Atheism is a religion founded on faith.

Thanks again, Roy, for taking this debate. Disbelief is not a belief This is a lame argument one can find in any Atheist forum. "I don't believe in God", "I believe God does not exist" "I believe modern science disproves the existence of god". Petty and not worth much attention in my opinion. A hobby requires an action, so no, not collecting stamps is not a hobby. To be a religion requires " a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith." ie. Faith that modern science disproves the possibility of some form of diety. What would you think about a stamp collector mocking a bottle cap collector? I could not find any leprechaun movements. No one is fighting for seperation of leprechaun and state. No students, to my knowledge, have asked to have leprechaun prayer time in school. Even if I didn't believe in leprechauns, I would not claim to be offended if my town hall placed a "pot of gold" on public property. My opponent obviously still misses the point. Concerning Buddist, I will paste a qoute from the first page of the link, Religion Facts, that my opponent provided. "On the other hand, the Buddha did not explicitly rule out the existence of a God or gods" Show me an American Atheist who does not "explicitly rule out the existence of a God or gods", and I'll show you an Agnostic. >>>Pro states, "My opponent proclaims that 'Buddhists who follow the teaching not to even consider the question of whether or not there are gods[,]....don't believe' in a god. This is not true. They only choose not to ask." I challenge Pro to clarify how "not considering the question" differs from "choosing not to ask."<<< It doesn't differ. Not considering or not asking does not equate to disbelieving. No Buddist claim that modern science disproves the existence of a diety. No American Atheist believe in reincarnation. "2. A religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe" And the faith Atheist have in modern science fits this criterion perfectly. My opponent claims that not all Atheist believe in modern science. His claim of proof is Buddism. Even if I were to concede that Buddist are Atheist(I don't), it would be no different then the different sects of Christiananity or the differences in all deity based religions. So yes, I am speaking of the sect of Atheism that subscribe to the "tenents" of modern science. My opponent has succesfully proved that there are different sects of true Atheism also. "virtually no one(Atheist in Japan) objects to official state-sponsorship of Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines. (Shinto has many deities.) They value tradition more highly than belief or non-belief." This is a huge distinction between Japanese and American Atheism. My opponent sites his own poll and claims that "few(Atheist) had objections to public Christmas Trees and such. I am very much in doubt that "and such" includes Nativity Scenes, Crucifixes, The Ten Commandments, etc. All common traditions in America. After all "He is the reason for the season". My opponent claims that lawsuits concerning the false doctrine of "seperation of church and state" are brought by "ACLU types who actually are believers". The ACLU can't act without a willing participant with standing to bring a law suit. Here are a few lawsuits brought by Atheist according to Athiest Empire; >>>> The U.S. Supreme Court stepped into the thick of one of the nation longest running First Amendment cases " the dispute over the Mt. Soledad Christian Cross. Atheist Phil Paulson has been fighting for 17 years to have this religious monument removed from public land. Government and religious groups, however, have resorted to every conceivable ploy to keep this enormous sectarian symbol standing." American Atheists filed suit in federal court on Friday over a case involving "prayer bullying and conspiracy to violate the rights of an Atheist family in Oklahoma. Chester Smalkowski and his family have been taking a stand for freedom from religion, and now charge a battery of local officials with illegal behavior and conspiracy. American Atheists files suit in federal against the City of Jacksonville, Fla. which used over $100,000 in public money to host a glitzy prayer day rally. The suit calls for an end to such government-sponsored religious events, and the return of the money to the taxpayers.<<<<< American Atheist act much like other religions have. Here is one example of Atheist acting like any other religion, pushing there beliefs as the path to salvation; http://www.findingdulcinea.com... Con claims, "The scientific consensus on Evolution is 99.86% affirming it, so it is established science. So there is an educational consensus as well; it is the same reason that flat-earth and an earth-centered universe are not offered as alternatives to round earth and heliocentrism. Neither the restriction of science to science nor the decision to teach according to 99+% consensus are religious beliefs of atheists; they are common to believers as well." Scientific consensus is not proof and there is no established science. Heliocentrism, in it's birth, claimed that the universe revolved around the sun. Everthing science which has been considered established science eventually gets overturned with new findings. Eat raw eggs, don't eat raw eggs. eat raw eggs, don't.. Many scientist around the world do not exclude the possibility of "Inteligent Design". Therefore their is no reason not to introduce the theory in public school science programs. Yet it seems that every time a town wishes to do so, some athiest seeks to ban it. Since the theory is the same as any other theory taught in science class, it seems that Atheist are practicing censorship in the same manner as other religions have. If it walks like a duck....... Con says, "Pro notes "A scientist may theorize that dark matter exist because without it, the universe would be unbalanced." However, dark matter is subject to experimental verification, so it is science. Religion is not subject to verification, so it is not science." The experimental verification of dark matter is no different than the experimental verification of Intelligent Design. The former may be more excepted than latter, yet neither have been verified. Closing my argument The modern day American Atheist movement falls under the criteria both I and my opponent claim to constitute a religion. (a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith./ set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe) The censorship sought by the American Atheist movement is just more proof that Atheism has taken the form of a religion.