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An answer to those who ask how can you be moral and teach morality without religion. Sounds like it’s pretty easy when you skip the fear and shame and other negatives used by some religions to enforce morality.
“When you have kids,” says Julie Willey, a design engineer, “you start to notice that your co-workers or friends have church groups to help teach their kids values and to be able to lean on.” So every week, Willey, who was raised Buddhist and says she has never believed in God, and her husband pack their four kids into their blue minivan and head to the Humanist Community Center in Palo Alto, Calif., for atheist Sunday school.
An estimated 14% of Americans profess to have no religion, and among 18-to-25-year-olds, the proportion rises to 20%, according to the Institute for Humanist Studies. The lives of these young people would be much easier, adult nonbelievers say, if they learned at an early age how to respond to the God-fearing majority in the U.S. “It’s important for kids not to look weird,” says Peter Bishop, who leads the preteen class at the Humanist center in Palo Alto. Others say the weekly instruction supports their position that it’s O.K. to not believe in God and gives them a place to reinforce the morals and values they want their children to have.
>>Secular Humanism, Atheism, Non-theism, or
>>whatever the fuck non-believers call it is a
>>religion all the same. The theology is clear
Heh heh. You’re playing with fire there, Mr. Blah. The most profound insult you can make to Atheists is to point out that their beliefs are nothing more than beliefs, and not scientific or mathematical laws that have been proven.
29,
You and I both know that in the case of the USA and the Christian faiths we are talking about a bearded white guy in a sheet. In fact, most Christian fundies would consider you a heretic for even thinking that what’s in the Bible can be parsed.
Which American Christian movements operate without pastorly leadership? Which operate without a well-established dogma?
I agree with you that there are things to be learned from the Bible, but can you tell me of faiths that follow the Bible that will allow me to interpret it by myself? Also, I would wager that any of those faiths would deny that anything of value could be found in the religious texts of others.
I am glad you eschew religious fundamentalism, but sadly there are many of those people in positions of power and places of influence. We must constantly be vigilant against any religion becoming a facet of the state.
Church-free ethics are the best kind, anyway. Using an imaginary character (I believe in God, but I don’t agree with any of the faiths as to the nature of the mystery) to anchor a morality system is a poor way to teach, anyway.
I am not an atheist as I cannot prove nor disprove a god. So I’m no position to be picking nits.
So here is my honest question to atheists. What profit is there in having moral and ethics?
I religion it is usually a ticket to an afterlife or to moving higher up on the spiritual totem pole.
So for atheists, where’s the profit?
Cursor_
#5 – The reason I do things in life is in direct response to the love I have for God and how He saved me from the pit of despair and brought me into a fulfilling life in Him!
That’s a very sad story.
I, on the other hand, do good in life despite the fact that there is no eternal punishment or reward. I’m pretty sure that if you lost your faith, you would not start a new life of raping teenage girls and stealing from old people, but if you think you will and God prevents you, well… whatever gets you through the night, as the song goes…
Oh… and contrary to what you may believe, I’m not living a life of gloom and despair. I think not joining one of the death cults is what keeps me from being consumed by grief.
#9 – What more proof do we need that Atheism is a philosophy promoting its own views, just like any other religion?
Well… You’d need a lot more proof because atheists gathering to talk about moral issues isn’t any different that steelworkers or school teachers or Star Trek fans gathering.
Atheism is a religion like not collecting stamps is a hobby. You can call what what you want, but if you ignore the definition of the word, you’ll be wrong.
#12 – I think most Atheists today are just reformed Christians
That’s mostly true. I don’t anyone my age who was not raised with a mythological faith. However, I do know several kids today who are raised as atheists. It’s reassuring to me that reason is making inroads in society.
and we tend to forget that we did learn morality disguised as religion, but the two are not linked and can be taught and learned seperatly.
Right. Ethics and morals are societal constructs taught both directly and by example. Religion has nothing to do with it, especially since religion itself is a construct.
>>In fact, most Christian fundies would
>>consider you a heretic for even thinking
>>that what’s in the Bible can be parsed.
Well, tough tits, Tio Dave. They can go fuck themselves for all I care. They need to be dealt with when they start hiring snipers to take care of abortion doctors, or trying to teach their religion in public schools, but other than that, I ignore them.
>>Which American Christian movements
>>operate without pastorly leadership?
