The BBC’s religion section lists atheism as a religion, and some groups of people have begun to congregate in what they call ‘atheist churches,’ but referring to atheism as a religion can draw confusion and criticisms.
There is no accurate way to explain what atheism is or isn’t, and the confusion can be based on a failure to define, said Steve Hays, associate professor of classics and world religions.
Some people view atheism as a religion, and others see it as simply a belief.
Some atheists say they believe in nothing at all, while others say they believe in something undefined, Hays explained.
“In this case and many other cases, people use words carelessly or in an ill-defined way,” Hays said.
When looking at the moral code, religious people might say their code comes from their spiritual beliefs whereas an atheist might see it as a basic instinct, Hays said.
“Human life is complicated,” he said. “We see material things, but we also see these more abstract principles and qualities that we can’t define easily or explain if they are instincts…or if beliefs define them.”
Although dictionary definitions exist, it’s hard to label something because everyone has their own take on things, said Phil Cook, a senior studying electrical engineering who identifies as a Christian.
“It’s hard to stick a label on something like that because everyone is trying to make it their own thing,” he said. “When they do that, they try to make it something original and new, and if it’s never existed before or even if it has, they want to call it something that it isn’t or make it something that it hasn’t always been.”
Cook said religion to him is all about structure, so atheism could be considered a religion if some type of organization existed.
“Religion I think needs to have rituals and meetings, and it’s kind of like a structured practice that people do,” he said. “Subscribing to a belief together and then having practices to go along with it, I think that’s all religion needs to exist.”
Twenty-six percent of self-identified atheists consider themselves spiritual people and 3 percent say they are religious, according to the Pew Research Center.
Of the 2.4 percent of self-identified atheists in the United States, 38 percent are ages 18-29.
For Elliot Kaplan, a junior studying math and self-identified atheist, being an atheist means not identifying with any religion or believing that there is a God.
Atheism is more of a religious preference rather than a religion, Kaplan said.
“Although it relates to religion, I wouldn’t call it a religion because it doesn’t have an orthodoxy or element of faith,” he said. “Some people might see it as a religion because it’s an answer to the question ‘what is your religion?’”
Ultimately, atheists and those with religious beliefs are all on the same foot, Hays said.
“We all have fundamental beliefs between right and wrong or good and bad,” he said. “(Atheists) have to believe things about the same questions that motivate religious people to believe things as well.”
ao007510@ohiou.edu
@thisisjelli
This article appeard in print under the headline "Labeling clouds definition of atheism"
