Atheism is a Religion

My opponent writes that common attitudes of atheists such as arguing evolution as true and expressing the belief that there is no supernatural realm "are done in the proof of atheism not in the name." The proof of atheism? This statement is meaningless because atheism does not assert anything that must be proven. Atheism is neither trying to be true nor are atheists asserting that they possess the truth. Pro claims that Christians do not observe the Sabbath (aka attend church services on Sunday) "in the name of Christianity but in the name of tradition." Where does that tradition come from, if not their sacred text, the pinnacle of their belief system? They absolutely do observe the Sabbath in the name of Christianity. They are compelled to do so in the Ten Commandments, one of the most well known parts of the Bible. Exodus 20:8 states "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (King James Version). This demonstrates what separates atheism from religion. Atheism does not have a set of rules, or subsets of beliefs hidden behind it. In fact there is nothing hidden behind atheism. Later, Pro writes "Atheism definitely shares common ideology and this is surely what makes it a religion." I bet that Pro and I share the common ideology that water is wet and that water often falls from the sky. But my opponent and I most certainly do not consider this a religion. Why must we consider something so basic a religion rather than just "common ideology"? Likewise, what sense is there in placing atheism under the umbrella of religion? Pro has continuously attempted to transform the definition of atheism from its simplicity to something completely different. Pro has asserted that atheists think the notion of a god is ridiculous, that they cannot believe in the supernatural, that they must have faith in there being no gods and that atheism is a deeply held school of thought. Atheists do not believe in gods. What is so deep about that? How can one assert atheism is a religion if one does not comprehend the definition of atheism? A pattern has arisen from my opponent's arguments. Pro has bundled together common attitudes of atheists and attempted to apply them to all of atheism. This logic is equivalent to equating correlation with causation, which is a fallacy in and of itself. Pro notes that many atheists (often found in Youtube videos) are very outspoken about their anti-religious views (ex. the idea of god being ridiculous), and makes the correlation that the majority of atheists musts be like this. The reason certain atheists like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins are famous is precisely because they do NOT represent the majority of atheists. Their views are more extreme than the average atheist, which is why they receive attention. If Richard Dawkins were to appear on camera and only state "I'm an atheist, I do not believe in gods," nobody would care. In reality he says much more than that, much of which my opponent has brought up as some of the stereotypical attitudes and beliefs of atheists. Most atheists keep to themselves and go about their lives. While I have highlighted many of my opponent's flawed arguments, Pro did make a wise point at the end of round three, saying that the crux of this debate is not whether atheism is a religion but how we are supposed to define religion. So perhaps in addition to pondering whether atheism can be viewed as a religion, I move that we ask if atheists consider atheism a religion. My opponent wrote about a Buddhist who chooses not to pray and asked if we can still call him/her a Buddhist. I would say who are we to tell others how they are allowed to identify themselves? Pro stated "When I speak upon [atheism] the Con must remember I do not speak upon every existing atheist but the general majority." The general majority of atheists do not consider atheism a religion, thus we should not call them something they do not claim to be. Atheism is the lack of belief in gods. It is a single stance on a single belief. It is not a religion. I thank Khayil for a respectful and educating debate. I hope we have succeeded in promoting thought and reason among both theists and atheists alike.