A Simple Rule

[DeistPaladin]

I think there are other forms of radical -- for instance, Sufi Islam, which is a mystic recasting of the Koran, or Calvinism; neither of which are grounded in literal readings of their holy books, but rather, rely upon interpretation; and neither of which espouse violence (any more).

People create new religions all the time. The Randian Christians who make up much of the religious right have somehow managed to fabricate a completely new hybrid religion between two prophets, Ayn Rand and Jesus, who would have opposed and despised one another.

The "scripture" here becomes more a matter of oral traditions, since the Paul Ryan style Randian Christians are comfortable with neither Jesus' arguable proto-socialism nor Ayn Rand's contempt for religion.

The fact that new religions can be created doesn't mean the more traditional ones don't need inspection or criticism.

As an aside, I don't think moderation of extremism in faith are conscious choices. I think they're much more a result of the circumstances of one's upbringing, including parents, local culture and prevailing views, wealth or its lack, as well as exposure to moderate or extremist preachments.

The major challenge for Islam and civilization is finding out how they can moderate and integrate. They did once, certainly. The very reason Europe climbed out of the Dark Ages at all is because the more moderate Islamic world kept the flame of Greco-Roman knowledge going. But this was a different strain of Islam than the one we currently know, just as Christianity has changed since then.

Do you have any actual cases of moderates abandoning the faith altogether because a skeptic chided that they weren't being true to it?

Nearly every story I've heard from ex-Christians is that their road to rationality involved a gradual process of increasing moderation until they abandoned their faith completely. The moderation pitstop was an attempt to reconcile scripture with what they knew of the way the world actually works. The final step is when they realize that scripture says what it does and that there's no way to do so.

Every "moderate" Christian I know or knew, at least every one that I can think of right now, is/was a moderate precisely because they can't/couldn't deny that the world is older than 6000 years old and evolution is the explanation for how we came to be. That's kind of why I was so incredulous at even the prospect you outlined. The very reason they're moderates is because they are unable to be fundamentalists. That door is barred shut from the knowledge they acquired. Their moderation is an attempt to cling to their religion against the evidence to the contrary.

---

They will get secular once they are more educated and provided with actual opportunities.

I wish that were true.

Many of the 9/11 hijackers were educated. Education is no inoculation to religion as we think it ought to be because of the human ability to compartmentalize our minds.