Athiesm Now protected under US Religious Freedom law - Polidicks

[url]http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obama-s-signature-u-s-religious-freedom-law-protects-atheists-n699356[/url] [QUOTE]When President Barack Obama signed an update to U.S. law protecting religious freedom late last week, one provision drew special attention: U.S. law now recognizes non-believers as, in essence, a religious group. Obama's signing of amendments to the International Religious Freedom Act on Friday wasn't widely noticed — except among the community of atheists, agnostics and others who categorize themselves as "humanists." For the first time, the law — which was originally passed in 1998 — specifies that "the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is understood to protect theistic and non-theistic beliefs and the right not to profess or practice any religion." Among other things, the main amendments to the law promoting religious liberty around the world: [QUOTE] Allow the United States to target "entities of particular concern" (that is, groups that aren't sovereign countries, like ISIS and Boko Haram). Set up a way to track religious prisoners overseas. Require that all foreign service officers undergo training in religious liberty.[/QUOTE] The addition of protections for non-theistic or even non-existent beliefs wasn't even mentioned in many news reports. But for Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the nonprofit American Humanist Association, the change is a historic cause for celebration.[/QUOTE] Atheism is now a religion in the USA

Glory to the great Atheismo

[QUOTE=Wii60;51571944]Atheism is now a religion in the USA[/QUOTE] ... Somehow, that doesn't sound right to me

So not practicing religious stuff is now protected under religious freedoms, neat.

[QUOTE=IrishBandit;51571985]So not practicing religious stuff is now protected under religious freedoms, neat.[/QUOTE] Its still a belief, even if its defined as a lack of it... better to have this then to hear grandpas say 'you have freedom of religion, not from religion lol' ive been on the other end of that, not cool

[QUOTE=PsycheClops;51571979]... Somehow, that doesn't sound right to me[/QUOTE] It's just like how pizza is considered a vegetable for school lunches. Within context it makes sense

Makes sense for the same protections to apply. Surprised it wasn't already like this actually.

[QUOTE=Mattk50;51572061]Makes sense for the same protections to apply. Surprised it wasn't already like this actually.[/QUOTE] Here in the south, people have always gotten a hate boner for telling atheists to fuck off. Always been like that wherever I went and I hated it. Even in the Army, I get that shit a lot. It's ridiculous.

[QUOTE=D-Roy;51572287]Here in the south, people have always gotten a hate boner for telling atheists to fuck off. Always been like that wherever I went and I hated it. Even in the Army, I get that shit a lot. It's ridiculous.[/QUOTE] I get that in Iowa too sometimes. Lots of that and homophobia where I live, more than in most of the state.

[QUOTE=D-Roy;51572287]Here in the south, people have always gotten a hate boner for telling atheists to fuck off. Always been like that wherever I went and I hated it. Even in the Army, I get that shit a lot. It's ridiculous.[/QUOTE] I know a friend that served in the us army and when he was deployed in Iraq it was the complete opposite, everyone was a hardcore atheist and religious believers were pretty much shunned in his company. Maybe it's different from unit to unit

[QUOTE=freaka;51572383]I know a friend that served in the us army and when he was deployed in Iraq it was the complete opposite, everyone was a hardcore atheist and religious believers were pretty much shunned in his company. Maybe it's different from unit to unit[/QUOTE] Maybe this is too much of a tangent, but my first thought upon hearing that is maybe fighting against religious zealots would turn soldiers off from the idea of religion in general.

[QUOTE=Blizzerd;51571998]Its still a belief, even if its defined as a lack of it... better to have this then to hear grandpas say 'you have freedom of religion, not from religion lol' ive been on the other end of that, not cool[/QUOTE] Well, now it's pseudo-protected as a religion. But in truth the US has always fundamentally given protections to atheism. Freedom of religion entails the [I]freedom from religion.[/I]

[QUOTE=helpiminabox;51571950]Glory to the great Atheismo[/QUOTE] Yeah. I don't believe in that. Not being in anything and just calling it Atheism is just fine.

Even if it's classified as a "religion" in the US, it is still a step in the right direction, as it is now protected to the same degree as actual religion, in theory at least. As far as I can tell, quite a few in the US does have major misconceptions about atheists/agnostics, and I'd say their protection should come before addressing the misconceptions, as that would take far longer. At least in the current religious/political climate in the US.

[QUOTE=D-Roy;51572287]Here in the south, people have always gotten a hate boner for telling atheists to fuck off. Always been like that wherever I went and I hated it. Even in the Army, I get that shit a lot. It's ridiculous.[/QUOTE] It doesn't help that a significant chunk of people equate atheism to satanism either when there's absolutely no connection between the two. Side note; Does being Agnostic count as a religious belief in the legal sense? i.e. Gaining the same protections as Atheism now?

[QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;51572994]It doesn't help that a significant chunk of people equate atheism to satanism either when there's absolutely no connection between the two.[/QUOTE] Absence of god and all that

[QUOTE=ROFLBURGER;51572999]Absence of god and all that[/QUOTE] I mean yea, IIRC Laveyan Satanism isn't what many believe as real Satan worship. They're more of an organization that parodies or calls bullshit on other religious institutions. But there in lies the problem especially with more rural parts of the south, if you're not Southern Bapist or whatever ruling denomination in the area, you're usually looked down upon at best. (Hell even if your still religious but Jewish or Muslim, etc)

Freedom of belief is pretty important. While it may be misclassified as a religion, it's still a good thing. Let people believe what ever the hell they want to believe and if there is a god then they can take it up with god. Having the state tell you that you're wrong and deny your right to believe in something is stupid.

I wonder how you classify agnosticism under this system. Since it's a belief that we can't know anything about God.

[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;51573433]I wonder how you classify agnosticism under this system. Since it's a belief that we can't know anything about God.[/QUOTE] fort the billionth time, agnosticism is about knowledge, not belief. it's not the same category.

[QUOTE=Wii60;51571944][url]http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obama-s-signature-u-s-religious-freedom-law-protects-atheists-n699356[/url] Atheism is now a religion in the USA[/QUOTE] so everyone is religious now?

i consider atheism as a lack of a religion, an easy way to identify one as non-religious. someone who plays a sport is identified as an athlete. one who does not play sport is not identified as an athlete.

I'm betting this will get killed 10 minutes into the coming administration. It'll be nice while it lasts though.

[QUOTE=Pat.Lithium;51575717]i consider atheism as a lack of a religion, an easy way to identify one as non-religious. someone who plays a sport is identified as an athlete. one who does not play sport is not identified as an athlete.[/QUOTE] It's not really being classified as a religion for reasons like that, but just out of practicality and legal bullshit.

[QUOTE=Pat.Lithium;51575717]i consider atheism as a lack of a religion, an easy way to identify one as non-religious. someone who plays a sport is identified as an athlete. one who does not play sport is not identified as an athlete.[/QUOTE] I really feel like this is a false equivalency. Someone who plays a sport is an athlete but the comparison to this would be someone that worships god is a christian. Region would be compared to the definition of a sport, not someone who plays the sport.

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;51575820]It's not really being classified as a religion for reasons like that, but just out of practicality and legal bullshit.[/QUOTE] I'm having a tough time coming up with an example where an atheist would need their non-belief protected.

Semantics are semantics in this case: no matter how you slice it, this is made to protect folks who elect not to practice religion as much as those that do are. You cannot be persecuted, harassed, denied a job, etc. over not having a religion, and if your neighbors put a burning cross on your lawn because you haven't accepted lawd jebus as your personal savior, they go to prison for a hate crime. [editline]23rd December 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=sgman91;51576739]I'm having a tough time coming up with an example where an atheist would need their non-belief protected.[/QUOTE] see also: the deep south.

The definition of religion is belief and worship, neither of which apply to atheism, so I don't really understand the point of this.

[QUOTE=Sonador;51576895]Semantics are semantics in this case: no matter how you slice it, this is made to protect folks who elect not to practice religion as much as those that do are. You cannot be persecuted, harassed, denied a job, etc. over not having a religion, and if your neighbors put a burning cross on your lawn because you haven't accepted lawd jebus as your personal savior, they go to prison for a hate crime. [editline]23rd December 2016[/editline] see also: the deep south.[/QUOTE] My issue is that those situation already apply to everyone. Being fired, not being hired, or any other discriminatory activity for NOT being part of a religious group applies to everyone not in that group. Atheists don't need special protection in that case. With that said, the hate crime example does make sense. (Even if I am against the idea of hate crimes in general, but that's a different conversation entirely.)

[QUOTE=Vegetable;51576925]The definition of religion is belief and worship, neither of which apply to atheism, so I don't really understand the point of this.[/QUOTE] The legal definition has nothing to do with worship and does not require you to believe in a god. Choosing not to believe in a god in a legal context is under the same protection as choosing to believe in one. "The Supreme Court has interpreted religion to mean a sincere and meaningful belief that occupies in the life of its possessor a place parallel to the place held by God in the lives of other persons." [url]http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/religion[/url]