psyah

Interesting discussion here:

I would like to put across my perspective from an Islamic slant and hopefully clarify some of the above said also:

The problem Islam has with hedonism is not because hedonism is pleasure seeking, but because it appoints pleasure as a god other than Allah (SWT), that it allows the human mind and heart to choose it's course in life instead of submitting to the Will of God exclusively, i.e. whether it is pleasurable do so or not.

Asceticism is really only a tool to bend hedonistically influenced Muslims back to a central condition - to be balanced.

Religion or Islam is pleasure promoting, but at the same time it contextualises it ... forsaking immediate gratification for a greater pleasure in the Hereafter. Hedonism has no scope for an Afterlife, it's tenets are limited to this world and this life. Islam is also comforting for those in pain, promoting forebearance, whereas hedonism offers no olive branch to them and promotes instead people to change in times of hardship instead of forebearance.

Hedonism is the actual religion of most Atheists, especially those who know nothing of science, and moreso those who specialise in it, because they aught to know better.