Why Atheism Is A Religion
Concise answer:
Contents
FOUNDATION – To find TRUTH, a thinker must meet the necessary and sufficient conditions with their hypothesis. The necessary condition is met when a (falsifiable) hypothesis accurately describes the observed. The sufficient condition is met only when all but one of the KNOWN and UNKNOWN hypotheses has been disproved. In other words, the absolute TRUTH is the sole (yet falsifiable) hypothesis that describes the observed.
RESULT – The three possible scenarios arising from the truth definition above.
Subjective Truth:
A hypothesis meeting the NECESSARY condition.
Objective Truth:
A hypothesis meeting the NECESSARY condition while also meeting the SUFFICIENT condition for all KNOWN hypotheses (partial sufficiency).
Absolute Truth:
A hypothesis meeting the NECESSARY condition while also meeting the SUFFICIENT condition for all KNOWN and UNKNOWN hypotheses.
The UNKNOWN hypotheses are always unknown. Therefore, the absolute truth is never ascertainable.
Ordered Reality
Many individuals observe an ordered reality. Some hypothesize that this ordered reality was created by a creator (God). To these individuals, the God hypothesis is their subjective truth.
Now, FINALLY, The “Atheism IS A Religion” Answer
Definition – Atheism: disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.
Atheists further declare that (1) Atheism is not a belief system because it simply rejects the God hypothesis. Atheists sometimes also declare that (2) there is no evidence for a God hypothesis.
Position 1 is untenable because the God hypothesis is a valid subjective truth until it is disproven (the sufficiency process). If there are no alternative hypotheses meeting the necessary condition, the God hypothesis can also be objective truth. There are, however, alternatives: The Multiverse Theory and some others. Unfortunately, the God hypothesis is not falsifiable. Yet, neither is the multiverse theory. So all hypotheses are subjective truths only, even those that stand only to refute another (like Atheism).
For a group of believers to go further, they must do it in faith. But this is OK. This is a religion. The faithful do not have to prove that their subjective truth is absolute truth. They just declare it (ideally, they would also recognize that their position is irrational). And this absolute declaration is what connotes religion. This is also true for Atheists. Neither position is provable because neither hypothesis is falsifiable. Thus both positions are taken in faith.
Atheism is thus demonstrably a religion. And, the Atheists hate it.
No evidence for the God hypothesis (position 2)
This is where it gets interesting. The Atheists (at least some of them) have taught me that they cannot see the ordered reality. In this way, Atheists can fairly reject the God hypothesis because they cannot see ordered reality. They perceive reality to be more chaotic than ordered.
But I do not. I see ordered reality as the font of civilization and human reason.
We need to find a way to get these specific Atheists to see that as well. I say this because civilization and human reason depend upon it.
Summary Of Derivative Thinking/Religious Positions
An Intellectually Immature Person
A person who is unable to see ordered reality. Often, they embrace atheism.
Without reason, a person cannot observe and conceptualize reality’s order. In addition, they may lack free will (self-control). Free will is required to engage reason. Instead, the individual possesses habits (thoughts and behaviors) acquired from others. Their world is defined by what they know (habit).
Learn more here:
A Religious Person
A (subjective truth–i.e., no God or Gods + related beliefs) held and evangelized as the absolute truth is a religion.
When one evangelizes, with no rational capacity to identify objective truth (the subjective truth of either a God or no God is unfalsifiable–i.e., disprovable), one takes their position as a matter of faith and thereby promotes a religious position.
A religious person holds their beliefs irrationally. Both Theists or Atheists evangelize their irrationally held positions as absolute truths.
For example, from Google (Atheist):
A Rational Person
A person who declines to assert and evangelize any truth as the absolute truth.
See the absolute truth description above. The absolute truth is not ascertainable because of the UNKNOWN hypothesis. At best, the rational person can discover objective truth only.
Also helpful is the following …
Rational Grace
This describes my thinking–the owner and sole contributor to this site.
The God/creator hypothesis (subjective truth) is helpful. That is, I agree with Voltaire’s observation:
“If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”
However, Voltaire was a deist. I am not (a deist or theist). Yet …