This question was raised on exChristian forums. I will post my responses here.

I think in order for atheism to be a religion there has to be a belief system behind it. Since there is no belief system behind atheism it cannot be a religion. I can well imagine the Christian fundy to say something along these lines:

Fundy: Atheism is the belief that there is no God. So there is a belief system and it is a religion.

Me: Sorry, but no, atheism does not state that there is no God.

Fundy: Then what does it believe?

Me: Nothing.

Fundy: Atheism believes nothing???

Me: Right.

Fundy: You've gotta be joking. Atheists believe something. Everybody believes something. So do atheists. There is no other way. What do you believe?

Me: What do *I* believe or what does atheism believe?

Fundy: Is there a difference?

Me: Is there a difference between you and Christianity?

Fundy: There sure is! I'm from the Apostolic Church over there. Christianity is everybody that believes in God.

Me: Really??? What about Jews?

Fundy: Uh...

Me: What about Muslims?

Fundy: Well, I--

Me: What about Hindus?

Fundy: You know what Christianity is. But what is atheism if it's not people who don't believe in God?

Me: Theism is belief in God. Atheism is unbelief in God.

Fundy: So I was right! Atheists believe there is no God. It's a--

Me: No we don't. Do you believe that there is a God?

Fundy: I sure do!

Me: Will you state that there is a God?

Fundy: I sure will state that there is a God. God exists. There, I said it.

Me: Here is what I will state on the matter: I see no evidence for God's existence.

Fundy: You see no evidence for God's existence?!?!?! But look at all of nature! How can you see all of this beautiful nature--this tree here with it's wonderful leaves and root system--without believing in a Creator? See this watch on my arm? How do you think it came into existence? I know you believe someone made it. Likewise, someone had to make this tree. I know all the arguments about there being life and all that sort of thing but you haven't begun to think about it...

Me: Sorry, I have to go now. I think the original question was: What do atheists believe about God? I answered that question. Have a good day. Oh, and I've heard all those watchmaker arguments many times and they hold no water.

I'm not sure if I understand humanism too well but I think it is possible to be a humanist and also a Christian. Or perhaps the term "humanist" comes from believing that there is no higher authority than the human being. In that case, I guess Christianity and humanism cannot go together.

I think both Christianity and humanism could be classified as life philosophies. Atheism, so far as I have been able to gather from these forums, does not have any extensive philosophy or belief system behind it. It is simply a lack of belief in God, whereas humanism is a philosophy. I would say the difference between a religion and a philosophy is that religion also includes the heart whereas philosophy is more about the intellect--what we think about something. Religion includes both what we feel and what we believe. I think what we feel and believe are on a deeper level of personal commitment than what we think and philosophize.

Christianity is about a God and a relationship with this God. It is also about right belief regarding this God and what this God wants. Thus, it involves the head and heart--feelings and beliefs on a very personal level. It also provides a world view and life philosophy on the purely intellectual level. Thus, Christianity is, can be, and has been, many things for many differenet people throughout the millennia. I don't know this much about any other religion.

I think the biggest difference between Christians and humanists is that Christians expend much energy relating to God and Jesus first, and to their fellow humans second. Humanists relate first and foremost to their fellow humans. At least, theoretically. I am sure some humanists have too many personal problems and insecurities to relate properly to others, just like Christians do.

I think it is also possible that some humanists, as with some Christians, that they have not yet learned too much about self-discipline and they think they have licence to live pretty much as they like. Christians think they can get foregiveness for the asking and humanists might think they deserve anything they might wish for and fail to realize the boundaries they are trespassing.

I'm not sure if I understand humanism too well but I think it is possible to be a humanist and also a Christian


I think that Humanism and Christianity are diametrically opposed systems. Every humanist I have ever met would say that that there is no God, that ethics is situational, that there is no life after death, that views of salvation are illusory and harmful, that man is the most important thing in the Universe, that man has no soul, that there is no heaven or hell, and so on.

Okay, so the second sentence of my post is probably correct.

However, some of the statements you make about humanists also apply to some Christians. I know some very strong and faithful Christians who don't believe in heaven or hell or an afterlife and who do believe in situational ethics. They also believe in God and Jesus. I wasn't sure if one could be a humanist and believe in God, but you say no. [LATER: According to Free Inquiry at the link below you are correct.]

Some Christians are strong humanitarians, though, as in social work and charity--I have that on the authority of a Christian social work professor so I know it's correct. Thus, it would seem that a humanist can be a humanitarian but a humanitarian is not necessarily a humanist.

Nor is a humanist necessarily a humanitarian. I don't think I am because I don't work for Habitat for Humanity or other charity causes. However, the treasurer of my local humanist group does work for Habitat for Humanity. I guess he would be a humanitarian humanist.

I do not think that views of salvation are in and of themselves harmful, nor do I think the human being is necessarily the most important thing in the universe. I found some basic humanist principles in Free Inquiry and they do not say so, either.*

I can see how a fundamentalist Christian might twist them out of context to make them say that, but that is probably not what most humanists believe.

I would have to know exactly what is meant by "soul" before I could make a personal statement on it. I don't think that I will continue to exist after I die--though I can't be absolutely sure, thus I don't believe in the fundamentalist Christian sense of soul. However, there might be other concepts that use the term. Some people identify as spiritual atheists. If I had not found other explanations, I would either believe in some kind of God or identify as a spiritual atheist. There is definitely more to life than can be experienced via the five senses but I believe it begins and ends in the human psyche, as opposed to "out there," but I could be wrong.

*Please be aware that the contents of Free Inquiry are protected by copyright law. Permission is required to copy their articles. Normally, it is considered fair use to copy a very brief passage (I suggest a limit of 20 words in this case) from a copyrighted work without permission. As members probably know, if you paraphrase or copy even one word, you MUST post a link back to the article. Remember to put quotation marks around the word or words that you copy.

Here the Institute for Humanist Studies provides a brief and simple explanation for humanism. It's under three heading: Are you a humanist?, Humanism in brief, and Definistion of humanism.

None if it says that religion is harmful. I think it's Dawkins who says religion is child abuse. Fundamentalist religion tends to be abusive in that it puts people in a double bind. Many of us lay people on exChristian say that out of our own bitter experiences. But humanism seems not to make that statement on the official level.

In the definitions section, the Merriam Webster Dictionary is quoted as saying:



Note that it does not rule out supernaturalism. It says humanism "usually rejects supernaturalism." This implies that supernaturalism is not necessarily rejected. Apparently, Christianity and Humanism are not diametrically opposed as you claim, Marti. As has been shown in this thread, the two systems have more in common than not. Thus, I conclude that the "diametric opposition" exists mainly in the fundamentalist Christian's imagination.