Quote:
Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate
Not 100% true. The Humanist Association of Canada is non-theistic (though they avoid the term atheistic but I don't know what the difference between non-theistic and a-theistic is). The idea behind this association is to organize atheists to have some type of power base on level with the organized religions. It also works to raise money for charities similar to what churches do.
There still is no book of rules, but the president of the aforementioned association has written a book called "Can We Be Good Without God?" in which he argues:
"... that it may in fact be better to behave as if there were no God when debating our moral principles and our responses to moral problems. Rather than insist that morality is a question of good vs. evil and divine punishment, we should focus on human values which encourage constructiveness and discourage destructiveness. Morals don't need to be divinely inspired to be worth following."
So the only rule is to make your own rules based on what you believe to be right and wrong.
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A Buddhist I knew in university referred to himself as a "Non-Theist", and found the term "atheist" insulting if used to describe Buddhism.
So I think that is the difference. A "non-theist" does not necessarily believe in nothing. A non-theist just does not believe in God. It is engrained in some people (most westerners) that God and religion are one and the same, but they are not necessarily.
An atheist is a non-theist, but a non-theist is not necessarily an atheist.