I think religious belief is different from things like anti-vaccination in that it doesn't cause any bodily harm to people. Whether it causes mental harm is something people disagree on, but it's really a decision for the individual if they want to believe in something that may be damaging.
I disagree with the drugs comparison in that I think religious belief is a good thing and so nothing like drugs at all. I also don't think it causes more harm than good in society. I think it's only harmful when taken to extremes, as in the case of terrorism, when people try to impose their beliefs on others or when they take their sacred text literally. Not every person with religious faith does these things -the vast majority of them never hurt anyone.
There have also been murders in my country over ideological differences. During the late twentieth century and even the early 2000's thousands of people were killed in Northern Ireland because of conflict between Catholics and Protestants. While that was also down to political differences religion definitely had something to do with it. So I understand that religion can be a cause for violence. But so can race, and football, and those things aren't considered inherently damaging.
And by respecting a belief I mean respecting a person's right to have it and the validity of that belief. Many atheists I have seen online are openly scornful of religious people and insist that having a belief in god is the result of stupidity or brainwashing. They don't consider it a 'real' belief because it is not backed up by logic. But I don't think beliefs have to be logical in order to count for something.
I disagree with the drugs comparison in that I think religious belief is a good thing and so nothing like drugs at all. I also don't think it causes more harm than good in society. I think it's only harmful when taken to extremes, as in the case of terrorism, when people try to impose their beliefs on others or when they take their sacred text literally. Not every person with religious faith does these things -the vast majority of them never hurt anyone.
There have also been murders in my country over ideological differences. During the late twentieth century and even the early 2000's thousands of people were killed in Northern Ireland because of conflict between Catholics and Protestants. While that was also down to political differences religion definitely had something to do with it. So I understand that religion can be a cause for violence. But so can race, and football, and those things aren't considered inherently damaging.
And by respecting a belief I mean respecting a person's right to have it and the validity of that belief. Many atheists I have seen online are openly scornful of religious people and insist that having a belief in god is the result of stupidity or brainwashing. They don't consider it a 'real' belief because it is not backed up by logic. But I don't think beliefs have to be logical in order to count for something.
