Atheism is a Religion

Hello and thank you for accepting! I personally find the first definition of atheism ("archaic : ungodliness, wickedness") quite derogatory and misleading, and I am confident in stating that very few atheists would define atheism this way. I understand that my opponent simply copied the MW definition and that isn't necessarily their view of atheists, but I think it is important to address. My opponent states "Atheism is in concordance with the fourth full definition and third simple definition of religion," thus making atheism a religion. If we actually look at what these definitions are saying, we will see that atheism clearly cannot be classified as a religion. The fourth full definition of religion, "a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith" simply does not apply to atheism. Let's dissect this definition. Atheism is not a "cause." Atheists do not have an ultimate purpose or agenda; the word atheism simply communicates their disbelief of gods. Next, atheists do not all share a "principle", defined by MW as "a moral rule or belief that helps you know what is right and wrong and that influences your actions." The only belief which applies to all atheists is that there are no gods. Atheists do not find their "moral rules" through atheism, but rather through methods such as rational thinking, the Golden Rule, etc. Atheism is not a "system of beliefs." Atheists only share one belief: there are no gods. That statement is too simple to be called a "system." Lastly, atheists' disbelief in gods is not "held to with ardor or faith." Ardor is defined by MW as "a strong feeling of energy or eagerness." Atheists generally do not run around telling people that they do not believe in gods the same way that people bring up their fascination with CrossFit. People usually share things they believe in more often than what they don't believe in. And atheists do not require faith to identify as atheists. Usually, people call themselves atheists precisely because they do not have faith in the same way that religious people do. The third simple definition of religion, "an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group" is so vague that it could encompass almost anything. Music is very important to me. I am interested in it and I know for a fact that there are others who also view music as important. Yet I (and most of the people I know) do not consider music a religion (at least no more than when people jokingly say that football is their religion). Anybody can claim that something is very important to them, yet that doesn't usually compel them to instantly deem it as their religion. Besides, to use such broad terminology to define religion seems demeaning to people who are very religious. To people whose lives have been completely shaped by religion since their birth, telling them that their way of life is simply an important, shared belief seems a bit disrespectful and detracts a lot of meaning. If we consider how many religions there are around the world and how the definition of what it means to be religious changes from person to person, we must accept that religion is too complex to be defined by a few words in a dictionary. The initial definition I gave of religion was what I felt a simple place to start, but not one to stick with. If I was an alien coming to visit earth and I read their dictionary definition of religion, I would still be very unclear about what it actually says about the people to be religious. To fully understand religion one must actually observe those who identify as religious and compare and contrast their habits with those who identify as atheist. This includes how they go about their lives and their views on the universe. Let's take a look at some extremely common aspects of the religion. -prayer -holidays (ex. Ramadan, Yom Kippur) -sacred texts/symbols (ex. Bible, Quran, the cross) -places of worship (ex. church, mosque, temple, monastery) -praise of central figures (ex. Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha) -portrayal of an afterlife (ex. heaven/hell, reincarnation) While not every single religion conducts all of these practices, they are very widespread among religions around the world. Now, if atheism is truly a religion, it must share at least one of these elements, right? Let's take a look. - ... It appears that atheists share absolutely none of the above aspects of religion. Not one. True, some atheists may still believe in heaven, but whether they do or not is a separate matter from their disbelief in gods. A lot of people see atheism as something a lot more complicated than it actually is. It is really quite simple: the disbelief in gods. That is the one, single common view that all atheists share. I believe that I have already demonstrated that simply sharing a belief with other people is too general to be called a religion. Atheism is not a religion and doesn't share the central traits of one. I await my opponent's reply!