[fqued]

The word "religion" is rather too amorphous.
I prefer to speak of a person's "World and Life View". [or in German, his/her Weltenshaung (sorry if I spelled it wrong)], or just "world view"

EVERYONE has a world view. Whether he be an athiest, agnostic, evangelical Christian, Buddhist, etc.
World views can be evaluated and judged on various criteria:

1) consistency and coherence
2) whether it comports with what we know and understand about humans and the world around us. (e.g. any world view that denies that there is any good and evil could be immediate suspect because all humans act as if there is such a thing as good and evil, and act as if there is an external moral code)
3) can this world view be lived out in community with other people? (solipsism clearly is unliveable in society--every person who considers himself a solipsist yet lives and acts as if other people really do exist, etc.)

This gets around the semantic issues of what qualifies as a "religion". So think in terms of "world view" which we can equate with the word "religion" used quite broadly.

[Roughneck]

>>>So think in terms of "world view" which we can equate with the word "religion" used quite broadly.<<

I have to disagree. It is world (worldly) view, that atheists embrace. Whatever one's religion, or which God they worship, it is doen through a spiritual view.

My particular God (of Abraham, Issac and Joseph), tells me not to love the world or become attached to worldly things, I can not take the "world view" that may encompass atheists or satanic beliefs and expect to get into heaven.

[WackyKat]

I prefer to speak of a person's "World and Life View". [or in German, his/her Weltenshaung (sorry if I spelled it wrong)], or just "world view"

I agree with you that worldview is a much better term. But the politicized theocrats call atheism a religion for purposes of their legal strategy- they want to force the schools to give equal time to Christianity(but no other religions) alongside science