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Atheistic religions
- Thread starter willy1590
- Start date
Well, technically any and all religions could be classified as "atheistic" from a certain point of view as pretty much all religions are atheistic with respect to some particular god-concept. For example, those who don't believe on the so-called "one true god" of the Abrahamics are "atheist" to such believers. IMHO, no person lacks something that is the equivalent of a god-concept. Even humanism has something it reveres as sacred and worthy of honor and respect: humanity itself. I don't find the labels "atheist" and "theist" particularly useful unless said with respect to a specific god-concept, as god-concepts literally cover all possible territory of the universe. What sorts of god-concepts were you wanting to stay away from with this list? Supernaturalistic ones? Omnibenevolent ones? What?
lunakilo
Well-Known Member
The Sum of Awe
Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
Ah so basically just search "Philosophy groups" or something 
How can Hinduism be atheistic? The vedas are all theistic right?
Humanism isn't a religion it's a life stance, another atheistic life-stance would be Objectivism.
Breathe
Hostis humani generis
Honestly, I don't understand it myself, and yes, the Vedas are pretty theistic, being odes to Agni, Indra, Mitra, and so on, but a couple of people here and there disagree.
Hmm...I've seen the notion that all people have a god-concept peddled around a few times, but I honestly don't believe I have one. Unfair to ask you what mine would be in your opinion, of course, but do you truly reject the possibility of someone living without a god-concept?
I mentioned this in another similar thread, but Confucianism, maybe?
Stripped of all the alleged attributes associated with various god-concepts in a specific culture or religion, all "gods" boils down to are things a culture or person deems worthy of worship (aka, worthy of respect, honor, reverence). Gods are things you cherish, celebrate, are thankful for; things perhaps that are awe-inspiring or have a sense of grandeur to them. I don't feel it is possible for any sufficiently sapient human being to lack such a sentiment. Whether or not they put the label "gods" on it is largely irrelevant: it's the underlying sentiment that's important.
I couldn't tell you what your god-concept would be, because I don't know what you value and cherish. It could be the Spirit of Family, the Spirit of Workmanship, the Spirits of Seasons... whatever. Whatever you could call sacred and provides meaningfulness or purpose to you. There's so much in reality to choose from, and you get to pick.
I couldn't tell you what your god-concept would be, because I don't know what you value and cherish. It could be the Spirit of Family, the Spirit of Workmanship, the Spirits of Seasons... whatever. Whatever you could call sacred and provides meaningfulness or purpose to you. There's so much in reality to choose from, and you get to pick.
Breathe
Hostis humani generis
Ftr, I don't understand why some people think of Confucianism as atheistic or non-theistic. Even a quick read of the Analects show that isn't the case, and Confucius was definitely not an agnostic or atheist. I've never met an East Asian (IRL) who thought of Confucianism as atheistic or even non-theistic. (Neo-Confucianism is a slightly different story, but that's probably from the influence of Daoism and Buddhism.)
It looks like something done by Western scholars which has continued along.
Stripped of all the alleged attributes associated with various god-concepts in a specific culture or religion, all "gods" boils down to are things a culture or person deems worthy of worship (aka, worthy of respect, honor, reverence). Gods are things you cherish, celebrate, are thankful for; things perhaps that are awe-inspiring or have a sense of grandeur to them. I don't feel it is possible for any sufficiently sapient human being to lack such a sentiment. Whether or not they put the label "gods" on it is largely irrelevant: it's the underlying sentiment that's important.
I couldn't tell you what your god-concept would be, because I don't know what you value and cherish. It could be the Spirit of Family, the Spirit of Workmanship, the Spirits of Seasons... whatever. Whatever you could call sacred and provides meaningfulness or purpose to you. There's so much in reality to choose from, and you get to pick.
I see where you are coming from...the difference is in how we define a god-concept. I cherish, celebrate, and are thankful for many things. I assign no particular value to them on a supernatural, or higher level, and I don't worship them. Wouldn't use the word sacred in relation to them either. But based on your definition of god-concept, I see what you mean. Thanks!
Odion...I would be the first to admit I know very little about Confucianism. Haven't done any significant reading or research of my own (hence the maybe?). I have read some suggesting the references to Heaven can be taken/translated non-literally? But I would suspect even then it's more non-theistic than atheist.
Breathe
Hostis humani generis
I consider myself to be a follow of Confucianism to some extent, among other religions.
Short answer: no.
That's a later interpretation; for Confucius, Shangdi (The Lord Above) and Tian (Heaven) are generally interchangeable.
