Being an Atheist, it is still somewhat surprising how a lack of dignity and class is so common across all religions.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.There is a reason for it:
"A doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The fanatical believer is not conscious of his envy, malice, pettiness and dishonesty. There is a wall of words between his consciousness and his real self." - Eric Hoffer, The True Believer
"Religion is not a matter of God, church, holy cause, etc. These are but accessories. The source of religious preoccupation is in the self, or rather the rejection of the self. Dedication in the obverse side of self-rejection. Man alone is a religious animal because, as Montaigne points out, it is a malady confined to man, and not seen in any other creature, to hate and despise ourselves." - Eric Hoffer (author of The True Believer)
"The fanatic is perpetually incomplete and insecure. He cannot generate self-assurance out of his individual resources - out of his rejected self - but finds it only by clinging passionately to whatever support he happens to embrace. This passionate attachment is the essence of his blind devotion and religiosity, and he sees in it the source of all virtue and strength - He easily sees himself as the supporter and defender of the holy cause to which he clings. And he is ready to sacrifice his life." - Eric Hoffer
nogod4me
Level 8
Oct 4, 2023
1
Great quotes.
Religion is a synonym for narcissism. The whole business is is about promoting narcissism, because vanity and hubris are needy, they need constant reinforcement, and will do anything or pay anything for that.
Members of any in-group tend to judge any out-group by its worst members, and their in-group by its best members.
So it’s not as much about religion as it is about identity.
Those who identify as religious often regard atheists as inferior, and, who knows… there might even be some atheists who regard all non-atheists as inferior.
skado
Level 9
Oct 4, 2023
1
Not inferior, at best gullible at worst monstrous exploiters of that gullibility, who give the chance to exploit their power star committing genocides, pogroms and crusades, every religion has or is doing this given half a chance.
Plug in whatever negative description you like. In-groups see it in out-groups, but not in their own.
@Gwendolyn2018
I can certainly understand that reason! 
Two of the main appeals of all religions are that
A) We are the only ones who are right, therefore god loves US alone
B) The most important thing in life is to be humble before God, therefore pride is a sin
So the true believer is lower than low in the eyes of god, BUT everyone else is lower still and god hates THEM, so we can too.
LenHazell53
Level 9
Oct 4, 2023
0
All religions?
@skado
Yup, name any religion that does not either directly or indirectly claim to be the one true way
@LenHazell53
That’s a little bit different from “We are the only ones who are right, therefore god loves US alone.” There are non-theistic religions, to start with… and… when the major world religions are studied from a scientific (anthropological, sociological, psychological) perspective, it’s not hard to see that they are all talking about the same “way” viewed through different cultural lenses. The most insightful practitioners of all religions have acknowledged that. When they say their way is the only way, they are all correct.
There is truly only one “way” and, as all religious disciplines acknowledge, each in their culturally unique style, that way is training the mind away from ego-identification.
@skado Stop making excuses for the inexcusable
@LenHazell53
What is it you think I’m making an excuse for?
@skado
Veneration of Foul holy books that teach abominations, child beating, slavery, capital punishment for natural conditions, child murder to appease an abominable god. That's before we get to lying and exploitative priests and holy men, Industrial scale abuse and child trafficking, tacit condoning of criminal enterprises, inquisitions, crusades, torture, witch burnings, Heretic slaughtering, sexual abuse, taking money from dictators in exchange for support, industrial scale prejudice and the incitement to hate, religious wars and on and on and on
You know all of this, why are you pretending wilful ignorance?
@LenHazell53 you forgot eating babies, among other things...
I'm not pretending anything.
Do you think none of that stuff occurs outside of religious settings?
I was raised in the Baptist Church in the deep South in the 1950s, and have visited a number of other denominations, and have never encountered a religion that promoted any of that. What they actually teach, in my experience, and I think in most cases (Westboro Baptist type outliers notwithstanding) is peace, love, and tolerance. The tendencies you list are universal human tendencies that plague all human institutions. To blame the one institution that is trying to counter those tendencies, for failing to do it perfectly or completely, is like blaming law enforcement for the crimes they didn't prevent. Hey, some cops are crooked. Some politicians are crooked. Some educators, some businessmen, etc. Must we now do away with law enforcement, politics, education and commerce too?
Anecdotal evidence is not representative of the actual reality. The squeaky wheel gets the headlines, but inside the church the great majority are just quietly trying to live a decent life.
@skado What-aboutism that's the best you've got?
You sound like a KKK apologist claiming many of the members are "decent people" because they like to dress up in sheets and go on the really nice picnic , but are not as individual actually racist at all. It's just a social thing!
@LenHazell53
I failed to get my point across, so I'll try again.
Whataboutism is essentially saying "Your side does things just as heinous, so you have no grounds to criticize my side." In our discussion here, maybe you read my comments as "Other factions are just as bad, so why make a big deal out of only one faction."
That is not what I'm saying.
To start with, I don't identify with any faction. At least not any faction smaller than Homo sapiens ( I am a little bit partial toward them ). So this isn't my side against yours. You and I are on the same team.
But my point is that religion is not the source of all those horrible things you mentioned. The evidence for that is they happen everywhere there are humans, religion or no. Remove religion and those things would go right on happening without skipping a beat. That doesn't excuse them. Bad behavior is bad, wherever it comes from. But if you blame the wrong perpetrator, the real culprit is free to continue its crime spree.
All humans are not exempt either, but "some" don't push themselves off as being "pious".
Switchcraft
Level 7
Oct 4, 2023
1
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