I consider atheism a genuine path. And many atheists maintain that theirs is a spiritual one. To call it a “faith” or “religion” just muddies those terms and isn’t very useful. But a path? Certainly. (Good question!)
Half the world's religious traditions have been non-theistic, or as I prefer to self identify, humanist naturalist. My principal concern with "atheism" is its name, as it is wed in a negative relationship to theism, like twins who are hinged at the hip. I suspect as atheists mature on their spiritual path they will leave the name behind them, as the name and the company it attracts will tend to pull them backwards.
I consider atheism a genuine path. And many atheists maintain that theirs is a spiritual one. To call it a “faith” or “religion” just muddies those terms and isn’t very useful. But a path? Certainly. (Good question!)
Half the world's religious traditions have been non-theistic, or as I prefer to self identify, humanist naturalist. My principal concern with "atheism" is its name, as it is wed in a negative relationship to theism, like twins who are hinged at the hip. I suspect as atheists mature on their spiritual path they will leave the name behind them, as the name and the company it attracts will tend to pull them backwards.
While I’m not really comfortable with the jump from non-theistic to “humanist-naturalist,” I quite agree with everything you say about atheism!