Honest question: Why Atheist, not atheist?

the_bgma said:
Plus, it looks silly to say "Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or atheist?" Looks much better if they are all capitalized.
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With all due respect, who cares what it looks like? don't we, atheists, want to distance ourselves from organized religions?

It does not make much sense to claim atheism is not a religion, and then capitalize the word like it is one.
 
SPQR said:
With all due respect, who cares what it looks like? don't we, atheists, want to distance ourselves from organized religions?

It does not make much sense to claim atheism is not a religion, and then capitalize the word like it is one.
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I'd say that depends if your goal is to distance yourself from organized religions, or replace organized religion.

The point of giving an alternative to organized religion is that it serves MORE than just a religious purpose. Religion gives comfort, teaches kids about the world, serves as instant community, gives a way to measure time and celebrate holidays and occasions, and provides an organization for charitable works.

If you merely quit religion, you are left with a void. If you *replace* religion, you will be much more successful in your aims.


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The Bible of the Good and Moral Atheist
 
the_bgma said:
I'd say that depends if your goal is to distance yourself from organized religions, or replace organized religion.

The point of giving an alternative to organized religion is that it serves MORE than just a religious purpose. Religion gives comfort, teaches kids about the world, serves as instant community, gives a way to measure time and celebrate holidays and occasions, and provides an organization for charitable works.

If you merely quit religion, you are left with a void. If you *replace* religion, you will be much more successful in your aims.
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I certainly agree with all these points, it just seems, to me anyway, that the capitalization of "atheist" is too self-important.

We want people to feel comfortable with our alternative to religion. We would not want to scare anyone away by having our title, "atheism", resemble the titles of that thing to which some are seeking alternatives.
 
arthwollipot said:
Void? What "void" is there that religion fills? I find it a totally unnecessary burden.
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Religion, for many people, fills the need for community, charitable outlets, solace in times of trouble, a way to mark taime and events, and so on. That's one of the reasons it continues to be successful. Parents who aren't sure they believe in religion still go to get their kids baptized or bar-mitzvahed, because they have a community in their congregation. It's a meme that continues to propagate.

Even if *you* find such things unnecessary, the majority of people apparently need such a community. If you take it away from them without a replacement, they will merely re-build the original.

For atheists, there are many such outlets. The ones I have come across that most resemble current religious congregations are Secular Humanism, Unitarian Universalism, and Humanistic Judaism. For those who like a little less structure, there are many meetup groups, and of course online forums like these!

(You can find them all in the Book of Resources.)



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The Bible of the Good and Moral Atheist
 
I thought this thread was dead and buried a month ago. Thanks for the responses. I lean towards the lowercase 'a' however, for the reasons accordingly stated by others in this thread.
 
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