I find it odd that when filling out a form that asked me what my religion is one of the choices is Atheist.

What now? That is the that opposite of religion.

  • bastion@feddit.nl
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    3 months ago

    I did say “or are deeply rooted on a world view.”

    world view: a particular philosophy of life or conception of the world. “I have broadened my worldview by experiencing a whole new culture”

    Atheism: disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.

    Disbelief is a conception. By nature of the topic, it’s a conception of the world. If someone were to say “I don’t believe in black holes,” that is by nature a conception of the world. One might reference it as merely an aspect of the world view, but it’s still an atheistic (or theistic, or black-holist or anti blackholist) world view.

    An atheistic world view doesn’t mean atheism is what the world view is about, it means that by nature, the view excludes gods. Most people, for example, adhere to a non-unicornist world view.

    • mechoman444@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I lack a belief in a god or God’s. That is not a world view.

      However my world view stems from human secularism. One does not have to be an atheist to be a human secularist.

      Lacking in particular belief does not define me as a whole person.

      If you don’t believe in unicorns that doesn’t make you a “ununicornist”.

      In the same sense not believing in God doesn’t necessarily make me an atheist.

      But more importantly you’re not using the words you’re using correctly which is why I included the definitions or the concepts you’re missing. I can tell you simply ignore those.

      • bastion@feddit.nl
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        3 months ago

        Simply because it’s a commons, and I like that, I’m going to use definitions from Wikipedia.

        I think we differ on what a world view is. Secular Humanism is, to me, more accurately described as Wikipedia describes it - a philosophy, belief, or life stance. These have to do with what you identify with, or values and ideologies you live by. And yes, secular humanists need not be atheist.

        A world view is much more broad than a philosophy, belief, or stance, or the having or not having of any particular belief.

        So yes, atheism is not a world view. But one can have an atheistic world view, without atheism being a world view. The world view and the individual who holds it are not defined in total by any particular facet of that world view, any more than “a brown-haired person” or “a person who has no cats” are complete descriptors for any single individual.

        So “an atheistic world view” simply references one of a large number of world views, all of which fundamentally lack a belief in gods.

        Yes, lacking in a particular belief does not define you as a whole person. I would not expect that it did, even if you held atheism as a belief, as in the less broad senses of atheism as defined on Wikipedia.

        If I don’t believe in unicorns, it totally makes me a non-unicornist, which is clearly only relevant when discussion or actions come up that involve unicorns, like when I’m posting in a non-unicornist or unicornist context. But it doesn’t necessarily make me an anti-unicornist.