exist. And it is impossible to prove that there has been no Divine Revelation.

Suggest you read the Catechism. Linus2nd
 
aprilfloyd said:
I have read numerous posts on this forum, where atheism is is discussed as though it is a belief, or a religion, or a cohesive group of people with an agenda, or position.

Am I wrong? From what I can see ‘atheists’ simply suggest that there are no deities. Considering that there is no testable proof for any deity , why is this position so difficult to understand for religionists.
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In one sense, atheism is a belief system – since there is also no testable proof for the lack of a deity (;)), the stance that there is no God is likewise a belief!

However, if by ‘belief’ or ‘religion’ you include the notions of worship, then your very definition excludes atheism as a belief system. (On the other hand, given that it might include the reading of canonical texts by leaders in the atheist community, and proselytization efforts, it’s still not unreasonable to assert that this is a belief system on its own merits…)

So, although I wouldn’t say that all atheists can be said to have a belief system, I would strongly assert that some treat their atheism as a religion…!
 
The overwhelming majority of atheists are naturalists – if not explicitly in theory, then clearly in practical conviction (and I personally could only be an atheist if naturalism would convince me, since this is for me the logical conclusion). And naturalism most certainly is a worldview that makes positive claims, and I would certainly call it a ‘belief’.

Granted, there are atheists who claim they are not naturalists. But I have never received a satisfactory answer as to what they are, if not naturalists.
 
aprilfloyd said:
I have read numerous posts on this forum, where atheism is is discussed as though it is a belief, or a religion, or a cohesive group of people with an agenda, or position.

Am I wrong? From what I can see ‘atheists’ simply suggest that there are no deities. Considering that there is no testable proof for any deity , why is this position so difficult to understand for religionists.

Religion is based on faith or the hope that a God exists. I would imagine that if it does transpire that one of the Gods, is THE God, then atheists would have no problem with accepting it.
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I think it depends how you use the term “belief”.

If by “belief”, you mean the equivalent of a “faith” or “religion”, then I don’t think atheism is that.

If you mean atheism is a “belief”, as in a “trust in” a worldview, then it certainly is that.

If you mean by “belief” that atheism is an “opinion”, well, it obviously is that.
 
I have met many who treat it as a religion. This is especially the case for anti-theists who borderline worship celebrity atheists/agnostics like Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens.
 
Crescentinus said:
I have met many who treat it as a religion. This is especially the case for anti-theists who borderline worship celebrity atheists/agnostics like Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens.
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I think perhaps some are attracted to the bitterness and hatred of people like Dawkins, though I’m not sure what it does for them. Excuse them, entice them, make them feel a sense of camaraderie?

Personally, if I was an atheist, I think I’d be more interested in the views of its more intelligent and reasonable exponents, like Flew, Kai Nielsen, etc.
 
jonathan_hili said:
I think perhaps some are attracted to the bitterness and hatred of people like Dawkins, though I’m not sure what it does for them. Excuse them, entice them, make them feel a sense of camaraderie?

Personally, if I was an atheist, I think I’d be more interested in the views of its more intelligent and reasonable exponents, like Flew, Kai Nielsen, etc.
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I have no idea on what good their attraction to hatred would do to them. Sadly, this type of hatred is most visible on social networking sites and real life.
 
Anything that ends with “ism” is a belief, no matter how diverse or strange it might be. Plus if atheism believes in no god, then they still have a belief, just in no god.
 
Atheism is most certainly a belief. It is the belief (without evidence) that the universe, life and the human creature can be accounted for by strictly natural, material explanations.
 
snarflemike said:
Atheism is most certainly a belief. It is the belief (without evidence, thus making it a superstition) that the universe, life and the human creature can be accounted for by strictly natural, material explanations.
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