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Permalink Reply by Dawn K on July 29, 2009 at 8:47am

I don't think there's anything in those statements I would agree with. I am unaware of an atheist doctrine. Unless what they are saying is that our sense of morality exists because of religion, which I also disagree with. I don't understand the second statement "if there was no religion to criticize, we would have nothing". I identify as an atheist and a naturalist. But I also identify as a woman, wife, daughter, mother and much more. Religion does not define my life any more than those other labels and in reality it defines my life much less.

“For every force, there is a counter force. For every negative there is a positive. For every action there is a reaction. For every cause there is an effect.”

Atheism is the counter force of religion. If religious activism didn't exist, atheist activism wouldn't exist.

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Permalink Reply by Morgan Greenwood on July 29, 2009 at 10:05am

That was the point of the individual. They said something along the lines of if there were religions, there wouldn't be atheism. This religious person said it as if that were bad thing:)

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Permalink Reply by Dawn K on July 29, 2009 at 11:30am

Sounds like he and I agree, except that I think it would be awesome if there weren't religions. :)

Of course then we'd just have to find something else to fight about.

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Permalink Reply by Morgan Greenwood on July 29, 2009 at 10:54pm

I mis-spelled. I meant to say "weren't" and and not "were religions" my iPhone has a stupid auto-correct feature. Sorry about that

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Permalink Reply by Dawn K on July 29, 2009 at 11:27am

I think that the drive we have to be open as atheists, to have this community for only atheists, to be activists, is a direct result of the force that is religion in our society. Remove that force, the political side of religion and being interested in religion is nothing more than academic. While I'll grant that the academic study or philosophy of religion is interesting it's not the same as defining yourself by religion (or lack of).

It's not that you wouldn't be an atheist, it's that it wouldn't much matter. At least that's how I read the statements above.

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Permalink Reply by Goz on July 29, 2009 at 1:57pm

And if there was no religion,atheism would be the norm...The thought of a god or gods would never enter anyone's mind. This guy forgets we are all born atheist and the only reason he's an xtain is cause he was taken to church and brainwashed before the age of reason.

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Permalink Reply by Johnsky on July 29, 2009 at 11:57pm

Well, if certain religions had never existed, *cough christianity cough* science wouldn't have been stalled and even rewound for about 1,000 years. Wonderful times those dark ages.

Imagine... we could have had colonies on other planets by now judging by how fast science is advancing now that it can operate without the church as the governing authority.

Thanks Christians! (sarcasm)


If religion didn't exist, we wouldn't really care, because we wouldn't know of it to care.
We'd be free to focus on the REAL issues... rather than worrying which politician prays to what god.

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Permalink Reply by Anette on July 30, 2009 at 7:18am

I would say for many athiests(especially those that have recently deconverted) that "rejecting" religion is their focus. They don't have much more to say, other than religion is wrong and needs to be eradicated. This is obviously personal, and a human progression.

But for many athiests, religion is dead and gone, so a new way of focussing on the world and our lives have been achieved.

So although a rejection of religion, may very much define the life of some athiests, I do not think it is true for all. They've moved beyond the anger and are now just trying to create a more meaningful and better life for themselves, family, friends and humanity overall.

Cheers

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