>>Which operate without a well-established
>>dogma?
Which organizations of any sort operate without some sort of “pastorly” leadership? Like Madalyn Murray O’Hare? As to dogmatism, try the Unitarian Universalist church. For something a little more mainstream, such as the United Church of Christ. Even among “organized” religions, not all attempt to enforce the personal beliefs of the pastorly leaders on the congregation, much less the world at large.
>>We must constantly be vigilant against
>>any religion becoming a facet of the state.
You’ll get no argument from me on that point, Unc.
>>Atheism is a religion like not collecting
>>stamps is a hobby.
I have pointed this out before, OFTLO, but it bears repeating, as your analogy is patently false.
Atheism is a religion like denying the existence of stamps is a religion.
Simply “not going to church” does not make one an Atheist. You have to have a profound, heartfelt belief in something (the non-existence of God), without any concrete proof to be a card carrying Atheist.
You may call that a religion or an anti-religion or whatever you choose, but the fact remains that it is a theological belief system, one that resides more in the hearts and minds of the believers than in any objective reality-based evidence.
#38 – Musty,
Correction: Atheism is a religion like denying the existence of flying unicorns is a religion.
We routinely deny the existence of a whole host of items from various mythologies and do not consider it to be a religion. We deny gnomes, elves, trolls, fire-breathing dragons, the great pumpkin, mermaids, flying unicorns, and many others. Is the denial of all of these mythical creatures a religion?
And, again, you continually fail to recognize that atheists don’t make such assertions. All of the atheists I know would gladly become agnostics in the face of a shred of evidence for the existence of a supreme being. This is not a heartfelt belief, unless you consider belief that extraordinary claims require evidence to be a heartfelt belief.
So, since you feel that denial of existence of an entity for which there is no evidence is a theological belief system, please enlighten us on your theological belief system regarding elves.
“However, I do know several kids today who are raised as atheists. It’s reassuring to me that reason is making inroads in society.”
I guess religion gave the modern world nothing at all. The Mayans who worshipped sun gods developed the concept of a number 0… the Muslims made tremendous advances in trigonometry and geometry, the Christians of medieval gave us scholasticism.
Reason doesn’t necessarily exist only in the Church of Atheism.
At some point in your arrogant lives you may be without hope, without a future, in immense pain, maybe seconds from death. Now what was that atheist logic train that concludes I am all knowing about an existence beyond myself? What is that humanist logic train that says I can set absolutes for myself and all those around me? For those that don’t comprehend or believe in faith try this experiment if you dare. Dare Pray honestly (yes admit you cannot do it all) for something you really need and watch what happens. That little experiment is something atheist, humanist and agnostics will not try because doing it will revel their real connection to life and a purpose beyond themselves.
>>Correction: Atheism is a religion like
>>denying the existence of flying unicorns
>>is a religion.
Call it peer pressure if you will, Scottie, but the only people I know who believe in gnomes, elves, trolls, fire-breathing dragons, the great pumpkin, mermaids, flying unicorns, and the like are fruitcakes. Many people whose views I respect (including scientists, mathemeticians, and historic figures) believe in the existence of a power greater than ourselves.
What “proof” do we have for the existence of quarks, photons, neutrinos, and muons, other than that “smart people” tell us they exist? Who among us has actually verified these claims? For that matter, who among us even fully understand how synaptic transmission or semiconductors work, other than what our scientific pastors tell us?
There are many things, perhaps most things, that we take on faith, basing our belief on the say-so of soi-disant “experts”. And the majority-rules (“most/ all scientists agree”) argument holds no water. “Most people” believe in some sort of god (and have done so since the dawn of recorded history), so you can’t use that line of argument.
>>All of the atheists I know would gladly
>>become agnostics in the face of a shred of
>>evidence for the existence of a supreme
>>being.
Well gosh, that’s mighty Christian of them, Scottie. I would have thunk that they’d become true believers. I know that when they showed the world was round, I became a holy roller for the round-earth theory.
#21 Atheists often like to point out that they are morally as good — if not better — than Christians.
No they don’t. That’s just the Christian persecution complex talking.
If so, where are the atheist orphanages, food pantries or free schools for the poor in the third world? I’m sure some exist, but I’ve never encountered one and I travel in non-profit circles.
