Is Atheism a Religion?

 I see people WAY too often claiming that atheism is a religion, and while I know they're probably not the people who are likely to look at this blog, I want to write about it anyway. Partially because I haven't written a blog in a while, but partially because there's a chance that someone who reads this is questioning their beliefs, or only recently stopped believing in god. I want to talk about what atheism is and what it's not. 

First of all, what is atheism? The prefix A- means without or not. Theism means a belief in the existence of a god or gods. So A-theism would mean without a belief in or not believing in the existence of a god or gods. That's all atheism is. Atheism is not a monolith (a large and impersonal political, corporate, or social structure regarded as intractably indivisible and uniform), we all have varying thoughts and views. We believe different things. The only thing we do agree on is that we don't believe god exists. 

So, lets look at whether or not atheism is a religion. 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives us three definitions:

1. A personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

Looking at what religious means, again from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, religious means relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged deity. Well, we can stop looking at that definition, because we already know that atheists don't believe in god (deity). 

2. The service and worship of God or the supernatural

This definition can be thrown out without second thought, because again, we do not believe in god, and therefore don't worship one. 

3. A cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

I suppose that one could argue that for some, atheism is a cause or principle. I will not deny that militant atheism exists. However, most of the time those who are that passionate about atheism identify as anti-theists, and while anti-theists are atheists, not all atheists are anti-theists. So, while this definition certainly applies to some, it does not apply to atheism as a whole. 

In summary, atheism means without a belief in a god or believing that no gods exist. Aside from believing that god doesn't exist, atheists have a wide range of views and beliefs. 

Atheism as a whole is not a religion, but militant atheists do exist, and while I personally would not consider them a religion, they do technically fit one definition of religion. 

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