Graham Oppy, Reinventing Philosophy of Religion: An Opinionated Introduction (London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2014), 6-7:
It is sometimes said that atheism is a religion. Our account of the distinction between worldview and religion shows that this is wrong three times over. First, atheism is merely the denial of theism: it is not, itself, a substantive worldview. Atheistic worldviews maintain that there are no gods; beyond this, they vary enormously. Second, substantive atheistic worldviews, such as naturalism, differ from religious worldviews in their eschewal of supernatural agents and supernatural structures: naturalistic worldviews have more minimal theoretical commitments than religious and other supernaturalistic worldviews. Third, naturalistic worldviews are not supported by the essential underpinnings of religion: they have no ties to ritualized, rhythmic, sensory coordination, in communion, congregation and intimate fellowship, of hard-to-fake public expressions of costly material commitments in the aid of mastery of people’s existential anxieties. True enough, there are naturalists who debate the prospects for, and merits of, supporting naturalistic worldviews with these kinds of underpinnings – but the vast majority of naturalists suppose that the provision of such underpinnings is neither feasible nor worthwhile.
The Amateur Exegete 