Shangdi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To interpret Tian non-literally, one has to ignore that the Mandate of Heaven can be lost and gained, as well.
In addition, some quotes that show otherwise:
The Master said, "Alas! there is no one that knows me." Zi Gong said, "What do you mean by thus saying - that no one knows you?" The Master replied, "I do not murmur against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there is Heaven - that knows me!"
The Master was put in fear in Kuang. He said, "After the death of King Wen, was not the cause of truth lodged here in me? If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such a relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the people of Kuang do to me?"
"He who sins against Heaven has none to whom he can pray."
These are all quotes attributed to Confucius in the Analects. It also makes sense as an interpretation of Tian as an actual divinity as opposed to a metaphorical one when we look at Mozi, a contemporary of Confucius, who believed in Tian, too, but his teachings were slightly different from Mozi in that he preached and advocated universal love, not advocating one's family first, etc.
dyanaprajna2011
Dharmapala
Let's see: some people consider humanism a kind of religion, there's also naturalistic pantheism, Buddhism, some interpretations of Jainism, some schools of Hinduism, some schools in Taoism, non-theistic Quakers, to name some off the top of my head.
I consider myself to be a follow of Confucianism to some extent, among other religions.
Short answer: no.
That's a later interpretation; for Confucius, Shangdi (The Lord Above) and Tian (Heaven) are generally interchangeable.
Shangdi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To interpret Tian non-literally, one has to ignore that the Mandate of Heaven can be lost and gained, as well.
In addition, some quotes that show otherwise:
The Master said, "Alas! there is no one that knows me." Zi Gong said, "What do you mean by thus saying - that no one knows you?" The Master replied, "I do not murmur against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there is Heaven - that knows me!"
The Master was put in fear in Kuang. He said, "After the death of King Wen, was not the cause of truth lodged here in me? If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such a relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the people of Kuang do to me?"
"He who sins against Heaven has none to whom he can pray."
These are all quotes attributed to Confucius in the Analects. It also makes sense as an interpretation of Tian as an actual divinity as opposed to a metaphorical one when we look at Mozi, a contemporary of Confucius, who believed in Tian, too, but his teachings were slightly different from Mozi in that he preached and advocated universal love, not advocating one's family first, etc.
Hey, thanks for taking the time to inform me.
Breathe
Hostis humani generis
Any time, you're very welcome.Hey, thanks for taking the time to inform me.
Not a problem. I'd keep in mind that the term "supernatural" is one of those things cultures ascribe that isn't part of the base concept. Supernaturalistic god-concepts are primarily a thing if your god-concept is also transcendent, or separate from reality. If your gods are immanent - which they are in Pagan religions - the supernaturalistic attribution isn't there. This is why, ironically, I sometimes have more in common with atheists than theists in my culture because I do not recognize the predominating supernatural god-concept of Westerners any more than they do.
Atheism is a religion the same way as Off is a TV-channel.
If you are atheistic you do not believe in a religion. You can still get a lot of meaning out of the philosophy that is behind the religion, but the religion itself is about supernatural beings and events, specifically God or Gods, and an atheist does not believe that God or Gods exist.
If you are atheistic you do not believe in a religion. You can still get a lot of meaning out of the philosophy that is behind the religion, but the religion itself is about supernatural beings and events, specifically God or Gods, and an atheist does not believe that God or Gods exist.
Breathe
Hostis humani generis
Wrong on all counts.
See some forms of Jainism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Scientology. Raëlism is a modern, but explicitly atheistic religion.
Caladan
Agnostic Pantheist
There is plenty of grey area in between. There are people who are less concerned with the belief in a personal God and more concerned with mental processes, personal transformation, and various physical/psychological techniques. All of this can be done through rituals, meditative techniques, reading of the esoteric kind, or pantheistic approaches to the natural world. Today in a world which is more conscious to diversity, people can throw themselves into an anthropological experiment with the goal of a personal journey rather than trying to reach the traditional goals of the dogma of organized religion.
Describing atheism as simply the lack of religion, or the lack of belief in God is ignoring a wide spectrum of ideas that are independent of God-belief. If the final word in all matters of religion is traditional patriarchy with traditional theology of salvation or heaven and hell we wouldn't have much left to discuss here.
Atheism and religion are not mutually exclusive. This forum in particular has many members who do not discuss a god, their salvation, the afterlife, or any other traditional supernatural beliefs held by some of the major religions. Instead these members look at the world of analogies, cognition, reflection, the mind, human interaction with the natural world, and perhaps most importantly how they interact with the natural and social worlds.