Where are the multi-million dollar atheist churches to sponsor those initiatives? Don’t cloud the issue by disingenuously pretending theists and atheists are somehow analogous. Atheists don’t proselytize. They don’t gather en masse or tithe. They typically act individually, meaning they either give directly or volunteer with organizations that are either faith based or do not declare a religious affiliation.
Christian churches — every single one of them I’ve been in — supports this kind of stuff, all the time. (without much credit, I might add.) I’ve never been in a city that didn’t have a number religious charitable efforts, representing significant personal sacrifice by religious people.
Some of them don’t deserve credit as they aren’t strictly charitable at all, but rather trade service for faith. But most do admirable work and I think they are well recognized. I certainly hear public kudos for faith based charities all the time, and I know plenty of atheists who volunteer time or money through groups like that.
Unfortunately the sociological highlight of atheism remains social Darwinism
No it isn’t. That’s just plain not true. Social darwinism exists. Plain and simple. Atheists don’t promote it. They don’t promote anything. They aren’t a religion or an organized group. Atheist simply means “without god”. Beyond that simple definition, all atheists experiences and beliefs are their own.
which let to the largest bloodletting and suffering in human history, far worse than anything, any religious community has ever done. (My own foreparents (and some of their children!) were slaughtered and starved to death for daring to be Christian in atheistic Russia.)
And that was a horrible tragedy at the hands of a paranoid, sociopathic madman who used political and religious ideas to assert his tyranny. It has nothing to do with atheism.
What is the philosophical root in Atheism for kindness, altruism and charity? It seems like this atheistic Sunday School is a good start towards developing that.
Why?
The philosophical root is societal. We are all taught by parents, teachers, our communities, and society at large. Absent a church, we still understand the meaning of the so called “Golden Rule” without needing God’s threat to enforce it.
Atheists aren’t any less or more moral or ethical than anyone else. While conservative fundies everywhere owe atheists one mass apology for the slander against us, we aren’t holding our breath or even asking.
We are rational. Being mad a bible thumper for preaching hate and lies is like being mad at a pig for rolling in mud. It just ain’t worth the effort.
Wow, nothing like a good athiesm thread to get the blog hit counter moving.
Well if the idea of an atheist Sunday school might float how about athiest televangelism?
A show with a title “Hour of Power”, (oh wait, that one’s taken). If we do that then who’ll get the skim off the top?
Then again, girl scouting can be secular in values teaching without religion if desired. That may take care of 1/2 of the children.
#37 – They need to be dealt with when they start hiring snipers to take care of abortion doctors, or trying to teach their religion in public schools, but other than that, I ignore them.
More the latter than the former, but that’s what they always do. That’s why I can’t ignore them.
#38 – >>Atheism is a religion like not collecting
>>stamps is a hobby.
I have pointed this out before, OFTLO, but it bears repeating, as your analogy is patently false.
And you were wrong then too.
Atheism is a religion like denying the existence of stamps is a religion.
Simply “not going to church” does not make one an Atheist. You have to have a profound, heartfelt belief in something (the non-existence of God), without any concrete proof to be a card carrying Atheist.
Says who?
I have a profound and heartfelt belief that all movies must be presented in widescreen and that fullscreen is an affront to cinema. Is that a religion?
I simply know that god is a myth. The only thing heartfelt in me about religion is the heartfelt belief in the indisputable fact that Christians on the far right have declared war on our culture and especially people like me.
Seriously, Mustard, you are one of my favorite people here. Just take a damn English class so you’ll be able to correctly define atheism.
#39 – We routinely deny the existence of a whole host of items from various mythologies and do not consider it to be a religion.
Musty correctly denies the existence of a Health Care system in many posts and correctly identifies what he calls a Denial of Care System (a phrase that I have stolen several times in conversations I have had) Thanks Mustard)
We don’t accuse Mustard of being a member of some sort of Health Care Church.
#40 – I guess religion gave the modern world nothing at all. The Mayans who worshipped sun gods developed the concept of a number 0… the Muslims made tremendous advances in trigonometry and geometry, the Christians of medieval gave us scholasticism.
Reason doesn’t necessarily exist only in the Church of Atheism.
There is no Church of Atheism because atheism isn’t a religion. Those advances were made by people who were Christian, Muslim, or Zoroastrian, or Jewish, or whatever… And many advances were made because priests wanted to improve the technology that allowed them to proselytize. But those advanced weren’t made by religion. In the modern era, advances are made despite religion.
