There are many religions in the world including religions that worship God, angels, the devil and demons, and even dead ancestors. There is also one anti-religion called Atheism which believes there is no God. As an anti-religion, it is actually every bit a religion as regular religions.
Like all religions it requires faith.
Just as Christians believe in God by faith, atheists believe there is no God by faith. They believe there is no God by faith because there is no proof that there is no God. It also takes faith to reject the testimony of the multitude of people around the world and throughout history who testify of God and the supernatural world existing. It also takes faith to believe the world was created by strictly natural means when common sense says that the countless things in the world that are marvels of engineering required a creator and when their theories (the “big bang” and evolution) are not proven to be true.
They truly are people of faith. Only Agnosticism, not being sure if there is a God or not, requires no faith.
Like adherents of other religions, atheists are worshippers.
Specifically, they worship creation rather than the Creator, including worshipping themselves, other people, and “mother Earth” (Romans 1:22-25).
Like all religions it has its own doctrine.
In particular, atheists teach the following:
They teach that life began naturally, including teaching the “big bang theory” for how the universe was created, and the theory of evolution for how life was created on planet Earth
They teach secular humanism, which is a view of life without God and includes the teaching of a secular public arena, abortion, euthanasia, no fault divorce and common-law marriage, variant sexual expressions and identities, and variant definitions of marriage and family
And like all religions they have community meetings, which specifically take place through their activism when they fight for the cause of secular humanism including taking faith out of the public arena, abortion, euthanasia, no fault divorce and common-law marriage, variant sexual expressions and identities, and variant definitions of marriage and family.
Atheism truly is a religion, albeit an anti one.
People of faith like to dismiss Atheism as being meaningless, lumping it together with agnostics and religious people who lack serious faith, but it is not meaningless. In fact, I believe that it is now the dominate religion in North America.
Let me explain.
A society’s dominate religion is the one whose beliefs and values affect the society the most. Years ago Christianity was North America’s dominate religion. Today Atheism is North America’s dominate religion. Our society is currently officially called “Post Christian” but I personally believe it is most properly called “Atheistic” because I believe Atheism has become its dominate religion.
This can be seen by the following:
Its teachings on origins including the “big bang theory” and the theory of evolution is accepted by most schools and the media as the truth
Its teachings of secular humanism (including a secular public arena, abortion, euthanasia, no fault divorce and common-law marriage, variant sexual expressions and identities, and variant definitions of marriage and family) are not only becoming widely accepted, they are increasingly becoming public policy and even a part of the laws of the land
Now some may question whether Atheism really is North America’s dominate religion, preferring instead to attribute North America’s secular humanism to secular humanists. Secular humanism however is the desire to live life without God, which in fact is Atheism. Therefore secular humanists are by nature atheists whether they define themselves as such or not. And as such, Atheism is ultimately behind secular humanism and consequently ultimately responsible for North America’s secular humanism.
Now atheists of course think this is a good thing, but I don’t think so. I think it has been terrible for North American society.
Consider this.
First, it has made sexual immorality acceptable.
Years ago when Christianity was the dominate religion, sexual immorality including fornication, adultery, and homosexuality was considered to be major sin. Today, under Atheism’s secular humanism teaching, sexual immorality including fornication, adultery, and homosexuality is accepted as normal.
The problem with this is sexual immorality is major sin. The Bible is very clear that those who practice sexual immorality will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Second, it has plagued society with the repercussions of sexual sin.
Sexual sin has repercussions. These include the following:
STD’s
Unwanted pregnancies and abortions
Rampant pornography and sexual addiction
Broken relationships and marriages due to sexual sin
These things can and do happen in all societies, however in a society where sexual sin is accepted, they become epidemics. Atheism has brought about these repercussions to epidemic proportions.
Third, it has destroyed the traditional family unit.
The traditional family, both biblically and throughout history is a man and woman who are married, and their children (Genesis 2:24). Statistically, this family unit is by far the best for raising children and for building strong communities.
Atheism’s secular humanism beliefs including no fault divorce and common-law marriage, variant sexual expressions and identities, and variant definitions of marriage and family has truly destroyed the traditional family unit, as much as it can possibly be destroyed (due to the nature of men and women, it will always be popular).
Today, we now see the following as commonplace:
Families with parents who are not married
Single parent families
Blended families
As a result, the traditional family unit is now actually becoming the exception.
Fourth, child delinquency is epidemic.
There is a proper way to raise children. It includes having both birth parents being married and properly parenting their children. When the traditional family unit is broken down, proper parenting suffers. Childhood delinquency is the result, and today it is truly epidemic.
Consider this:
When Christianity was the dominate religion, the worst problem in schools was gum under the desks; today it is gun violence
Teenage pregnancies and abortions are now so commonplace that they are not considered problems but rather normal everyday life
Drug usage and alcoholism among teens are at all-time highs
Suicides among teens are at all-time highs
How did this happen, how did we go from being a Christian society to an Atheistic one?
I believe it was achieved through four main things:
The theory of evolution bringing doubt to the existence of God and the truthfulness of the Bible in the minds of many people
Atheists activism
Atheists use of their intelligence and education to make persuasive arguments for their causes
Atheists having positions of influence in the sciences and in institutions of higher education
Through this I believe atheists have been able to successfully influence schools, the media, the masses of people who do not have deep faith in God, as well as the government to make changes to the laws of the land for their causes, which has subsequently allowed them become the dominate religion in our society.
The bottomline is if you ever wonder why our society is so messed up, don’t wonder anymore. It is because it is an Atheistic society and according to the Bible atheists are ungodly fools (Romans 1:18-32). And very simply, ungodly fools make foolish and ungodly societies.