nightsurge said:
Really? No one forces me to go to church. In fact I haven't been to church in ages. Yet I still believe in my religion. Religion does not require groups at all. In fact it is probably best to practice religion by yourself and get your own unique experience and views from it. At the same time, aetheists are now forming groups with higher-ups. This article basically just stated that. So even by your own definition Atheism is becoming a form of systematic religion. |
@ underlined
Which is probably the saddest thing about this article. The fact that atheists need to join these groups because they feel they are under-represented and discriminated against. Alone, a single person has no power to stand up for themselves, but couple a group with organisation and you have the power to fundamentally change how people view atheists... for better or worse.
As for the religion vs atheism thing, religion does give you guidelines, rituals (e.g. prayer), things you're meant to have faith in and you will always be able to enter a Church to worship. You don't have to do any of this yet still class yourself as part of that religion of course, but it is implied and recommended. The fact that you are an indivdual and don't do everything you're supposed to isn't really the point. An organisation is present telling you what you should do.
Atheism is the lack of faith and belief in a higher power meaning you don't have any recommendations or rules or rituals or even religious traditions. The fact that atheists are grouping together in the USA seems to me to be out of necessity due to reasons stated in the first paragraph.
