For something to qualify as a “religion,” there have to be certain features to it that astrology lacks, such as faith in the supernatural. Many (perhaps most) astrology buffs stridently claim that there’s nothing “supernatural” about it — that they are making use of natural phenomena. (Nonsense, of course, but that’s how they see it.) Many of them truly think of it as a science! That’s pretty much against the grain for anything called a “religion.”

Another feature that is (arguably) universally present in a religion is a god figure, or multiple god figures. (One or two “religions” do not have this characteristic, which prompts some people to argue that they aren’t even really religions, but are philosophies instead. Frankly, I agree.) Even those astrology buffs who do regard it as dealing with the supernatural don’t seem to regard the planets and stars as gods. They sometimes see them as tools of God (or of Nature personified, or some such newage religious belief), but that no more makes astrology itself a religion than it makes meteorology a religion for those people who think God uses storms to express his wrath; in the latter case, the weather is a tool of their religious figure, not the focus of religion itself — and so it is with the stars and planets to astrology believers.

Thus, astrology is superstition, but it is not religion.

~David D.G.

But Hemant said it so you know that it’s true. I mean, the friendly atheist wouldn’t deceive us… would he?

Oddly, Hemant, your book is STILL categorized under “Christianity”. I’ve submitted a title correction, and Home Office simply says “The subject/display for this title will not change”.

Also, B&N seems a little inconsistent in terms of what they put in Ag/Ath (which I’ll accept for now, since it is a new category). “God Delusion” is under Evolutions subsection in Science/Tech, because it is shelved with all of Dawkins’ other titles. However, Hitch’s “God is Not Great”, which has more of an anecdotal “current events” format is in Ag/Ath, not our Current Affairs section (which has Harris’ “End of Faith” and “Letter to a Christian Nation”. Eventually they’ll figure it out, I suppose.

Would anyone like to offer up a guess as to why Atheism and Astrology are in the same section in this bookstore?

because they use the same classification methods as Birmingham city council’s blocking software?

So my guess is that they included Atheism along with all the other minority religious viewpoints, such as paganism, astrology, wicca, meditation, etc.

Wes, how the heck is astrology a religious viewpoint, minority or otherwise?

~David D.G.