Confucianism??

[Vince278]

A fine distinction, and the connotation is usually negative.

[Alexander I]

Originally posted by TechWins


Atheism is the lack thereof belief in a higher power, diety, god, or gods. Atheism does not necessarily mean no religious belief, to clear things up; it's just that atheism typically brings with it a further connotation.

That "religion" might be fof the anti-religion Soviets or something.

[Kuciwalker]

Yeah, Secularism (just a better thing to call it, since it implies a certain social view of religion in addition to describing the literal religious beliefs of someone) has to be in.

[Terra Nullius]

@ alex: good point

the declaration by marx that "there is no god" which was adopted by the soviet state is of course a theological assertion. in other words, yes, there are valid reasons for considering communism as a religion

Originally posted by Vince278
I thought atheism was basically nothing-ism.

now let's not get confused with nihilism - really more of a philosophy than a religion. nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. basically, it denies the possibility of any kind of purpose or existence.

atheism is (arguably) less ambitious in that it only denies the existence of god. some interpretations of buddhism and taoism are quite atheist. they do not deny the possibility of meaning, order, form, knowledge or communication. you can be a perfectly good buddhist/taoist and firmly believe there is no god.

Originally posted by Ambro2000 Confucianism in China is undoubtly the most important “religious/philosophical� alignment thru out history.

and just to clear things up, my own (limited)understanding of confucianism is that confucianism is neither a religion, nor a philosophy. as i understand it, it is basically just a collection of more or less arbitrary platitudes and proverbs. there is some implied sense of a 'cosmic order,' but even the basic cosmology is very much a matter of individual interpretation.

i'm willing to be convinced otherwise, but at this stage, i see it more as a random collection of ghost stories and 'calendar quotes'

[Terra Nullius]

@ kuci

sorry, mate, secularism is not 'a better thing to call it.'

firstly, secularism is not (in my opinion) a well defined term. different people use it to mean many different things.

secondly, in terms of government, secularism often refers to the separation of church and state. clearly, a state enforced system of atheism as implemented by the soviets is not a separation, but an identification of church and state. if anything, the soviet system is one of the least secular systems in recent history

finally, depending on who is using the term and how much they have had to drink at the time, secularism is not a form of atheism. it is sometimes used to suggest that man is better off pursuing his own improvement, rather than relying on a divine being. it does not necessarily reject the existence of god. it's kind of an official name for those who choose not to be 'god-botherers.'

[TechWins]

Originally posted by Alexander01


That "religion" might be fof the anti-religion Soviets or something.

From my understanding, pure Marxist idelogy is not entirely opposed to religion at the personal level but mostly due to it's use as a means to controlling the masses -- an opiate per se. Plus wasn't religion still practiced during the time of Soviet Russia?

[Kuciwalker]

Yes, but they were officially atheist.

[curtsibling]

Originally posted by TechWins


Isn't that what atheism is?

Most misinformed statement - ever!

[curtsibling]

Originally posted by TechWins


From my understanding, pure Marxist idelogy is not entirely opposed to religion at the personal level but mostly due to it's use as a means to controlling the masses -- an opiate per se. Plus wasn't religion still practiced during the time of Soviet Russia?

As far as I know, Stalin allowed the limited return of
orthodox christianity to keep the people loyal during WW2...

[Max Sinister]

France is a secular state (at the moment, they have quarrels with their Muslim citizens because the French state f.e. doesn't allow scarfs for female pupils/students in schools), but certainly not atheist. Most French have a religion (how religious they're, is another question). So Secularism != Atheism.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Vince278
I thought atheism was basically nothing-ism.

That might be one interpretation of nihilism, but it isn't a description of atheism,

Just because I'm an atheist doesn't mean I believe in nothing.

[Solver]

Just because I'm an atheist doesn't mean I believe in nothing.

But it means that you believe in no divine power.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Solver

Just because I'm an atheist doesn't mean I believe in nothing.

But it means that you believe in no divine power.

Which still isn't nothing.

[Kuciwalker]

Yes, but that's somewhat disingenuous since you don't believe in anything religious (except perhaps the absense of a divine power).

[curtsibling]

Indeed - You are either a true atheist or semi-believer.

For such an in-between, the term is called 'agnostic' I believe...

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