Of course, this is nonsense. There is one plainly simple fact that separates athesism from all religions.
And it is this: Religions are based on what followers call ‘Faith’. This ‘Faith’ is a belief in something despite, and in many cases, in the very face of undeniable empirical evidence to the contrary. Religious believers believe what they believe for some other reason very, very apart from a close examination of the facts and rational evaluation of available evidence. Some religious people will say there is evidence, but there isn’t. I haven’t seen any, most other Atheists will also tell you that they haven’t seen any either, and finally, no religious person (or any other person) can provide you with any evidence.
The very opposite is true of Atheists. Genuine Atheists arrive at their conclusion by one of two ways: 1) They are never introduced to the concept of religion (very unlikely), or 2) they thought good and hard about the stuff they were taught at school, see in the media, and in many cases were encouraged to believe by their parents. Atheist are free-thinking, critical people, religious people are not. Atheists do not readily believe stuff simply because somebody (or even everybody) tells them it’s so. They seek proof, and when they don’t get it they suspend belief until they do get it instead of taking the easy option and just believing because it’s easier, which is what religious people do. Atheists tend to believe in Evolution because there is tons of evidence to support the theory. Religious people believe in a god or gods in spite of the fact that there is no evidence to support the theory. ‘Faith’ by its very nature shuns evidence – doesn’t want it, doesn’t need it. Evidence is in fact the very Nemesis of ‘Faith’. When religious people are faced with enough evidence and are prepared to accept it, it often destroys their ‘Faith’. Most of the time, however, religious people do not accept evidence because they are too cosy in their cocoon of ignorance.
Atheists seek the truth; religious people seek The Truth, and they are very different. The truth is what scientists endeavour to understand and explain. The Truth is a description of what religious people would like the answer to Life, The Universe and Everything to look like.
Atheists, like scientists, look for answers to phenomena by seeking real explanation; religious people simply turn to miracles or ‘divine intervention’, which is a fantastically lame catchall solution.
Finally, if atheism is just another religion, why aren’t we treated with the same respect? Atheist rights are as elusive as Gay Rights, Women’s Rights and Black Rights were. In the 21st Century, we are still waiting for the first Atheist Prime Minister or President. You cannot just lump us in the same category for your own convenience because atheism is not just another religion.
