Atheism is not a religion.

I’d like to kindly remind my opponent that this round is for rebuttals. Thanks for reading and debating! :DMy opponent begins by defining atheism as, “a belief in which there is no god and/or deity” and religion as, “a specific fundamental set of beliefs AND practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects.”Immediately one’s intellect alerts himself to the major discrepancy between the two terms and definitions. Firstly, atheism doesn’t have a “set of practices.” Secondly, atheism doesn’t have factions or sects that break apart the almost nonexistent fabric of atheism; atheism and atheists are unified through their lack of belief in deities. Lastly, atheism isn’t a set of beliefs, it’s one belief, if you consider rational doubting in the face of pitiful/nonexistent evidence a belief.“I am not entirely sure how the criteria presented by Pro are official and if it is widely accepted”The criteria I established come from a highly reputable source, The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The criteria are valid, because there is obviously not one component of religion that makes it so; there is no “special sauce.” Religion is composed of common elements throughout history and throughout the world. These nine most common elements identify a religion as being more or less “religious-like.” This is a better qualification than a dictionary.com reference.“Philosophies based on the non-existence of deities”The first problem with even this contention’s title is that it is blatantly illogical to assert that a number of philosophies comes out of absolutely nothing. Atheism is neutral and nothing, the only way to build off of atheism, is to not use atheism as a base. You could accept political dogma, religious dogma, or some other sort of belief or philosophy. The reason atheism doesn’t produce philosophies is the same reason not collecting stamps doesn’t produce hobby magazines.“Because someone does not believe in a god or gods does not mean they are devoid of a belief at all.”Agreed, atheists’ beliefs are resemble a connstellation. There is no set of beliefs atheists need follow except for the condition that they do not believe in any god or gods. They can believe in love, science, beauty, human compassion, etc.. But, that does not take root in atheism, it finds its place in the realities of human existence.“Buddhism”A non-theistic religion is still a religion. Buddhism has beliefs in dogma such as the karma principle, nirvana, and zen. It has a founder, a school of thought, and holy books. It satisfies most of the characteristics of religion according to the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, therefore, is a religion. Atheism is not a sacred doctrine of Buddhism or a meaningful part of Buddhism; Buddhists just reject the notion of an omnipotent creator deity. Buddhism is a religion, atheism, by itself, is not.“Scientology”Scientologists have a set of beliefs in dianetics, thetans, alien stories, past lives, and beliefs against practices such as psychiatry. Scientology uses sacred items, Churches of Scientology, and religious ceremonies. Scientology is a religion with many crazy beliefs just like Christianity and Hinduism.“Humanism”Humanism, “is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns, attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters.” This focuses on the value of human life and what humans themselves value. The source of this philosophy is not disbelief or lack of belief in deity, but rather from the source of humanity and human endeavor. As a member of the human species, I attach a higher importance to a human than a lower animal. I want to see people thrive; I cringe at genocide; I rejoice in the highest achievements of mankind. This philosophy is essentially contrary to theology, which sees humanity through the prism of religion, whereas humanism sees humanity without any biased obstruction to truth. “Realism”Realism holds that, “reality exists independently of observers, whether in philosophy itself or in the applied arts and sciences.” It’s hard to tell how this is a valid attempt to assert your position that atheism is a religion. Even if one of the previous religions/philosophies had your intended effect, you would still be where you are: holding an empty sack. Objectivism is its independent philosophy, it isn’t directly related to atheism. There are objectivist and subjectivist approaches to morality from those people who identify as atheists, so as you can tell, this doesn’t undermine my claim or assert yours.“Buddhism has the Eight-Fold Path that describes what traits to follow to lead a good life and have acceptable moral standards”Buddhism is a religion based on the teaching of a primary man. His philosophies stemmed from his own worldview. They do not stem from atheism. Buddhist holy books are not atheist holy books, etc... Any atheist can search for his or her own meaning to life, subjectivist, objectivist, categorical imperative, etc.. it does not flow from the lack of belief in a deity, and the diverse range of ideas about morality from atheists demonstrate this fact aptly.“Sacred and profane things are both described in their respective "holy" books.”You have yet to show that atheism itself has any holy books and/or things.“Atheism does not inspire religious feelings? Refer to the non-theistic religions stated above.”Atheism doesn’t inspire religious feelings, because it is a lack of belief in a deity and has a lack of religious iconography, literature, and everything else that would make it a religion. Atheists are however open to spiritual experience without being religious or theists.Thanks!! :D