It is a very odd religion indeed then, one which is identified and labeled as such only by its detractors. It wouldn't be the only such, but what distinguishes atheists from Scientologists or UFO cults is that the others have coherent doctrines and social organizations.
You objected before that the "trappings" of religion -- doctrines, congregations, rituals, temples, etc. -- are only trappings, but that is how we know what a religion is. A religion is a fundamentally social phenomenon. You cannot have a religion of one person.
And if the various political atheist organizations qualify as "temples" then so do companies, governments, financial institutions, political parties, and so on... which they might be from an anthropological perspective i suppose...
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-03-28 04:17 pm (UTC)You objected before that the "trappings" of religion -- doctrines, congregations, rituals, temples, etc. -- are only trappings, but that is how we know what a religion is. A religion is a fundamentally social phenomenon. You cannot have a religion of one person.
And if the various political atheist organizations qualify as "temples" then so do companies, governments, financial institutions, political parties, and so on... which they might be from an anthropological perspective i suppose...