Remind me again why I came?

[Magdalena]

As a hard core atheist, what do you believe?

There is no god.  Is there another common belief atheist share? Or…
Is part of being an atheist having no common beliefs aside from the obvious one?

As an atheist do I belong to a group and if I do, what is our purpose?

If we don’t believe in gods, saints, angels, virgins, what do we believe in?
Like Nacho Libre’s friend said: “I believe in science.”…I don’t know about you, but I lack enough scientific knowledge to prove that point.

Is an atheist someone who believes in evolutionary theories or just makes up their own principles?

Like religious people say “My faith is a little shaky right now.” Can someone please put me back on track and "show me the light?"

[AlP]

Hello magdalena! I don't think I've met you.

As a hard core atheist, what do you believe?

Well I'm not a hard core atheist but I won't speak for the others.

There is no god.  Is there another common belief atheist share? Or…
Is part of being an atheist having no common beliefs aside from the obvious one?

That's about it as far as atheism goes though many of us are not 100% certain and many of us are not just atheists. Of the ideas that are important to me, atheism is one of the least important.  

[MariaEvri]

There is no god.  Is there another common belief atheist share?

nop. All atheist share is their non-belief in a god.

As an atheist do I belong to a group and if I do, what is our purpose?

depends on the person. Right now, my personal purpose is to get out of this crappy job and find a new one!!

If we don’t believe in gods, saints, angels, virgins, what do we believe in? [/quote
depends on the person. Personally I dont "believe" in anything. I live my life, try to be happy, and eat pizzas!

Like Nacho Libre’s friend said: “I believe in science.”…I don’t know about you, but I lack enough scientific knowledge to prove that point.

I dont "believe" in science.

[Whitney]

As a hard core atheist, what do you believe?

I'm not sure what a "hard core" atheist is....but I doubt I qualify.

There is no god.  Is there another common belief atheist share?

I'd say they don't even share that view...they just don't believe in a god (there is a difference between disbelief and affirmative statments).

Or…
Is part of being an atheist having no common beliefs aside from the obvious one?

right...it's not a religion

As an atheist do I belong to a group and if I do, what is our purpose?

only in so much as you are grouped with other atheists categorically.  
There is no 'atheist' purpose...it's not a religion.

If we don’t believe in gods, saints, angels, virgins, what do we believe in?

Are you sure that you really are an atheist and aren't just messing around....virgins?  Of course virgins exist.

Like Nacho Libre’s friend said: “I believe in science.”…I don’t know about you, but I lack enough scientific knowledge to prove that point.

ok...

Is an atheist someone who believes in evolutionary theories or just makes up their own principles?

neither...again, it's not a religion.

Like religious people say “My faith is a little shaky right now.” Can someone please put me back on track and "show me the light?"

[/quote]
It's not a religion, you have to figure things out for yourself people telling you what to believe/think is worthless.

[elliebean]

Maybe you have different reasons, but my reasons for becoming a member on atheist forums are:

1) I like to have discussions about any given topic with people who don't litter the discussion with god-garbage,
2) solidarity and activism; having a common cause, and
3) debating theists, while often infuriatingly frustrating, can also be fun if you don't take things too seriously.

There may be other reasons too, but that's all I've got for now.

[Ellainix]

I just know Christianity is complete horse shit.  

[kelltrill]

As a hard core atheist, what do you believe?

"Hard core" implies gradations of something, which I don't think works in an atheist context.
"I don't believe in a god" is not that much different from "I really don't believe in a god at all." Both statements are straight up denying the existence of a god, regardless of personal semantic touches.

There is no god.  Is there another common belief atheist share? Or…
Is part of being an atheist having no common beliefs aside from the obvious one?

By definition, atheists share the lack of belief in a deity/god. Any additional beliefs are personal, not collective.

As an atheist do I belong to a group and if I do, what is our purpose?

Atheism is not a religion. By joining this forum you now belong to an atheist discussion group, but unless you take the atheist activist or academic route atheism isn't designed to be an organisation of any kind in the traditional, "religious" sense.

If we don’t believe in gods, saints, angels, virgins, what do we believe in?

I think Whitney's answer to this was appropriate enough.

Like Nacho Libre’s friend said: “I believe in science.”…I don’t know about you, but I lack enough scientific knowledge to prove that point.

Then start reading.If you don't just want to be someone who doesn't believe in a god and you also want to be able to know about where life came from etc, then just start reading. There are masses of scientific and biological resources out there written for everyday people.

