porges@inmet.UUCP (07/15/83)
#R:rabbit:-168300:inmet:7800006:000:932
inmet!porges Jul 14 12:51:00 1983
I think it's true but incomplete to say that "athiesm is not a religion,
but describes the absence of religion". If "religion" is "belief in God", the
usual interpretation, this is OK. But the statement "There is no God" is as
much a *religious statement* as any other; that is, it is a statement about the
nature and meaning of ultimate reality. The statement is, "There is none".
This is connected to, but not the same as, the *political* statement
"religious statements should not be enforced upon others against their will".
>From this point of view, the claim that teaching athiesm is denial of religious
freedom is quite defensable. The claim that not teaching belief in God is
teaching athiesm, is less so. And now, welcome to the creationism-in-schools
debate...
Agnostic (I think),
-- Don Porges
...harpo!inmet!porges
...hplabs!sri-unix!cca!ima!inmet!porges
...yale-comix!ima!inmet!porges