Comments on: What makes us a religion?

By: johnhattan

johnhattan — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

No atheist group has ever split over some minor doctrinal difference or personality conflict!

Oh. . .wait a minute.

(note: the previous snarky joke was not a jab at any atheist/humanist/whatever group or person in particular. I've seen it happen a half-dozen times, and find the trend amusing and sometimes disheartening. Bloody splitters.)

By: JP

JP — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The word, religion, is derived from the Latin religio, meaning bond or obligation. The question, then, is whether humanism demands some kind of bond similar to that required by religion.

The word "woman" is derived from the Old English "wifman," linking the concept of "wife" (wif) to that of "person" or "human being" (man). The question, then, is whether one can be a woman if one isn't the wife of a human being.

[Just a pet peeve -- arguing from etymology is fallacious.]

By: spanders

spanders — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Christian wannabe Unitarians have never declared hostilities against those whiny crybaby Ethical Unionists.

I’m not sure I understand this. Can you clarify its meaning?

By: JONBOY

JONBOY — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Calling Atheism a religion is like saying bald is a hair colour.

By: Celebrant Prince

Celebrant Prince — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The key difference is that (H)umanism denies the supernatural. Without supernaturalism of some form, virtually no movement, organization, cult, or group is considered by common understanding to be a religion.

Universal Unitarianism does not explicitly disavow that supernaturalism is a possibility; many of their members openly declare belief in a deity. UU is a religion.

Humanist Manifesto III (American Humanist Association) opens with this paragraph:

"Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability
and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal
fulfillment that aspire to the greater good
of humanity."

Note the SPECIFIC disavowal of supernaturalism, right off the bat.

The Council for Secular Humanism is likewise explicit in its disavowal of supernaturalism. Free Inquiry Magazine carries on its inside front cover "The Affirmations of Humanism", and this is the 2nd Affirmation:

"We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation."

Humanism is explicity atheistic in its rejection of supernaturalism in any and all forms. Given supernaturalism to be a necessary component of religious belief systems in general, atheism is NOT a religion, a fortiori neither is Humanism.

By: Celebrant Prince

Celebrant Prince — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

P.S. I don’t claim to be an authority on religion, so if anyone here on this blog can point me to an accepted/acknowledged “religion” that is, by doctrine, entirely free of supernaturalism, I’d appreciate the info.

By: Celebrant Prince

Celebrant Prince — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

By: alexatheist

alexatheist — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I thought the article was arguing that humanism, not atheism, was a religion. The two things are not the same and indeed there are religious humanists but there can not be such a thing as a religious atheist (no matter what atheist “jews” believe about themselves).
I think that many religionists see the world through god coloured glasses and can’t grasp what it is like to remove those glasses so they can only understand atheism as a belief system from a religious point of view.

By: 666

666 — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Celebrant Prince beat me to the punch (again). Humanism is a philosophy not a religion.
I thought it interesting that the author of the article claimed to be agnostic since Humanism rejects the supernatural. Seems as though he might be a little conflicted in what he adheres to. My little brain tells me that all humanists are atheists by definition, but heat not all atheists are humanists. No?

By: brocktice

brocktice — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Celebrant Prince: Maybe Zen (particularly Zen, that is) Buddhism, but it doesn’t specifically disavow supernaturalism.

It does encourage people to investigate their experiences, and not to take things as a given, so it can be antagonistic to blind faith.