#41 – At some point in your arrogant lives you may be without hope, without a future, in immense pain, maybe seconds from death…
What a miserable waste your life must be to spend every waking hour preparing for death. Quit wasting your time and go live. You only get to do it once.
#42 – Call it peer pressure if you will, Scottie, but the only people I know who believe in gnomes, elves, trolls, fire-breathing dragons, the great pumpkin, mermaids, flying unicorns, and the like are fruitcakes.
Or four years old…
Many people whose views I respect (including scientists, mathematicians, and historic figures) believe in the existence of a power greater than ourselves.
So do I.
I just don’t believe it is omniscient, omnipotent, sentient, deliberate, or in any way interested in me, and I don’t pray to it. I simply imagine some future day long after I am dead when some future scientists finally master it.
>>And that was a horrible tragedy at the hands of
>>a paranoid, sociopathic madman who used
>>political and religious ideas to assert his
>>tyranny. It has nothing to do with atheism.
Sure it does. It has exactly the same relationship with Atheism that Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart, Jin & Tammy Faye, and the rest of the meth-and-man-ass megachurch hypocrites have with real Christianity.
Just because some high-profile criminals who call themselves “Christians” make it into the headlines for stealing other people’s money and fucking little boys up the ass, that says nothing about real Christianity, any more than Pol Pot, Stalin, or Chairman Mao are representative of real Atheism.
#40:
“I guess religion gave the modern world nothing at all. The Mayans who worshipped sun gods developed the concept of a number 0… the Muslims made tremendous advances in trigonometry and geometry, the Christians of medieval gave us scholasticism.”
Just because religion has advanced certain aspects of our world (never mind all the bad things it has done: September 11, anyone?), that doesn’t prove there is a god.
#21
> Unfortunately the sociological highlight
> of atheism remains social Darwinism which
> let to the largest bloodletting and
> suffering in human history,
Wow. Do you honestly believe this dribble? First, atheists simply lack a god belief. That’s it. Darwinism is the current prevailing scientific theory to explain the origins of life and atheists accept this theory because it has been proven using scientific means. If an alternative theory is established which is superior they will accept that. Furthermore, a majority of religious people *also* accept that it is valid. Second, AFAIK, Hitler still wins the prize for the largest blood letting and he was Catholic.
#25
The problem here is that you are unable to grasp the concept of a world without religion. Thus, for those that have no religion, you assume they are religious by twisting the meaning of the word to fit your preconceived notions. There is a difference between passionate and religious.
(As OFTLO said) “Atheism is a religion like not collecting stamps is a hobby.”
#29
What you are describing is spiritualism as opposed to religion.
#34
What profit is there for a Christian to be moral if A: Every sin will be forgiven and B: the next life is substantially better the this one?
#38
Misanthropic Scott (#39) said it well and it bears repeating that you have no clue what you are saying. Atheism is a lack of a god-belief. Lack of belief is not a belief.
> “You have to have a profound,
> heartfelt belief in something (the
> non-existence of God),”
Accepting that evidence for a claim is specious is not a belief unto itself. If that were true, then a religion would be created whenever a scientific hypothesis was falsified.
#46 – Sure it does. It has exactly the same relationship with Atheism that Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart, Jin & Tammy Faye, and the rest of the meth-and-man-ass megachurch hypocrites have with real Christianity.
I say the villain in Russia, China, etc., is communism, not atheism. More to the point it isn’t communism but rather Pol Pot, Stalin, or Chairman Mao, your favorite cast of usual suspects.
Interestingly, you need to look a 40 year swatch of humanity’s history to find the inter-related cast of evil atheists so you can point and say “look! Evil! We need God!”
But you can blindly open the book of humanity to any page and point, and your finger will land on a tragedy created by religion… From the Crusades and the inquisition to the Salem Witch Trials… From The murder of abortion doctors by lone wolf Operation Rescue operatives to the destruction of the World Trade Center…
We had a small issue with communism for a moment. We’ve suffered under the yoke of religion since man first attributed divinity to the sun.
As for Ted, Jimmy, and Jim and Tammy, we attack them not for the religion they belong to, but for their crimes and hypocrisies. Just as we attack Stalin for being a lunatic and not atheists.
It’s true that I and others debate theology and often take swipes at it. It isn’t persecution. It’s just pointing out the obvious.
