2011-01-18, 06:19 PM
Jamie_Kurosawa Wrote:I never said lack of religion means lack of morals. In fact religion is NOT the same as faith and beliefs. Religion teaches a way of life within the values of faith and beliefs, nothing more. The fact people use religion as a crutch or excuse is appalling, even to me.
Atheism is a broad term in fact, often too broad to actually have a true definition. It can mean anywhere from anti-religion to anti-deity. Faith and values can be present even in a person claiming atheism. Focus of those faith a values can vary from the self to society. Even some people could say due to this Atheism is in fact a religion of sorts even if denied by those who practice it.
Let me use me for an example: By religious teachings, I'm a heretic gnostic. I am a Christian who has abandoned religion in favor of faith. My focus on my deity (God in this view point) is learned from religion, it is only keep to me by faith because I know there are things of this universe and it's dynamics mankind is never going to understand, nor explain. Should I not have some fallback to the unknown, or was that my free-will to choose that there is some force, entity, and power beyond my knowledge that is there? I feel I should. But, I never go to church, I don't agree with everything religion teaches. I feel there is lots of bigotry, hate, intolerance, and even hypocritical at times in religion.
Atheism is believing that since there is no reasonable proof of god's existance it's a practical conclusion that it doesn't exist. It's nothing like being anti-religion or anti-deity. It's also not believing in things because of faith (Dictionary: belief without proof).
So in short atheism is not believing in things that can't be reasonably be proven through the scientific method (consistence and reproductability).
But that's beside the point, I don't want to discuss religion here.
You specifically said:
"Full separation of church and state won't happen..."
"(A) church becoming part of government in which you can have a situation where church's focus become a national ideology..."
"(B) a government that focuses solely on the advancement of the country at the expense of it's population without regard for social issues"
Which implies the lack of implication of the church on the government leads to a disregard for social issues, i.e. a lack of care for the whole or morals, which is wrong.