Correspondents in newspapers (the |Guardian for one) recently have taken the opportunity (of Christmas perhaps?) to suggest that atheists do not "believe" anything, that atheism is not a "belief system" and that atheists do not belong to a "belief group". What a lot of self-serving tosh.
I am an atheist and have been for all of my adult life. I BELIEVE there is no God, or even god. I BELIEVE indeed that there is no room or need for such a creature or being or whatever. I share this belief with many people and we are thus a BELIEF GROUP.
More than that I also BELIEVE in science and the scientific way. It is my faith that science and the inquiring minds of humankind can provide already the answer for most things - where we are, what we are, how we are, how we started, how we came to be what we are. Science is even beginning to explain why we are (which I believe to be irrelevant - we just ARE). But I do also believe that because of what we are, how we are, human beings should live their lives in certain ways - not kill, not steal, not lust or yearn after another's privileges or, should they have them, possessions. That children should be loved and cared for. So should the weak, unfortunate and poverty stricken.
This, and much more, is my BELIEF SYSTEM. It is thus my creed and were I given to religious dogma I am sure I could create one to suit. After all so much of it is just as naturally part of other creeds. Maybe if there were an atheist's club then these people would get off their high horses and accept that atheism is a belief system.
Of course they are unlikely to do so since it seems to me that intolerance is the hallmark of the committed religious person. Indeed even the briefest examination of the history or almost all religions will show that mutual hate and intolerance is the key feature that marks them out from those without their kind of religion. Hinduism may just be the exception to prove the rule but up against the wall they too resorted to murder and mayhem after the Raj was kicked out.
Sadly it is my I fear that it is this intolerance that underpins the apparent willingness of some to deride atheism as not being a religion. The process massages their own doubts and provides a kind of glue or scaffolding for their own belief system. Perhaps their target is another group, the Humanists since they do look a bit like a religion from the outside.
But off course the same name callers are right in one way from which all atheists (not Humanists) can take joy - many of us do not have dogma, a hierarchy, a priesthood, nor even an evangelical drive to proselytise our beliefs (well excluding dear old Dawkins of course).
But that does limit our name calling opportunities - it is gangs that fight. We are definitely not a gang, I will accept that.
