I'm really tired of people debating whether atheism is a faith or not, so I want to try and settle it here. I know this is probably futile, but I'll try anyway. So, lets begin.
First, the definition of faith from dictionary.com:
faith
   /feɪθ/ Show Spelled[feyth] Show IPA
–noun
1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.
2. belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
3. belief in god or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.
4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.
5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.
6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.
7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.
8. Christian Theology . the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.
I think the reason people get so riled up on this issue is because of a difference in definition. After all, there are 8 listed definitions of the word.
Atheists do not have faith with regards to point number 1 in the definition above. They do not have confidence or trust in a person or thing. You can't have confidence or trust in your biological brother if you only have biological sisters. You also can't trust that your car will start on a cold morning if you don't own a car. It makes no sense.
Point number 2 is more contentious because of the word "proof". Proof is listed as a synonym for "evidence". So number 2 can be reworded as "belief that is not based on evidence". In this case, from the viewpoint of the atheist, he does not have faith because he claims he does have evidence. Likewise, a theist would also claim that he has evidence. Both sides claim their "belief is based on evidence". The problem is that both sides disagree on the authenticity of the other's evidence. So lets say point 2 is moot and does not factor into the argument because it gets us nowhere from either side.
Atheists do not have faith based on number 3 because they don't believe in God(s).
I don't think point 4, 6 or 7 apply because they are using "faith" in an entirely different way than what we are concerned with.
Point 8 doesn't apply because it is strictly concerned with Christianity.
So, by my understanding, atheists do not have faith in anything.
Agreed?
This next bit is less logically sound and can be ripped apart a lot easier, but we'll try it out anyway:
You'll notice I conspicuously missed number 5. Because there's another facet to this argument. Whether or not atheism is a faith system (ie religion).
Point 5 states "a system of religious belief". Point number 5 requires the definition of religion.
Religion is broadly defined as "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; a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed on by a number of persons or sects". Nowhere in the definition does it say that a religion necessitates a belief in the supernatural nor does it necessitate moral codes or devotional observances.
Belief is broadly defined as "an opinion or conviction; confidence in the truth of something".
Consider the statement: "There is/are no God(s)". I would say, atheists have an opinion or conviction as to the truth value of that statement. They have some level of confidence in the truth of that statement.
Therefore, I would say that, atheists do have a belief, opinion or conviction that the statement "There is/are no God(s)" is true.
Consider the following statements: "The universe was formed without a supernatural designer", "The universe as a whole progresses without an overarching, objective purpose", "The universe is governed by certain changeless laws as discovered by the scientific method, some of which may be true in all cases, some of which may be undiscovered and some of which may have been discovered but are not fully understood."
I would say that all atheists have a certain degree of confidence that those three statements are true along with the first statement. I am not fond of generalizations or overarching statements, but I think (I think) in this case, those four statements are universally true for any atheist. Please correct me if this is an invalid assumption.
By this, atheism is a religion because atheism then has "a set of agreed upon opinions or convictions, concerning the cause, nature and purpose of the universe". Atheism also has "a specific fundamental set of opinons or convictions generally agreed on by a number of persons or sects." (Atheism doesn't really have any specific "practices" that I know of).
If you accept all this, then it is logical to say that atheism is a religion and therefore that you can have the Atheistic Faith (going waaaay back to point number 5).
So, in conclusion.
Atheists do not have faith but Atheism is a faith system. Atheists do have fundamental beliefs.
Let the disagreement ensue.
First, the definition of faith from dictionary.com:
faith
   /feɪθ/ Show Spelled[feyth] Show IPA
–noun
1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.
2. belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
3. belief in god or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.
4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.
5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.
6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.
7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.
8. Christian Theology . the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.
I think the reason people get so riled up on this issue is because of a difference in definition. After all, there are 8 listed definitions of the word.
Atheists do not have faith with regards to point number 1 in the definition above. They do not have confidence or trust in a person or thing. You can't have confidence or trust in your biological brother if you only have biological sisters. You also can't trust that your car will start on a cold morning if you don't own a car. It makes no sense.
Point number 2 is more contentious because of the word "proof". Proof is listed as a synonym for "evidence". So number 2 can be reworded as "belief that is not based on evidence". In this case, from the viewpoint of the atheist, he does not have faith because he claims he does have evidence. Likewise, a theist would also claim that he has evidence. Both sides claim their "belief is based on evidence". The problem is that both sides disagree on the authenticity of the other's evidence. So lets say point 2 is moot and does not factor into the argument because it gets us nowhere from either side.
Atheists do not have faith based on number 3 because they don't believe in God(s).
I don't think point 4, 6 or 7 apply because they are using "faith" in an entirely different way than what we are concerned with.
Point 8 doesn't apply because it is strictly concerned with Christianity.
So, by my understanding, atheists do not have faith in anything.
Agreed?
This next bit is less logically sound and can be ripped apart a lot easier, but we'll try it out anyway:
You'll notice I conspicuously missed number 5. Because there's another facet to this argument. Whether or not atheism is a faith system (ie religion).
Point 5 states "a system of religious belief". Point number 5 requires the definition of religion.
Religion is broadly defined as "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; a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed on by a number of persons or sects". Nowhere in the definition does it say that a religion necessitates a belief in the supernatural nor does it necessitate moral codes or devotional observances.
Belief is broadly defined as "an opinion or conviction; confidence in the truth of something".
Consider the statement: "There is/are no God(s)". I would say, atheists have an opinion or conviction as to the truth value of that statement. They have some level of confidence in the truth of that statement.
Therefore, I would say that, atheists do have a belief, opinion or conviction that the statement "There is/are no God(s)" is true.
Consider the following statements: "The universe was formed without a supernatural designer", "The universe as a whole progresses without an overarching, objective purpose", "The universe is governed by certain changeless laws as discovered by the scientific method, some of which may be true in all cases, some of which may be undiscovered and some of which may have been discovered but are not fully understood."
I would say that all atheists have a certain degree of confidence that those three statements are true along with the first statement. I am not fond of generalizations or overarching statements, but I think (I think) in this case, those four statements are universally true for any atheist. Please correct me if this is an invalid assumption.
By this, atheism is a religion because atheism then has "a set of agreed upon opinions or convictions, concerning the cause, nature and purpose of the universe". Atheism also has "a specific fundamental set of opinons or convictions generally agreed on by a number of persons or sects." (Atheism doesn't really have any specific "practices" that I know of).
If you accept all this, then it is logical to say that atheism is a religion and therefore that you can have the Atheistic Faith (going waaaay back to point number 5).
So, in conclusion.
Atheists do not have faith but Atheism is a faith system. Atheists do have fundamental beliefs.
Let the disagreement ensue.