Tolerance of atheism. Discuss.

[mildlyfrightenedboy]

"No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered  patriots.  This is one nation under God."  -George H.W. Bush, O'Hare interview, August 27, 1987.

"No National Socialist may suffer detriment... on the ground that he does not make any religious profession at all."  -Decree in Nazi Germany, 1933.


Well then.

[bobknows]

Atheism is a religon, although as its name suggests it is a non theistic one.
America has laws against persecution based on race or religon. Thus america is tolerant to atheism.

Those are both powerful quotes, but they are somewhat old and I don't think that they accurately show the picture today.

[Cheesy111]

Atheism is a religon, although as its name suggests it is a non theistic one.
America has laws against persecution based on race or religon. Thus america is tolerant to atheism.

Those are both powerful quotes, but they are somewhat old and I don't think that they accurately show the picture today.

Atheism is not a religion.  It has no values, no rules, no way of living, no prophets, no gods, no holy path.  It is simply a lack of belief in gods.  A religion is not one lack of belief.  People who don't believe intelligent life exists on other planets do not belong to a religion.

[BluePriest]

Atheism is a religon, although as its name suggests it is a non theistic one.
America has laws against persecution based on race or religon. Thus america is tolerant to atheism.

Those are both powerful quotes, but they are somewhat old and I don't think that they accurately show the picture today.

Atheism is not a religion.  It has no values, no rules, no way of living, no prophets, no gods, no holy path.  It is simply a lack of belief in gods.  A religion is not one lack of belief.  People who don't believe intelligent life exists on other planets do not belong to a religion.

It could also be classified as the belief that there is no god which would also be considered a religion.

[Cheesy111]

Atheism is a religon, although as its name suggests it is a non theistic one.
America has laws against persecution based on race or religon. Thus america is tolerant to atheism.

Those are both powerful quotes, but they are somewhat old and I don't think that they accurately show the picture today.

Atheism is not a religion.  It has no values, no rules, no way of living, no prophets, no gods, no holy path.  It is simply a lack of belief in gods.  A religion is not one lack of belief.  People who don't believe intelligent life exists on other planets do not belong to a religion.

It could also be classified as the belief that there is no god which would also be considered a religion.

A religion IS NOT a single belief. 

[juan_de_diablo]

I dislike overly opinionated atheists as much as I dislike overly opinionated religious folk.

[Naesala]

Don't make this thread derail on semantics just like the other one did. Focus on what was brought up by the OP

If you want to make a case about being discriminated against now, use quotes that arent 30+ years old.

[Zam888]

Don't make this thread derail on semantics just like the other one did. Focus on what was brought up by the OP

If you want to make a case about being discriminated against now, use quotes that arent 30+ years old.

Those quotes definitely do NOT accurately frame today's culture. The landscape has since changed.

[furballdn]

Saying atheism is a religion is like saying bald is a hair color.

[Aves]

Referring back to the topic, intolerance is strong, but hidden below the surface. The majority has always smothered the minority, whether purposefully or not.

@ juan- Overly opinionated people, such as 'shoving beliefs down throats', correct? Hopefully, that will not happen here. As a tangentially related thing, I have a question: which side is right, then? And if that is impossible to determine, are the sides equal? Should they be equal?

@bobknows- History is written by the victors. You'd be surprised just how much prejudice in the US remains. Case in point, the past thirty years in American politics/policies.

@Naesala- It's an interesting point to make, regardless of the time period. There is no case, so far, on either side, though the definition of atheism is relevant to that proposition.

[Zam888]

Saying atheism is a religion is like saying bald is a hair color.

Well I'm balding, so I guess my hair color is changing 

[bobknows]

I apologise for offending anyone by saying atheism is a religion.

In my opinion atheism is a religon because it looks exactly like one:
It has some core beliefs: there is no god, theory of evolution, etc.
It has extremists, and moderates.
It tries to convert others to join it.

In all of these ways, atheism looks like a religion to me, and so I think of it as one.

Back on topic:
If atheism is not a religon, them does that mean that it is legal to discriminate against atheists? I personally doubt it, and if it is illegal then atheism can essentially be regarded as a religon in this context.

(I am unsure of the exact wording of the law, it may say "due to religion or lack therof" in which case my last point is moot.)