Religious Tolerance: Can We Get in on That, Too?

by Sara on 07/15/09 filed under religion

Many people are under the impression that being an atheist requires as much faith as it does to believe in God – in fact, many claim that an atheistic worldview requires MORE faith. And if atheism requires faith, it must be a religion.

According to an article by Ken Ham on the Answers in Genesis website:

…atheism is a worldview. Its a religion – they explain life without God, by naturalism. This is the religion of much of the public school system these days.

So, is Atheism a Religion?

The truth is, of course, that atheism is not a religion. Everyone knows this. Sure, our worthy opponents might throw out that particular barb when they feel theyve tried everything else. (“Oh yeah, well, YOU’RE religious, too!” has the same ring to it as, “I know YOU are, but what am I.”) But still, deep down, they know, just KNOW, that atheism isnt in the same camp as Christianity, Judaism, or any of the worlds religions. The reasoning behind this is simple: if atheism was a religion, it would be treated with the same politically-correct kid gloves that most other world religions generally command.

If Youve Been to Texas Lately, You May Have Noticed…

Recently, the folks at Answers in Genesis (the same folks who called atheism a religion just a few paragraphs ago) put up a billboard in Texas with a decidedly anti-atheist spin. The billboard depicts a young boy pointing a gun at the viewer. Beside the boy, the caption reads, “If God doesnt matter to him, do you?”

In case you miss the billboard, Answers in Genesis has taken out a similar TV ad, in which a young boy points a gun at the camera while an announcer says, “If you dont matter to God, you dont matter to anyone.”

In response to some of the flack theyve received, AIG said the following:

“One needs to consider what would happen if a students entire worldview were built on the foundation of atheistic evolution. If man is just an animal, and there is no God-if we are just “all animals, descendants of a vast lineage of replicators sprung from primordial pond scum,” as stated in a Scientific American article on social Darwinism in 1995 – then what one bag of biological chemicals does to another bag of biological chemicals is ethically irrelevant.1 After all, if we are just chemicals arranged in no particular way, then there is no ultimate purpose and meaning in life – except ones subjective view of things while alive…

The boy depicted in the video clip represents how so many more young people are prone to violence nowadays (which has been on the rise since Columbine ten years ago). In this video clip-and its limited text-people are directed to seek out our website for an answer to the general question: “Why is there so much violence and death in this world-and does God have anything to do with it?” In fact, when this campaign appeared in 2006, it was linked to a page on our website discussing the lack of purpose and direction that atheistic naturalism gives to generations of young people.”

So an atheistic world view can lead students to lack purpose and direction, and eventually, to carry out acts of violence. In other words, if a person is an atheist, whats to stop them from going on a killing spree?

Now, Close Your Eyes and Try to Imagine…

What would happen if Answers in Genesis ran a billboard with a man in a turban, holding a lit bomb? Or what if they re-ran this gem from Nazi Germany which painted the Jewish people as dangerous to society?

TV ads like that are extremely unlikely in this politically correct day and age—but gun-totting atheists on a billboard? No prob.

Is Atheism a Religion? YOU TELL ME…

So please folks, make a choice. Either A) stop calling atheism a religion, or B) treat athiests with the respect generally owed to religions around the world.
And for those of you going with B – anyone care to donate to the Skeptical Monkey collection plate?