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Of all the absurd propositions advanced by religious persons, the idea that atheism is a religion may be the most far-fetched. That such a notion could even enter their heads is a monument to muddled-headed thinking.

Granted, not all of the worlds religions have theistic beliefs. Many branches of Buddhism, for example, are non-theistic. However, this does not make a Buddhist an atheist. What makes Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Taoism, Jainism, Hinduism and all the others fall under the category of religion is that all of them place mysticism above reason and all of them are, as a consequence, fundamentally anti-life. All of these religions teach that this earthly existence is miserable, and all seek some escape from it. All religions have the same underlying premise: to avoid the reality of earthly existence and to get right with some supernatural realm, whether it be God, Nirvana, or the oneness of the universe. Religion thus functions as an escape mechanism, and its adherents are intent on escaping reality rather than confronting it head-on.

The Oxford American Dictionary defines religion in three ways:
1) "Belief in the existence of a supernatural holy power." As discussed above, most scholars would find this definition, in and of itself, to be too restricting, but we can safely say that without some aspect of the supernatural and/or mystical in ones thinking, one is not religious. Atheism eschews all aspects of mysticism and supernaturalism; atheists do not retreat into a fantasy world of their own creation.

2) "A particular system of faith or worship." Atheists have no faith, and do not respect any form of faith, recognizing instead the primacy of reason as their method of understanding reality. Atheists recognize that faith is a cop-out answer which religious people throw at the skeptic when rational arguments fail them. Faith is a smokescreen the believer tries to hide behind, in the futile hope that the word "faith" will somehow give intellectual respectability and legitimacy to an otherwise indefensible position. Worship may be viewed as the acting out of ones religiosity. Religions incorporate several different factors into their belief systems. These include myth (legends and folklore of ancient origin), ritual behavior (such as the Eucharist or the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca), mysticism (a magical view of reality), and personal experience or conviction not based on reason. Remove any of these, and you no longer have religion. All of these defining elements of religion are absent from atheism. There are no mystical elements, no rituals, no mystical revelations, no supernaturalism, no priests, no prayers, no holy places and, most important of all, no dogmas.

3) "Something compared to religious faith as a controlling influence on a persons life, i.e. football is his religion." This third definition is not a definition at all; it is a comparison. In the dictionary definition, football is like a religion, but only in the sense of fanaticism. This is hardly favorable to religion. The point need not be elaborated upon; the daily newspapers are filled with the escapades of fanatical religionists.

Some religionists claim that atheism is a religion because atheists deal with and concern themselves with religion. This is patently absurd; calling an atheist a religious person because he or she deals with religion is like calling a fireman an arsonist because he deals with fire. The atheist is, or should be, a person with self-confidence and the ability to think freely, without the mindless crutch of religious superstition. Atheists concern themselves with the problems of this world, not with ways of making Brownie points with some imaginary deity in an imaginary next world. Atheists see many of the problems in the world as emanating from the same source: the irrationalities and immoralities of religion.

In addition, atheists find religious customs and practices to be barbaric and degrading. They are barbaric because they represent the last vestiges of primitivism in the human race; as but one example, the Eucharist is simply a modern-day version of the ancient cannibalistic god-eating religious rituals. They are degrading because they put humans on their knees, staring fearfully at a nightmarish apparition that exists only in their minds. Atheism puts people back on their feet and restores their dignity.

Atheism, based on reason, is a positive, life-affirming view. By contrast, religions, because they (at least in their holy writings) denigrate our earthly existence, are philosophies of death. Nowhere is this point better illustrated than in Christianity; its entire philosophy is based around a hatred for this life, and any system that teaches that this life is but a testing ground for eternal bliss is a philosophy of death.

Anyone who claims that atheism is a religion is completely ignorant as to what the basic tenets of what atheism (and religion) actually are. To the Christian, every atheist is a threat because the continued existence of non-Christians proves that the Christian system is devoid of merit and that people can exist and thrive freed from religious dogma. The New Testament insists that Christians go forth and convert the world, and the existence of even a single atheist is proof that their supposedly all-powerful God wasn't able to convince everybody. Such believers are either unwilling to grasp the fact that people who disagree with them about the existence of gods can and do live decent, moral lives.
At this point, honest Christians should recognize the need to re-examine the tenets of their faith. But they rarely possess the honesty and integrity to do so. Exasperated and at a loss to explain how they could be wrong, they lash out at the atheist. They try and turn the tables by projecting their dogmas on the atheist. They insist that atheists have faith, or that Robert G. Ingersoll is their "god," or that atheism is a religion, or that the object of atheistic worship is humanity rather than a god. However, these are simply knee-jerk reactions with no basis in fact. It is sad that the minds that produce such drivel are so restricted that they cannot conceive of anybody being free of religion.

It has even been argued that, since atheists do not worship their god, they worship non-existence! This too is the reversal of the truth. It is the theist who worships nothing, although they obviously insist that their god does in fact exist. Just look at the way they con themselves: they talk to a god who never answers; they deprive and even injure themselves attempting to achieve a "higher state of being" through asceticism; they bemoan their existence while glorifying their death; they listen to preachers who havent advanced intellectually beyond the Dark Ages they so longingly wish to revert to; and they see images of their icons on trees, windows, and even tortillas! And, as if this were not enough, they insist that rational people respect their beliefs.

Atheists will have none of this nonsense. They recognize the religious world as a fantasy world, and religious belief as a form of insanity that should have no place in a rational mind. Atheism, far from being a religion, is its exact opposite. Atheists recognize that if there is to be a "heaven," it must be made now, here on earth, in this life. And it is we who must make it.

Actually, it is a victory for atheists when believers call atheism a religion; by doing so, believers are at least tacitly admitting that the word "religion" has become so discredited that even they are using it as an epithet!

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