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Matter Of Definition

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Posted by Richard Ruquist on December 8, 2001 18:24:31 UTC

You necessarily define an atheist in relation to his or her belief in the existence of god.

But that in itself does not make a person religious, just as belief in god does not in itself make a person religious.

It seems to be that being religious involves a practice. There are several ways a person could practice religion: prayer, dance, singing, chanting, preaching, eating, drinking, socializing, gathering in groups or being alone, sharing experiences and beliefs, meditation, not eating, not talking, theological study, scriptural study, and so on, including how you live day to day, how you are born, get married, and die.

What seems to be the common denominator in all these practices is the idea or a god or at least a supernatural. Tibetian Buddhism does away with the idea of a god. Modern judiasm does away with the idea of a supernatural world available to humans,
bUt both are exceptions.

Instead of atheism, lets think of whether secularism has any of these characteristics.

Opps. I'm being kicked off this library computer. I'll answer later.

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