Triangular_Trees wrote:
You do realize that there are dozens of religions out there whose basic premise requires a lack of belief in god, or any godlike entity?
That depends on what your definition of the word 'religion' is.
While some groups have chosen to portray atheism, evolution, humanism, communism, astronomy and many other non-religious isms as religions, I do not. I think that a religion must deal with issues of a greater being or power, must deal with questions like how was the universe created, what is the nature of the soul/what happens after we die, etc. Religions also favor the authority of religious texts over observation and experiments, and they tend to incorporate mythology. Religions have rituals to invoke or cultivate the sacred, and these are faith-based and go beyond the rational.
When scientists describe notions of the 'big bang' they are not being religious (in spite of the fact that they tread on ground that religions claim) - their concepts can either predict the results of measurements, or fail to do so (which requires that the concept be modified or rejected). If a psychologist describes human nature in a way that disagrees with a religion, it does not make psychology a religion.
