Does Atheism = No beliefs?

What's the difference between an "irreligious passion" vs a "religious zeal"? I don't see a difference at all. Is an irreligious passion less persuasive? Less political? I think it has a very comparable connotation in society. When atheists are asked about themselves or when describing themselves, the subject of evolution will come up just as quickly as the subject of God will come up for a religious person. Prominent atheist people, whether a biologist like Richard Dawkins or a commedian like Bill Maher, always seem to have a politically liberal point of view. Is there a such thing as a radical right atheist?Here is the first paragraph from the Humanist Manifesto;

quote:

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The time has come for widespread recognition of the radical changes in religious beliefs throughout the modern world. The time is past for mere revision of traditional attitudes. Science and economic change have disrupted the old beliefs. Religions the world over are under the necessity of coming to terms with new conditions created by a vastly increased knowledge and experience. In every field of human activity, the vital movement is now in the direction of a candid and explicit humanism. In order that religious humanism may be better understood we, the undersigned, desire to make certain affirmations which we believe the facts of our contemporary life demonstrate.

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Is there a single atheist who doesn't agree with this? Doesn't this unite them in a way comparable to religion?

Yes. There are plenty of right wing atheists. Probably millions. No. Atheism emphatically does not mean humanism. Some atheists are humanists, but the correct point that's been made repeatedly in this thread is that atheists are not united by any common philosophy or political beliefs. (And your quote wouldn't even unite all humanists).The only thing that all atheists have in common is that they don't believe in any gods. Trying to find something else is just like trying to find something that all people who do not believe in elves have in common. It's impossible. Forget it!

Any well known ones, ones who broadcast their conservative opinions? I'm not taunting you - I'd honestly like to know. David Horowitz is an agnostic conservative, he's the only one I know of. But he's an agnostic in the true sense - not a lot of similarity between his agnosticism and atheism. They're not united by evolution?

You are a dedicated theist. I understand this is difficult for you to wrap your mind around. You seem to need to see atheist as some sort of body of philosophical parameters. More so you seem want to see atheist as a competitive religious sect. It is not.Each atheist chooses their own mix of philosophical tenants. Some are Humanists, some are epicurean, some are Spinozan, choose any one of a hundred philosophies. There are even atheist Republicans. Hell we're more fragmented than even you christians!Zeal or passion does not make a religion. You may take poetic license to describe a strong emotion as 'religious' but that does not fit the formal definition of what a religion entails. Well, I don't personally know all of them but I would say, just off-hand, that somewhere in the 10s of millions may not totally agree. I can see some attraction but I cannot say I agree. Nope.Edited by AZPaul3, : Fix something. Never mind what it was.

Nope.[abe] And, Marc, as for your avatar ... nope there as well.Edited by AZPaul3, : No reason given.

Ayn Rand was a well known one, if you count dead people. Bruce Willis? Why are you interested in well known ones? Google "conservative atheist" and you'll find web sites, blogs and discussion groups by and for the genre. No. Atheism predates evolutionary theory, for one thing, and I doubt if the followers of traditional non-theistic religions like the Jains would go for purely naturalistic evolution. If you mean united by the theory of evolution, a book by two atheists came out recently criticizing natural selection. Also, babies are implicit atheists, and they're hardly likely to have strong opinions on biology, are they?There's at least one nutty alien-believers sect that is atheistic and anti-evolutionist as well. But the point that you're missing is that atheism doesn't imply any beliefs other than that which is in the word's definition.Think of it like the description "American". There's nothing you can say that is particular to absolutely all Americans that isn't part of the word's definition. Or "theist." There is nothing that unites all theists outside the definition of the word.

Hi Marc,I suspect that there are few vocal right-wing atheists because many secular-minded folks are worried about the extant to which Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christianity now influence the political right in the USA. In Europe, religion is far less of a political football. There are groups like the Conservative Humanist Association, which affiliated to both the British Humanist Association and the Conservative Party. This is despite the presence of many vocal religious advocates on the Conservative benches. They're not united by belief in gravity?Atheism has little or nothing to do with evolution. It only looks that way to you because you're coming at it backwards. Certain forms of Christianity (amongst other religions) have a problem with evolution. No-one else does. That leaves all the non-creationist Christians, agnostics, atheists, deists, all other moderate theists etc., with no reason to deny the obvious. There is no need for anyone to deny evolution unless they belong to certain religious sects. Atheists don't deny evolution because we have no reason to.Mutate and SurvivePS, regarding your avatar; yes, twice, but my aim with a shoe is improving...Edited by Granny Magda, : No reason given.

Like myself, Ayn Rand was an Objectivist.AbE: Opps! Sorry, between this and a few other things I was reading at the same time I got my wires crossed and thought the original question was "any Republicans" instead of "any conservatives". Rand was most definitely conservative atheist.Edited by lyx2no, : No reason given.

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You are now a million miles away from where you were in space-time when you started reading this sentence.

In the skeptic movement, people like Michael Shermer, Penn & Teller, and James Randi are way to the right.I can't think of any atheists who are social conservatives, because obviously social conservatism involves worshiping the primitive taboos of a Bronze Age tribe, which would be stupid. But there's plenty of non-believers who are conservatives qua conservatives. In the same way that they're "united" by the belief that 2 + 2 = 4.Actually, now I think of it, not even that much. A lot of creationist dogma was invented by the atheist and damn fool Fred Hoyle.Edited by Dr Adequate, : No reason given.

So you're the one!Should have practiced more before.

Thank you for sharing your views on Atheism. From reading your comments it is very easy to see from who/where your influences stem.I now have a better understanding of what Atheism means, it means to be a free thinker, and free thinking to an Athiest means repeating what someone else has said.Cheers
DenEdited by Den, : corrected a word

and people say I am an asshole.

The irony is strong in this one. Funny, I was just about to say the same to you. Would you care to expand upon that at all? In particular, would you like to explain why that is so much worse an idea than citing millennia-old religious texts as inerrant holy writ?See Den, we could have an actual grown-up conversation here, like two mature adults, or you could go on taking lame pot-shots at your straw-man version atheism. It's really your choice. You should be aware though, that this is a debate board. You are expected to justify your arguments here. If you want to spew venom without ever addressing any criticism, go get a blog.Mutate and Survive

Haha sorry, but I feel half the time Im just listening to Dawkins repeat himself.I think its interesting that Athiests can argue that their commitiment to a non belief doesnt dampen their objective thought process, I have thus proposed a new topic of allowing these people the opportunity to prove such claims - new topic section ; Why Athiesm = Impossible to find any answers.I know from the weakness of my own debilitating ego that I must not commit myself to anything unless I am completely certain, this is why I question your resolve on a matter which is completely unprovable at this point in human history.Thanks for the discussion, I will try to be more grown up in future.Edited by Den, : No reason given.

I have bad news for you --- you're still wrong.Yeah, it's sucky to be you, isn't it?But stick around, you might learn something.