Saladin the Devout Athiest?

[SuperBeaverInc.]

That's a common misconception. Paganism, as portrayed by the religious leaders, only meant "people who don't worhsip our god(s)", not "people who dont' worship at all"

Wikipedia defines paganism as:

Within a European Christian context, paganism is a catch-all term which has come to connote a broad set of not necessarily compatible religious beliefs and practices (see Cult (religion)) of a natural religion (as opposed to a revealed religion of a text), which are usually, but not necessarily, characterized by polytheism and, less commonly, animism. There is little organized "-ism" in paganism (12).

Works Cited

12 Feb. 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism>.

I'm pretty sure he meant the civic option.

 

[Drakonik]

Whoops. My bad.

Mis-interpreted the capitilization. My apologies.

 

[cthom]

My apologies.

no probs! i just found it odd they were arguing about 'no religion'. the game doesn't give you that choice.

 

[Drakonik]

Hmm. That'd be interesting. Atheism as a Civic choice.

 

[RoddyVR]

Hmm. That'd be interesting. Atheism as a Civic choice.

that's what the last one "free religeon" is.

 

[kingjoshi]

that's what the last one "free religeon" is.

No. "Free Religion" is a secular government. It does not imply an atheist government. Slight difference. The latter implies the government endorses a lack of belief/religion, the first implies the government doesn't endorse any religion or stays out of the matter.

And to confuse it even more, Buddhism is an atheistic religion. Siddhartha Gautum ("Buddha") was an atheist (though born a Hindu).

 

[Drakonik]

Perhaps the Atheism civic could increase research by 50%. That'd make a really nice mod.

 

[JBG]

Life on earth has adapted to the circumstances in the universe not the other way around. There's no "accident" involved.

Hear hear! The whole point is that *we* adapted to the circumstances around us. It so happens that gravity is perfect for us because we have adapted to it! It so happens that the temperature range is perfect for us, again, because we have adapted to it.

One should not look at an eye and say 'this is so good at its job that someone must have made it'; rather, one should look at an eye and see the product of continual adaptation to the circumstance - along with millions of years of perfection. We, the insignificant carbon-units, are the ones that adapt.

The stars don't give a damn.

 

[Drakonik]

The stars don't give a damn.

Quote possibly the greatest thing I've heard all day.

 

[kingjoshi]

Perhaps the Atheism civic could increase research by 50%. That'd make a really nice mod.

Examples of atheistic governments include Communist governments so we don't have much of a sample to say it would increase research or any such amount. Having an atheist government would imply the leaders don't believe in a god, but says nothing about the people. Nor does it imply that the leaders or people are not devout followers of some other dogma.

Anyway, I have to reitierate, atheism and religion are not mutually exclusive, since many Buddhists are atheists!

 

[JBG]

I think trying to class atheism as a form of religion is incorrect - the whole point is that it is the complete ABSENCE of a religion. The whole point is there is no religious belief involved at all.

I'd rather call them beliefs and have done with it.

 

[JBG]

Anyway, I have to reitierate, atheism and religion are not mutually exclusive, since many Buddhists are atheists!

That's like saying footballs and nebulae are not mutually exclusive as both are composed of tangible matter

Similarly, many Bhuddists also happen to like the colour yellow.

Personally, though, I don't see why atheists should be given a name. We don't have a special term for people who don't believe in the easter bunny, after all...

 

[zx1111]

I think that in Civ4 should include atheism as one of the inventable religion.
Atheism must be different from paganism or lack of religion.
It should be invented just like normal religion ( for example by researching philosophy) and shoud give all the benefits of other religion. States which adopts Communim as state civic should adpot "atheism" as state-religion.
Historically, Confucianism is much close to atheism. Confucianism denies most supernatural being like supreme god or After-life. And there are other atheistic religions like Jainism

 

[Drakonik]

No, Jainism is more closely related to animism. The Jainists, as far as I know, belive that each animal has something that makes them divine or holy, and thus, they avoid hurting them at all costs.

Atheism should be created by Scientific Method, since, by logical scientific methods, God cannot be proven to exist. *hopes he didn't start a flame-war*

 

[Ranos]

I think trying to class atheism as a form of religion is incorrect - the whole point is that it is the complete ABSENCE of a religion. The whole point is there is no religious belief involved at all.

I'd rather call them beliefs and have done with it.

A religion is a sytem of beliefs and faith. Christianity is a religion based on beliefs that Christ died for our sins so we could go to heaven. Atheism is a religion based on the beliefs that there is no god, no one created the univers and when we die, there is nothing left, we just cease to exist. If Atheism isn't a religion, then neither is Christianity.

On topic, if a city has no religion but belongs to a civ that has Theocracy, a religion can still spread there via trade routes. In the OP's game, no one has discovered Astronomy yet which means no trade routes exist to Saladin. Once trade routes are established with other civs, those civs' religions will start to spread to his cities.

 

[Omnicronwarrior]

On the whole Intelligent design stuuff, I oersoanlly agree with all the "we adapted yto universe" but it still doesn't solve the problem of where did it all begin?

 

[Helmling]

Positing a "creator" doesn't solve the problem of "where did it all begin" either.

It only raises the question: Where did the creator come from?

 

[warpus]

A religion is a sytem of beliefs and faith. Christianity is a religion based on beliefs that Christ died for our sins so we could go to heaven. Atheism is a religion based on the beliefs that there is no god, no one created the univers and when we die, there is nothing left, we just cease to exist. If Atheism isn't a religion, then neither is Christianity.

re·li·gion ( P ) Pronunciation Key (r-ljn)
n.

1. a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

Atheism does not fit the definition; it isn't a religion.

If you take a closer look at the word "atheism", you'll discover what it really means. a-theism. The opposite of theism. The opposite of religion.

 

[Minoan]

A religion is a sytem of beliefs and faith. Christianity is a religion based on beliefs that Christ died for our sins so we could go to heaven. Atheism is a religion based on the beliefs that there is no god, no one created the univers and when we die, there is nothing left, we just cease to exist. If Atheism isn't a religion, then neither is Christianity

No, because Atheism is not a belief, its the lack there of. So Athiesm is the lack of belief.

Anyways...

I think Theocracy works only for cities that already have the state religion. I may be wrong though, as I always end up getting with one religion or another in my games, so I have never tested that fact.

 

[Drakonik]

It's arguable that Atheism is the LACK of belief. Because pure atheism is the belief that there is no God, god, or gods.

I personally believe that there is no such thing as lack of belief. If you're Atheist, you beleive that there is no God. If you're Agnostic, you believe that it's impossible to determine if there's a God.

No matter what, you believe something.