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... it is possible for a Jew to strictly practice Judaism as a faith, while at the same time being an agnostic or atheist. Reconstructionist Judaism does not require any belief in a deity, and certain popular Reform prayer books, such as Gates of Prayer, offer some services without mention of God. Jewish atheists who practice Humanistic Judaism embrace Jewish culture and history, rather than belief in a supernatural god, as the sources of their Jewish identity. One study found that only 48% of self-identified Jews believe in God.
High rates of atheism have been found among self-identified Christians in the United States.
Religiosity in the Arab world is seen to be essential for morality and atheism is widely associated with immorality.
Atheism is a valid form of belief in Hinduism.
Buddhism is often described as non-theistic, since Buddhist authorities and canonical texts do not affirm, and sometimes deny, the following:
The existence of a creation, and therefore of a creator deity
That a god (deva), gods, or other divine beings are the source of moral imperatives. Instead, the Dharma is an attribution of the universe
That human beings or other creatures are responsible to a god or gods for their actions
Some forms of Confucianism and Taoism do not explicitly affirm, nor are they founded upon faith in, a higher being or beings.
LaVeyan Satanism is atheistic, rejecting belief in God and all other deities, including, to the surprise of many, Satan.
In Canada, atheists have set up "atheist churches" however in 2019, the Federal Court of Canada ruled in Church of Atheism of Central Canada v Canada (National Revenue) that atheism was not a religion and not entitled to tax-exempt charitable status.
Atheism in the United States is protected under the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause. There are also online churches that have been created by atheists to secure legal rights, to ordain atheist clergy to hold ceremonies, as well as for parody, education, and advocacy.
In 1797, the United States Senate ratified a treaty with Tripoli that stated in Article 11:
As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
File under what joins us in some ways rather than separates us. Also a note to those who like to insist comments about atheism or by atheists have no place in this forum...
There's a lot out there to pick and choose from. And that includes drawing from history and time, and across the globe.
Since we're all are unique (DNA, fingerprints, personal history, maybe even soul), there should be no reason to expect any kind of agreement with anyone else. Therefore, let each person freely choose what makes sense to him or herself. As long as that happens, everything is fine. All this insistence on labels, and categorizing this group or that, is folly.
I did know this yes.
In your first example I have heard this referred to as cultural Judaism.
Similarly I have heard Richard Dawkins refer to himself as a cultural Christian. People will probably be suprised by that.
I think many Brits throw themselves into Christmas despite half of them being atheists. Same for Easter. They are both big cultural festivals in the UK.
There's this idea that if you are an atheist you must be anti this and anti that. Not necessarily the case.
Anyway I'm off to shed a few tears at the death of our beautiful and much loved Queen. Xxx
I think my cousin's that are Atheists are cultural Jews. They grew up in cities that had sizable Jewish communities. I grew up in a small town with no culture other than curling, hockey and farming so I am not a cultural Jews.
From my experience those from any religion that are not religious are pretty mum and mellow about it. That includes most of the wedding and funeral Christians.
Yes, one can practice a religion nominally but not actually believe the tenets of it.
It would be nice if that was understood on this forum.
I think what you are missing is that the tenets of many religions, including some major ones, do not require adherents to believe in or affirm any gods, and therefore it IS the tenets of the religion that god is optional. As such, in principle at least one can practice that religion fully without believing in that religion's god(s).
This is a hard concept for fundamentalists (and, often, former fundamentalists) to get their brains around because they are so accustomed to theism being utterly dogmatic and foundational. It is not so for significant numbers of religious people, so it's not an issue of them practicing the bare minimum religion or violating the tenets of the religion, technically or otherwise.
The Unitarians and some sub-sects of Quakers (Friends) and likely others go a little further and are non-credal but rather covenantal. They represent a community of spiritual practices rather than a community of dogmas. This also is hard for fundamentalists (including to an extent former ones) to get their brains around. After all these years I have a little bit of difficulty with it myself. It does not seem intuitive to me (and as a corollary, the point of them eludes more than an intellectual grasp for me). But it is intuitive to an awful lot of people.
... it is possible for a Jew to strictly practice Judaism as a faith, while at the same time being an agnostic or atheist. Reconstructionist Judaism does not require any belief in a deity, and certain popular Reform prayer books, such as Gates of Prayer, offer some services without mention of God. Jewish atheists who practice Humanistic Judaism embrace Jewish culture and history, rather than belief in a supernatural god, as the sources of their Jewish identity. One study found that only 48% of self-identified Jews believe in God.
High rates of atheism have been found among self-identified Christians in the United States.
Religiosity in the Arab world is seen to be essential for morality and atheism is widely associated with immorality.
Atheism is a valid form of belief in Hinduism.
Buddhism is often described as non-theistic, since Buddhist authorities and canonical texts do not affirm, and sometimes deny, the following:
The existence of a creation, and therefore of a creator deity
That a god (deva), gods, or other divine beings are the source of moral imperatives. Instead, the Dharma is an attribution of the universe
That human beings or other creatures are responsible to a god or gods for their actions
Some forms of Confucianism and Taoism do not explicitly affirm, nor are they founded upon faith in, a higher being or beings.
LaVeyan Satanism is atheistic, rejecting belief in God and all other deities, including, to the surprise of many, Satan.
In Canada, atheists have set up "atheist churches" however in 2019, the Federal Court of Canada ruled in Church of Atheism of Central Canada v Canada (National Revenue) that atheism was not a religion and not entitled to tax-exempt charitable status.
Atheism in the United States is protected under the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause. There are also online churches that have been created by atheists to secure legal rights, to ordain atheist clergy to hold ceremonies, as well as for parody, education, and advocacy.
In 1797, the United States Senate ratified a treaty with Tripoli that stated in Article 11:
As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
File under what joins us in some ways rather than separates us. Also a note to those who like to insist comments about atheism or by atheists have no place in this forum...
Yes...Atheism, in the U.S....currently designated a Religion for Constitutional purposes...would fall into the "free exercise" clause.
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