A lot of the posts here are just pointing out how illogical religion is, which I don’t mind. I’m religious myself, but I’m well aware how ridiculous it is. What does bother me is the arguments against Christianity that are used as arguments against all religions. Most of you were likely raised christian, so I understand why you focus on it, but most religions don’t have all of the problems Christianity does. I think a lot of the posts here would fit better in an ex-christian community.
I don’t know which posts you’re taking issue with exactly, but I personally try to be pretty precise when I criticize religions because I think that’s the best way to criticize them. Speaking broadly about all supernatural phenomena being bullshit only gets you so far in a conversation. Vague statements like “the world would be more peaceful without religion” are only so meaningful.
The other thing to consider is that religions aren’t monolithic entities either. If I’m criticizing American Christian theocrats, I’m generally not addressing moderate Christians who believe in separation of church and state. If I’m criticizing jihadists and burkas, I’m obviously not addressing moderate Muslims. Context has to be taken into consideration. If people feel personally attacked by what I say because of a general association with religion broadly or a specific religion, it’s kind of a them problem, not a me problem. And, btw, I’m saying all this as a nontheistic satanist who has plenty of experience having my own religion misunderstood.
I don’t know which posts you’re taking issue with exactly, but I personally try to be pretty precise when I criticize religions because I think that’s the best way to criticize them.
Good, that’s all I want. As long as you specify that you are talking about an individual religion, it won’t bother me. You aren’t my problem.
And, btw, I’m saying all this as a nontheistic satanist who has plenty of experience having my own religion misunderstood.
I’m not trying to be rude but wouldn’t that just come with the territory? If you call yourself a satanist then I imagine a lot of people would reasonably assume you believe in and worship Satan.
Only if they can’t be bothered to ask questions and do a little research instead of making assumptions.
I’m not trying to be rude but wouldn’t that just come with the territory? If you call yourself a satanist then I imagine a lot of people would reasonably assume you believe in and worship Satan.
Right, what I mean is I just don’t let it bother me when people have misconceptions about my beliefs. Their attacks are meaningless because they don’t even understand what I believe. By mentioning this, I was trying to suggest not letting it bother you so much if people make broad criticisms of religion because they probably don’t know what your specific beliefs actually are and might not even be speaking to them. It’s kind of like when people say All Cops Are Bastards. That’s obviously an absolutist statement that can’t possibly be true, but people like to be hyperbolic to get their point across.
By mentioning this, I was trying to suggest not letting it bother you so much if people make broad criticisms of religion because they probably don’t know what your specific beliefs actually are and might not even be speaking to them.
It doesn’t bother me when people make broad criticisms of religion, it bothers me when there is no distinction between specific religions and all religion. I may have worded badly what I said before, I am not very insulted by what I see here. I am more just disappointed because I think it detracts from the experience here. I just want people to know what they are criticizing and clarify if it is needed. Communities like this often devolve into echo chambers and I think the lack of clarification makes it more difficult to have open and respectful conversations on these topics. My experience here has been much better than the atheism subreddit, which is why I care enough to point out this problem. I want to keep it that way, and I want it to be even better than it is now. I don’t want this to be yet another group of people making the same 4 posts about how smart they are and how dumb Christians are. But that’s all I see in the posts that I’m talking about.
