Introduction
Some folks of a religious persuasion have asserted that atheism is a faith. Listening to this, Monthly bill Maher stated, If atheism is a faith, then abstinence is a sexual situation. Comparable analogies rebutting the jejune idea that non-perception could be a religion are out there, these kinds of as, if atheism is a religion, then ‘bald’ is a hair color and ‘off is a Tv channel. You get the concept.
By definition, individuals who follow a faith share a established of typical beliefs. The only thread atheists have in frequent is disbelief – in a god or gods. Which is not considerably of a religion.
Wikipedia indicates there are about 4200 religions on planet earth. How are religions commonly understood? For starters, they are related with structured, described sets of beliefs or worldviews. Religions have narratives, symbols and expectations that customers are predicted to fulfill. Religions have supernatural traits, with perception in the existence of issues for which there is no evidence or naturalistic clarification. Illustrations consist of beliefs in heaven and hell, an afterlife, miracles, peace in the Center East or in the efficacy of prayers – or other ritual (e.g., rain dances, voodoo) developed to change the thoughts of an imagined Infinite or alter the course of mother nature.
Atheists by any title (e.g., freethinkers, secular humanists, infidels, agnostics and so on) hold no such spiritual views. On this foundation, it appears that Actual wellness, a philosophy that embraces and extolls cause and all that science entails, would hardly qualify as a faith.
A Surprising Assertion
Properly, that’s what I considered. Then I noticed the artwork and go over developed for Wellness Orgasms: The Entertaining Way to Dwell Well and Die Healthier, my newest operate co-authored with Dr. Grant Donovan, the enigmatic philosopher from Perth, Australia. In a final edit, Grant experienced created an odd sentence in the go over blurb that I proposed we rework. The sentence study as follows:
Orgasms, wellness orgasms, that is, have by no means sounded so healthful, so appealing or so practical as the authors current Real wellness as the only religion.
OMG.
Donovan’s Thinking in Labeling Actual Wellness A Religion
Given that atheism by any title is not a religion, except if the definition of faith is so stretched as to be meaningless, the sentence seemed in need to have of restore. Absolutely we would not want to symbolize Actual wellness as a religion. I wrote to Grant and made my scenario.
The wonderful polymath defined the rationale for this unsettling clarification:
Au contraire, fantastic Tzar of WO. The final sentence personifies irony, satire, sarcasm and hyperbole all in a single little, tiny corner of infinite area. It will be the sentence they review at WO universities and seminaries a hundred many years from now, and question in amazement.
I can also see a Fox reporter interviewing you when the e-book is launched.
Fox Reporter: ‘Dr Ardell, you denounce faith in your e-book but then you claim Real wellness and WOs are the only religion. Is that not a tad hypocritical?’
Don: ‘Not in the the very least, Mr. Peabrain. It has been confirmed through the total history of human meaninglessness that most folks need thoughts-altering drugs and virgins in the clouds to make their depressing daily life ordeals even mildly bearable. WOs and the pursuit of Actual wellness provides that means to wretched life in a quasi-secular, religious-type way. Besides, ISUS (irony and satire in the U.S.) is a far superior spiritual movement to ISIS. We just need to carve out a WO-primarily based caliphate from Tampa to New York.’
Well, I do adore irony, satire, sarcasm and hyperbole, even much more when it’s certain in a very small, small corner of infinite room. And, if this sentence will spark an interview at Fox Television set and provide a little bit of fodder for undergraduates in the 22nd century, why stand in the way?
Even if Real wellness is a bit connected with faith in this playful tongue-in-cheek manner, few viewers of WO will miscalculation possibly of us as lovers for religion. After all, we equally feel, along with Pat Condell, that religion (other than True wellness) disapproves of authentic imagined the way Dracula does sunlight.
Be properly and seem as significantly as you can on the vivid facet of daily life-and cause.
Postscript
A federal district court in Oregon declared Secular Humanism a religion! Holy horrors, what was that about?
Not theology, philosophy or deference to normal utilization of English, it turns out. The selection by Senior District Choose Ancer Haggerty was rendered to find the money for the non-theistic community the identical authorized legal rights as religious teams. canon of scripture meaning in the situation, the American Humanist Affiliation (AHA) and Jason Holden, a federal prisoner, sought recognition of humanism in buy that Mr. Holden could have the identical rights as prisoners of a religious persuasion. Humanism, a lot more or significantly less like atheism and other types of affiliation including Real wellness, is described by AHA as an ethical and existence-affirming philosophy totally free of perception in any gods and other supernatural forces.
The judge cited existing lawful precedent and observed that that denying humanists the very same legal rights as groups these kinds of as Christianity would violate the Institution Clause in the U.S. Constitution (i.e., Congress shall make no regulation respecting an institution of faith).
The courtroom finds that Secular Humanism is a religion for Establishment Clause reasons, the ruling read through.
Whilst most humanists and other godless varieties don’t want to be affiliated with any kind of religion, in this instance, at the very least, the larger pursuit of equal rights trumped such normal and lawful classifications.
Greg Epstein, the chaplain at Harvard, was quoted as follows with regards to this strange verdict:
I actually don’t treatment if Humanism is known as a faith or not. But if you happen to be going to give special legal rights to religions, then you have to give them to Humanism as nicely, and I consider that is what this circumstance was about.