>>Second, AFAIK, Hitler still wins the prize for
>>the largest blood letting and he was Catholic.
No. Hitler killed about 15,000,000. Stalin killed 20,000,000 – 30,000,000. And he was an Atheist.
>>(As OFTLO said) “Atheism is a religion like
>>not collecting stamps is a hobby.”
As Mr. Mustard said, no it’s not. Atheism is a religion like an absolute faith in the non-existence of stamps is a hobby. As should be self evident, that would not actually be a hobby, it would be a religion.
>>I say the villain in Russia, China, etc.,
>>is communism, not atheism.
Pffft. If you can weasel out of blaming the atheist, so can I weasel out of blaming the christians. I say that greed, hypocrisy, and grandiosity are the villians. Specifically, Ted Hagard, Jimmy Swaggart, and their brothers in arms. True Christianity (or any honest religion) holds no truck with devils like that.
>>As for Ted, Jimmy, and Jim and Tammy, we
>>attack them not for the religion they
>>belong to
Haw! Haw haw! Was that a joke, or did you mean to be funny?
>>Interestingly, you need to look a 40 year
>>swatch of humanity’s history to find the
>>inter-related cast of evil atheists
Not really. How about Kim Jung-Il, the Assad family of Syria, Yassir Arafat, even Saddam Hussein? Evil atheists are just as common (as a percentage of their religion) as evil Christians, evil politician, evil policemen, evil soldiers, evil nurses, or evil television personalities. The evil Christians are just more fun for the Atheists to poke fun at.
#48 – Thomas:
Hitler and the rest of the Third Reich tolerated religion so far as it suited their goals. We all know how they felt about the Jews. They ripped off a sacred symbol of Buddhism and took it as their own. They got along with the Muslims (Iranians/Persians in particular due to their largely Aryan genetic pool) because the Muslims felt the same way about the Jews. They tolerated the Catholic Church (and Christianity in general) due to the fact that the world center for Christianity was located in Italy, which happened to be Germany’s largest supporter. If the Germans had gone on the success in World War II, do you honestly believe any of the other world theistic religions would have been safe?
#50 – Mister Mustard:
You left out Mao Zedong. There are claims that his death toll stands at around 70 million (although I can’t confirm this) with a good chunk of those coming out of The Great Leap Forward. The funny thing is, while Hitler and Stalin are both greatly reviled in the mainstreams of their homelands, Mao is still held in high regard in Communist China. Cult of personality is a bitch, ain’t it?
I wonder, if theistic religions were outlawed in America, how long it would take for the Church of Atheism to start their own Great Leap Forward.
>>You left out Mao Zedong.
Point taken, Mr. Blah. Mao was by far the worst of the Atheists. I have been around this block with the local Atheologians a number of times, and I get weary pointing out that the godless can be every bit as evil as the God-fearing.
They don’t seem to get it, any more than they get that failing to actively indulge in a pastime (e.g., philately) is NOT THE SAME THING as slaughtering millions of people because of your unshakable *belief* that God does not exist. The only relevant analogy concerning the non-stamp collector would be someone who doesn’t collect stamps; disavows the existence of stamps; and persecutes, marginalizes, disenfranchises, ridicules, tortures, imprisons, and slaughters those who do collect stamps.
The True Believers will not be denied their beliefs, be they a belief that God wants them to take suckers’ money and screw altar boys, or a belief that churchgoing sheeple should be exterminated with all due haste.
#50
RE: Stalin
Arguing whether Stalin or Hitler or Pol Pot were the worst is a macabre discussion to say the least. However, the common theme amongst them all is that they were sadistic dictators. Stalin’s numbers are high because of longevity.
RE: Atheism and stamp collecting
First, it takes a special kind of crazy to talk about yourself in the third person. Secondly, you are wrong. Let me demonstrate:
“Atheism is a religion like an absolute faith in the non-existence of leprechauns is a hobby (or a religion.)”
“Atheism is a religion like an absolute faith in the non-existence of Santa Claus is a hobby (or a religion).”
“Atheism is a religion like an absolute faith in the non-existence of pink fairies is a hobby (or a religion.)”
All statements are equally nonsensical. Lack of belief is not a belief. It appears you are incapable of grasping this concept.
RE: Evil as a percentage of the population.
