https://www.atheismcanada.com/
I can't quite decide if it's a joke, a scam or just a nutter.
But when I did my google search for our forum yesterday as I usually do, a paid ad popped up advertising the "church of atheism of central Canada" the "church" is apparently just about 45 minutes drive from where I live.
It's just a house that is completely blurred on google maps. Is that a service that you can pay for?
Anyway apparently last year they challenged the government to get the same tax exemptions that other religions get, but they were turned down because the government argued that atheism isn't a religion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_...l_Revenue)
The case was heard to decide if there was a violation of the rights and freedoms of the Church and if the Minister's decision was reasonable. The court mentioned there was no clear definition of a charity in statute, so the court relied upon Canadian common law which had found that a charity either was involved in "the advancement of religion" or "certain other purposes beneficial to the community".[1] The court ruled that as the Church was a non-profit, they were not individuals so were not entitled to equality protection. They further found that the rights of atheists were protected and that the Minister declining to grant the Church charitable status did not interfere with their practices.[1]
The court then considered if the rejection was reasonable. The Church claimed that atheism was a religion and that they believed in "The Ten Commandments of Energy" as a sacred text.[3][4] However, the court found that atheism was not a religion as it failed to meet the common law criteria to be religion and stated worshipping energy did not count as belief in a Supreme Being or Deity.[2] However the court did not rule on if a religion needed to have an authoritative text such as the Bible in Christianity nor that there had to be a belief in God after The Church cited Buddhism as a recognised religion that did not believe in a higher power.[5] The Church had also argued that under the "certain other purposes" definition, they were a religious self-help group. The court rejected this argument as they found that the group only helped its own members and was not "rehabilitative or therapeutic".[1] As a result, the court ruled that the Minister's rejection was justified as the Church of Atheism lacked a charitable purpose and did not carry out charitable activities. In a unanimous decision with all three judges concurring, Justice Marianne Rivoalen ruled that the appeal was to be dismissed.[5]
So I get the impression that maybe whoever started this "church" was just trying to get out of paying their taxes.
But if you ever get into an argument with a theist about how atheism is a religion you can now at least say that the Canadian courts ruled that it isn't.
Also they worship energy.
And they have commandments....
Derived from the Holy Book of Atheism
I downloaded a copy of it and I'll peruse it and see if it's at least funny, but judging by the first chapter Genesis (of course) it looks like so far all they've done is replace the word "god" in the christian bible with the word "energy".
I can't quite decide if it's a joke, a scam or just a nutter.
But when I did my google search for our forum yesterday as I usually do, a paid ad popped up advertising the "church of atheism of central Canada" the "church" is apparently just about 45 minutes drive from where I live.
It's just a house that is completely blurred on google maps. Is that a service that you can pay for?
Anyway apparently last year they challenged the government to get the same tax exemptions that other religions get, but they were turned down because the government argued that atheism isn't a religion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_...l_Revenue)
The case was heard to decide if there was a violation of the rights and freedoms of the Church and if the Minister's decision was reasonable. The court mentioned there was no clear definition of a charity in statute, so the court relied upon Canadian common law which had found that a charity either was involved in "the advancement of religion" or "certain other purposes beneficial to the community".[1] The court ruled that as the Church was a non-profit, they were not individuals so were not entitled to equality protection. They further found that the rights of atheists were protected and that the Minister declining to grant the Church charitable status did not interfere with their practices.[1]
The court then considered if the rejection was reasonable. The Church claimed that atheism was a religion and that they believed in "The Ten Commandments of Energy" as a sacred text.[3][4] However, the court found that atheism was not a religion as it failed to meet the common law criteria to be religion and stated worshipping energy did not count as belief in a Supreme Being or Deity.[2] However the court did not rule on if a religion needed to have an authoritative text such as the Bible in Christianity nor that there had to be a belief in God after The Church cited Buddhism as a recognised religion that did not believe in a higher power.[5] The Church had also argued that under the "certain other purposes" definition, they were a religious self-help group. The court rejected this argument as they found that the group only helped its own members and was not "rehabilitative or therapeutic".[1] As a result, the court ruled that the Minister's rejection was justified as the Church of Atheism lacked a charitable purpose and did not carry out charitable activities. In a unanimous decision with all three judges concurring, Justice Marianne Rivoalen ruled that the appeal was to be dismissed.[5]
So I get the impression that maybe whoever started this "church" was just trying to get out of paying their taxes.
But if you ever get into an argument with a theist about how atheism is a religion you can now at least say that the Canadian courts ruled that it isn't.
Also they worship energy.
And they have commandments....
Derived from the Holy Book of Atheism
I downloaded a copy of it and I'll peruse it and see if it's at least funny, but judging by the first chapter Genesis (of course) it looks like so far all they've done is replace the word "god" in the christian bible with the word "energy".
![[Image: 20220702-163925.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/L8NyPxSW/20220702-163925.jpg)
"If we're going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are." - Captain Picard
