Evolution is a religion

Before I begin argument in negation of the resolution, I would like to define some terms to help clarify and crystallize the course of this debate. Dictionary. com provides the following definitions: reï¿½liï¿½gion –noun 1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. evï¿½oï¿½luï¿½tion –noun 1. any process of formation or growth; development You must clearly negate this resolution, as the Pro can offer no argument whatsoever to prove that "Any process of formation or growth" is "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe. .. " I'm at a loss here, as a debater, as to what contentions I need to emphasize. I suppose I'll go about proving how growth is not belief. 1)First, you can see that evolution is not a religion because it does not require belief to occur. My opponent would contend that any form of evolution, any evolvement be it within the military strategy in Iraq, or the micro-evolution of the finches Darwin observed is a religion. However there is no evidence, no proof, that this is so. In fact, none of the given scenarios require beliefs at all. These scenarios derive solely from a cause -> effect, and ignore belief. A)Take for example the military strategy in Iraq, the U. S. Government reforms the plan, evolves it, if you will, based on the current situation in Iraq. This requires no belief, it's based solely around cause -> effect. I'm sure many of us here have taken Algebra, look at this as a metaphor. The cause of the evolvement of the military strategy is the independant variable, and the evolvement of the strategy is the dependant variable. Beliefs would be another variable altogether, upsetting the algorithm. B)Also, look at the finch scenario. The finches had different beaks, due to their surroundings differing. This clearly demonstrates the cause -> effect idea, because it doesn't require any belief, any system of ideas on the creation of the universe to occur. How can you possibly argue that a system that requires no beliefs or ideals to occur can possibly be a belief system? That's completely contradictory to the definition of belief! 2)Evolution cannot be a religion because it is not a belief. I have thoroughly proven that evolution requires no beliefs in order to occur, so therefore, as evolution requires no beliefs to occur it cannot possibly be a belief itself. Evolution does not refer to the idea of evolution. That's not evolution, that's the Evolutionary Theory or the theory of Natural Selection. These are things that we are not debating today, we are debating evolution. As you can clearly see, the evolution that we are discussing here is the physical act of evolution. This physical act is not a belief, because it's demonstrated physically as a cause to effect. www. dictionary. com also defines evolution as "a motion incomplete in itself, but combining with coordinated motions to produce a single action, as in a machine. " this only reaffirms the cause->effect instance. Evolution is the regulated effect that occurs when something sparks, machinelike. As any logic thinking being will agree, a machine is not a belief. I do not believe in my toaster. However, when I put bread in, it comes out toasted. This requires no belief, this action is not a belief, and evolution is not a belief. 3) As Evolution requires no beliefs and is not composed of beliefs, it cannot be religious in nature or character. As you can see, I have fully proven that evolution requires no beliefs and is not composed of said beliefs. That being said, let us look to the definition of religion once more: "a set of beliefs. .. " as you can see, the act of evolution requires no belief. It is not a set of beliefs, it is a calculated physical motion presented in response to a cause. Because of this, it cannot be a religion, as it does not share the characteristic of belief which is a requirement of religion. As you can see, evolution cannot be a religion because: 1) It does not require beliefs to function. 2) It is not a belief. 3) Because it does not require belief, and is not a belief itself, it does not share the main component of religion.