Is an atheist someone who believes in evolutionary theories or just makes up their own principles?

I'm assuming this is a question about morality. Atheists are not immoral because of atheism (I say it like that because I don't want to generalise. Of course you get immoral atheists, just as you get immoral Christians, Catholics, or Muslims). As an atheist myself, I believe in evolutionary, Darwinian theories of morality. But even if I knew nothing about that at all I still know the difference between right and wrong. I know that it's bad to hurt someone, and I know that it's good to help someone. Morality is not rocket science, it's a basic human principle.
Your question is a bit ambiguous though. The other meaning I get from it is, "do atheists make up their own meanings for life etc?" Which is of course not true (again, except for personal differences. I'm also speaking from personal experience with other atheists). From what I've seen, and from how I see myself, atheists are by definition sceptical, critical people who analyse the world around them and draw conclusions from the facts presented to them, hence my agreement with (not "belief" in) evolutionary theory, natural selection, the age of the earth etc. The way I see religion is the other way around: religions look at what they want to believe and, starting with the conclusion,work backwards picking and choosing twisted, often fabricated facts to support their conclusion.

[happynewyear]

I would agree with most of the comments made above, except for one.
I think that Atheism is a religion.
Atheism is based on a belief system (belief in the non existence of God)
Atheism has a hierarchy of "Priests"(Darwin, Hawkins, Dennett etc)
Atheism has a band of loyal disciples(so welcome to the church of Atheism)
Atheism has a set of scriptures(see the fall of man to the god delusion)
Some Atheist even meet up and drink tea(wine or beer) and break biscuits (like the eucharist) and discuss scripture.
So do not feel left out. You are a vital member.

[cornopean]

I dont "believe" in science.

I think you do.  You have to make certain assumptions before you can do any kind of scientific endeavor.  yes?

[Whitney]

I would agree with most of the comments made above, except for one.
I think that Atheism is a religion.

Welcome to the forum...but I think you are misusing the word religion.

Atheism is based on a belief system (belief in the non existence of God)

Actually, no it's not having a belief in a god...an atheist may or may not think it is right to say that a god definitely can't exist.

Atheism has a hierarchy of "Priests"(Darwin, Hawkins, Dennett etc)

What?  I don't even know how to respond to that other than that no atheist has to accept evolution nor the philosophical musings of other atheists.

Atheism has a band of loyal disciples(so welcome to the church of Atheism)

What?  You need to explain this...how can you be a disciple of non-belief?

Atheism has a set of scriptures(see the fall of man to the god delusion)

You are joking...right?

Some Atheist even meet up and drink tea(wine or beer) and break biscuits (like the eucharist) and discuss scripture.

So, a woman's tea club is a religion?

[pinkocommie]

I dont "believe" in science.

I think you do.  You have to make certain assumptions before you can do any kind of scientific endeavor.  yes?

Are you referring to a hypothesis?  Are ideas the same thing as beliefs now?  Is the whole Jesus/God thing merely an idea, on the same plane as a kid hypothesizing that vinegar mixed with baking soda will have an intense reaction for a middle school science fair?  Haha, I swear, the lengths people will go to try to compare religion to science always amaze me - even to the point of diminishing the presumed 'power' of religion just to be able to claim they are on an even playing field on all points.  

[Tanker]

I would agree with most of the comments made above, except for one.
I think that Atheism is a religion.
Atheism is based on a belief system (belief in the non existence of God)
Atheism has a hierarchy of "Priests"(Darwin, Hawkins, Dennett etc)
Atheism has a band of loyal disciples(so welcome to the church of Atheism)
Atheism has a set of scriptures(see the fall of man to the god delusion)
Some Atheist even meet up and drink tea(wine or beer) and break biscuits (like the eucharist) and discuss scripture.
So do not feel left out. You are a vital member.

Heres the deffintion of religion

â€, â€,/rɪˈlɪdÊ'É™n/  Show Spelled[ri-lij-uhn]  â€"noun
1.a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

And heres atheisms deffinition.

a·the·ismâ€, â€,/ˈeɪθiˌɪzÉ™m/  Show Spelled[ey-thee-iz-uhm]
â€"noun
1.the doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2.disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

They are not synonyms.

