One Final Time: Atheism Is Not A Religion

John Loftus has posted on why atheism is not a religion.  Hopefully, this will be the last time either one of us (or anyone else) will need to clarify this truth.

To paraphrase the money quote:

Religious faith is an irrational leap over the probabilities, it goes beyond what the probabilities lead us to think. Science by contrast is based on the probabilities. When there is sufficient evidence for a conclusion then it is emphatically not based on faith. *Atheists simply refuse to accept something unless there is sufficient evidence for it. Now it’s true that there are some great mysteries to be solved with regard to the origin of existence and of life. But *atheists are willing to wait on the advancement of science since it has solved so many mysteries in the past. That is not faith.

* Loftus uses the term "atheist" here, but this blogger would prefer "skeptic", as some atheists arrive at/have the view of the question of a god through less than skeptical methods.  After all, we all are human and are very much susceptible to claims not supported by evidence.  That is why we have science to keep humanity in reality.