Atheism IS a religion

Signposting1. I will take the liberty of filling in my opponent's many assumptions and missing premises to form several coherent arguments for her side. 2. I will then intellectually eviscerate the improved arguments.3. Finally, I will present my own arguments as to why atheism lacks requisite characteristics to reasonably be clasified a religion. Deconstructing Opponent's ArgumentsRE: Definitional Deductive SyllogismsI.Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or godsAtheism is a religion -----------Therefore------------Atheism is a belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or godsThis is a patently false conclusion: atheism is the lack of belief in god/s [1. http://www.infidels.org...], which necessarily entails a lack of worship for god/s.II. Religion is details of belief as taught or discussed. Atheism is a religion-----------Therefore------------- Atheism is details of belief as taught or discussed This conclusion is more likely, but the first premise still has a fatal problem: being too broad. Under this definition of religion, any normal or absurd belief that is discussed or taught falls under this classification: history, cannibalism, science, witches, epistemology, culinary arts, etc. It fails because it subsumes too much without properly understanding the characteristics that make religion religion in the first place.RE: Atheism Requires FaithAtheism requires faith + Atheism has a creed of faith Religion requires faith + has a creed of faith--------------------------------------------------------------------- Atheism is a religionThis argument relies on the assumption that "there is no objective way to determine whether God does or doesn't exist, and since all propositions are created equal, atheism and theism both require faith." But not all propositions are created equal--the proposition that God or gods exist is unfalsifiable hypothesis (a hypothesis that cannot be disproven), whereas the proposition of atheism is merely a lack of belief in the propostion that 'god/s exist' through a lack of information to test the claim, not caring to test the claim, not understanding the claim, etc--there are a variety of reasons for not believing your claim. Counterexample: I tell you there is a giant anus that hovers over me and will swallow me if I don't behave. You proceed to ask for evidence, but I say that there is no evidence for the existence of the giant hovering anus, it requires faith. Is your disbelief in the giant anus hovering above my head grounded on faith? No, because it's absurd to shift the burden of proof from the person making the claim that something paranormal exists to the person who simply does not believe the claim for any number of reasons. I have the burden of proof to demonstrate the claim; you don't have the burden of proof to negate the claim, one you may not even be aware of. "Extraodinary claims require extraodinary evidence." -Carl Sagan. The evidence for naturalism (which subsumes atheism) surrounds us and can be understood through science. The lack of evidence for God/s is adequate support for the position of atheism, the lack of belief in God/s, a position that doesn't move past the available strong argument and evidence--thus, not requiring faith. Religion and theism move past the realm of strong argument and evidence into the realm of extraodinary paranormal claims with insufficient evidence, the belief in which requires faith.Propositions consistent with strong evidence and argument do not require faithAtheism is consistent with the strong evidence and argument that god/s do not exist -----------------------------------------therefore---------------------------------------Atheism does not require faithReligion requires faith---------------------------------------therefore---------------------------------------Atheism is not a religionEstablishing Con Case The religion section of The Encyclopedia of Philosophy mentions nine qualifications for religions. The more qualifications out of the nine, the more “religious-like” the belief system is. Belief in supernatural beings (gods). Boom, atheism does not fit the criteria of the most basic requirement of religion: belief in supernatural beings. A basic justification for this is the etymology of the word. Atheism comes from the Greek atheos: a- “without” and theos “a god,” meaning “without god/s.” [2. http://www.etymonline.com...] A distinction between sacred and profane objects. Whereas in Catholic churches water is “holy” and the altar is the place for “sacred offerings,” atheists make no distinction between arbitrary or doctrinal justification for sacred and non-sacred/profane objects. To an atheist, a large, bronze statue of Baal in a sunny park would just be seen as artwork, but to Christians and Jews, the “artwork” would be seen as profane and blasphemous. Ritual acts focused on sacred objects. As we’ve established, atheists don’t have a sacred object like a Pastafarian pasta strainer or a Judaic yarmulke; therefore, they do not have acts that focus on them, because the sacred objects are as non-existent as the gods they are told have “great evidence.” You won’t see an atheist walking a 200 mile jaunt while flagellating his back on holy day. You won’t see an atheist symbolically eating the flesh and blood of another man in some sort of benign cannibalistic ritual, and there is nothing that doctrinally compels him to do so. A moral code believed to be sanctioned by the gods. Seeing as though atheism is the lack of belief or disbelief that god/s exist, it is reasonable to conclude that they don’t believe that a moral code exists which is sanctioned by said non-existent god/s. Characteristically religious feelings (awe, sense of mystery, sense of guilt, adoration), which tend to be aroused in the presence of sacred objects and during the practice of ritual, and which are connected in idea with the gods. This is a quadruple cluster of wrong. Atheism doesn’t inspire any such religious feelings any more than not believing in Santa Claus would fill you with wonder. However, that does not leave the atheist without room for spiritual experience, which is another discussion. Again, atheists do not believe in god/s, nor do they have sacred objects or rituals surrounding those objects. Prayer and other forms of communication with gods. Ask yourself, “what would be the point of praying, if I strongly did not believe an imaginary being existed.” Atheism is the disbelief that god/s exist, so prayer and other forms of communication with the gods is inane. A world view, or a general picture of the world as a whole and the place of the individual therein. Atheism doesn’t have a world view. Anything people want to believe is fine, as long as they don’t believe in gods, they’re still atheists. If atheism did have a world view, then it’s doing an awful job of letting people know, because atheism subsumes an incredibly vast spectrum of people. This picture contains some specification of an over-all purpose or point of the world and an indication of how the individual fits into it. No world view, so people are free to choose their own paths, purposes, and meanings. A more or less total organization of one's life based on the world view. You are totally free as an atheist to organize your life in any manner you see fit. A social group bound together by the above. As none of the above were achieved through reasoning to be applied to atheism, a social group is not bound by any of the preceding qualifications.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If Atheism is a religion...then bald is a hair color.then health is a disease.then abstinence is a form of sex.then unemployment is a career. I look forward to my opponent's rebuttal.