Atheism is not a religion. There is no creed, no dogma, no tenets, no rules. The only thing that atheists can be said to have in common is that they do not believe in gods. Atheists can, however, believe in many other silly things: Sasquatch, astrology, or homeopathy, for example.
Atheism is not a religion, just like not collecting stamps is not a hobby. Atheism is not a religion, just like bald is not a hair color.
Try though as Christians do to insist atheism is a religion--based on faith--and therefore no better than theirs, atheism is not, and never will be, a religion.
So, what are we, as atheist individuals, to do when Alain de Bottom suggests a temple for us? Several temples, actually. De Bottom suggested the idea in his book Religion for Atheists. His tagline is, "Even if religion isn't true, can't we enjoy the best bits?" One of the best, apparently, being houses of worship. Whether or not he was serious is debatable.
According to de zeen magazine, de Bottom says: "Why should religious people have the most beautiful buildings in the land? It’s time atheists had their own versions of the great churches and cathedrals."
Of course, de Bottom doesn't intend the temples to be dedicated to gods, but instead to good things like friendship and calm. But if you build a temple to love, you haven't built an atheist temple. You've built a temple to love, for all the people who want to praise love. That would include the religious. The same can be said for a temple to peace, or kindness, or thoughtfulness.
The building envisioned is described as a 150-foot tall black tower. So, not only will this temple for atheists be unnecessary and meaningless, it will be ugly.
Atheists don't need temples. As Alice Jones points out in The Independent, "non-believers already have plenty of beautiful, secular, buildings – galleries, museums, universities, parliaments – to thrill their souls."
Temples are testaments to humans' belief in the gods. The earth itself is a testament to our atheism.
Dianna Narciso writes commentary. Her irreverant and highly-opinionated blogs can be found through her website: Atheist View.
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