The problem with your argument is that the religious claim themselves to be morally superior to atheists and yet statistic prove just the opposite. For example, if we were to believe that the religious are morally superior, then there should be substantially more atheists in jail than there are in the general population and yet the opposite is true.
#51
Other than Catholicism? No, I do not believe any of them would have been safe. That simply proves that sadistic dictators have a pattern of eliminating anyone that does not share their views.
The myth of the monolith. Pick your favorite issue/opposition and make it uniformly just one thing.
I am sure that “some” atheists have made their non-belief a religion. Them that would not admit to god absent shaking his hand?
So, formal training can really untwist this and many other threads. Define your words/ideas/concepts/beliefs and most arguments go away.
Examine the consequences of the definition and a fine discussion can ensue.
What elements make a religion? Do you have to tithe? Meet in groups? Proselytize? Have a book to authorize the belief and little of anything else?
What elements make something not religious? A statement that said thing is NOT religious? A willingness to change/alter belief based on evidence? Simply having no opinion?
Maybe a good discussion, but not a blog entry.
I wonder what the disagreements are in Atheist Sunday school? Anyone know?
>>However, the common theme amongst them all
>>is that they were sadistic dictators.
And worshipers at the alter of Atheism.
>>First, it takes a special kind of crazy to
>>talk about yourself in the third person.
wtf are you talking about? You know nothing about my stamp-collecting proclivities. I may collect stamps, I may not collect stamps, I may firmly believe that stamps do not exist. What’s this “yourself in the third person” nonsense?
>>Let me demonstrate:
Whatever you were trying to demonstrate, you failed. Santa, leprechauns, and pink fairies seldom form the bedrock of any religious faith. A belief in the existence or non-existence of God does.
By the same token, if I belonged to a group of people who fervently disavowed the existence of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and persecuted (including the murder of) those who do believe, that WOULD be a religion. Just like atheism.
>>The problem with your argument is that the
>>religious claim themselves to be morally
>>superior to atheists
And you deny that Atheists do exactly the same thing? Just read DU for a couple of weeks. You will see the morally inferior, dimwitted, weak, luddites who believe in God subjected to the worst forms of libel by the Atheist Overlords.
>>and yet statistic prove
>>just the opposite.
Did it occur to you that the vast majority of people profess a belief in some sort of deity, so statistically they SHOULD form the majority of incarcerted felons? I’ll bet there are very few (in aboslute numbers) Zoroastrians in jail in the US. Far fewer than Atheists, I’ll wager. Are they morally superior? How about as
a percentage of the relevant population? I’ll bet there is a higher percentage all Atheists in the slammer than there are of all Christians.
>>What elements make a religion? Do you have to
>>tithe? Meet in groups? Proselytize? Have a book
>>to authorize the belief and little of anything
>>else?
None of the above, Boboli. All you need is an unshakable belief in something (preferably something that relates to a god of your choosing) that you will not relinquish under any circumstances, short of publication in Science Magazine of arcane experiments purporting to debunk your current religious beliefs.
Optional: A willingness to marginalize, disenfranchise, ridicule, torture, imprison, and slaughter those who hold the opposing point of view.
Mustardo===agree with the first half and wouldn’t that exclude any atheist who says “give me a shred of evidence or logic?”
As to the latter, that includes “everybody” who’s honest? The fact that most folks aren’t in a POSITION to do said harm doesn’t negate the williness.
Got to rely on those secular humanists to remain in the majority to avoid torture for the non-believers. Good religion there.
Not believing is a belief.
Not believing is a belief.
Not believing is a belief.
Not believing is a belief.
Not believing is a belief.
Not believing is a belief.
Not believing is a belief.
Well, that didn’t work. I still don’t believe that.
I guess I just wasn’t meant to be religious.
Jim R
Rats!!!! Mustardo is right.
You have displayed an unshakeable belief that not believing is not belief.
Incredible. Mustardo, I apologize.
>>Not believing is a belief.
Believing is certainly a belief. And Atheists believe that God does not exist.
I don’t “believe” that there’s intelligent life in other solar systems. Maybe there is, maybe there’s not. So my opinions regarding life in other solar systems do not constitute a religion.
On the other hand, if I were convinced, to the extent that I would belittle, berate, imprison, torture, and execute those who think there’s life in other solar systems (or those who believe that there’s not), THAT would be more akin to a religion.
See the parallels, Archbishop?