Atheism has no dogma, rules, sects, leaders, moral code, or ritual observences. Nor does it have to do with the nature, cause, or purpose of the universe the very tenant of being a religion. The only thing all atheists have in common is a disbelief in god(s). That is it. Most atheists disagree with each other on a wide range of subjects. There is a saying that organising atheists is like hearding cats. The saying exists because atheists have such a wide and varried set of beliefs, wants, needs, ideals, and interests that it's difficult to get them together for the one thing they do have in common.

The only belief is a lack there of, in a higher power.

There is no hieracrhy, no control one atheist has over another.

I'm a disciple of atheism in the same way I'm a disciple of being a 20 something white male, who has thinning hair, and is a veteran. In other words. I just am an atheist like any other discriptor there is of me.

So a bunch of random books with a subject in common are now scriptures? So I guess the Star Wars novels/scriptures I read in highschool made me a disciple of George Lucas?

Some motor enthusiasts meet up have beers and work on engines. Some physiscists get together with coffee and dicuss the processes by which the universe works. Some vetrans have associations where they get together have some beer and tell war stories. What does a group of like minded individuals getting together and talking (where they may or may not eat and drink food like all humans do) have to do with anything?

You seem to have trouble with deffintions because nothing you posted matched the examples you gave.


By the way welcome to the forum. Please feel free to introduce yourself to the community.

[Will]

I'm an atheist who used to crush beer cans on my forehead in college... does that make me a hardcore atheist?

Atheism describes what one disbelieves or is unconvinced of. It's a strong commonality because we as atheists are in the minority and sometimes we're pushed around by the majority. There's an even stronger commonality because we have a leg-up in that our worldview is more objective and is more defensible from a logical standpoint.

[Shine]

I would agree with most of the comments made above, except for one.
I think that Atheism is a religion.
Atheism is based on a belief system (belief in the non existence of God)

Religion is the collective set of beliefs, dogmas, and practices of a specific ideology.  Atheism, at its most basic, merely describes a lack in the belief of theism; there is no separate belief that is inherent in the definition of atheism.  Atheism rejects the claim that gods exist without necessarily making any other claims about the universe.  Individual atheists may believe in whatever they want; I know some who subscribe to fate, karma, ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena.  It is true that most atheists are also skeptics and therefore tend to reject unevidenced claims of the supernatural in general, but there is no specific prohibition in atheism itself that prevents an individual atheist from having separate beliefs.  However, these beliefs are in no way tied to the characteristic of being an atheist.

Atheism has a hierarchy of "Priests"(Darwin, Hawkins, Dennett etc)
Atheism has a band of loyal disciples(so welcome to the church of Atheism)
Atheism has a set of scriptures(see the fall of man to the god delusion)

I think that you are imposing some dubious parallels here, and that you could make these comparisons to then describe anything as a religion.  Let's take the National Football League and apply this same method of comparison.  I could say that Howard Cosell, Joe Namath, and John Madden are all the "priests" of football.  Likewise, I could say that the thousands of fans who fill stadiums every Sunday and Monday are the "band of loyal disciples."  For the set of scriptures, I could refer to the official rulebook of football or the numerous playbooks possessed by each team.

Of course, I do not that think anyone would agree that football is truly a religion.  (Well, actually there are probably some diehard fans who would not necessarily object to the comparison.   )  My point is that if you stretch the concept of religion this thin, it becomes meaningless because everything could then be considered a religion.

Some Atheist even meet up and drink tea(wine or beer) and break biscuits (like the eucharist) and discuss scripture.
So do not feel left out. You are a vital member.

These scriptural meet-ups are really the result of most atheists having formerly been theists.  Also, with the prevalence of people in our society who believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, many atheists enjoy the chance to actually discuss the text from an objective, literary point of view.  If most of the world subscribed to the idea that Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales was divinely inspired and contained inescapable moral truths, would you not like to sometimes discuss it with other people who realized that it was simply a work of fiction?  

As to atheists meeting to eat and drink qualifying atheism as a religion, then I suppose that the Applebee's on Friday night must be a hotspot of religious activity.

[elliebean]

Of course, I do not that think anyone would agree that football is truly a religion.  (Well, actually there are probably some diehard fans who would not necessarily object to the comparison.  

For the set of scriptures, I could refer to the official rulebook of football or the numerous playbooks possessed by each team.

I think the players' stats are canonized as well.

For the record, though, I agree completely. Atheism is no more a religion than, say, not having a drug habit.