(February 15, 2015 at 11:14 pm)Dystopia Wrote: Sometimes this question bugs my mind. Atheists criticize religion, but we don't criticize all religion equally. If you asked me which is the most criticized religion by atheists I would answer (without a fucking doubt) Islam. For American atheists criticizing Christianity seems like a civil rights necessity and I completely understand the cause. But let's get the facts straight:
- If we simply look at the wikipedia page about terrorist groups and organizations we will see that the majority of them are Islamic based (there are also separatist, communist and white supremacist ones). Islam is undoubtedly the most harmful religion in the world nowadays. You don't need to be a genius to realize this, if someone decided to claim today that Mohammed spoke to him that person would be labelled as clinically insane
Answer to my own question:
- I don't think all religions are equally harmful - I recognize some cause more harm and need larger criticism or counter-attacks. My priority is to criticize Islam since in my country the number of Catholics is progressively decreasing and I don't have to deal with many religious nuts in positions of power.
I think atheists can and should criticize all religions, and every individual person can set up his/her own priorities. But make no mistake, some religions are way worse. Islam, at least Islamic terrorism, is our higher priority right now.
The west's failure to acknowledge the fact Islamic terrorism is due to religion and not exceptional mentally handicapped incorrect and twisted ideologies perpetuated by crazy people has to end. If you interview a Jihadist or a guy from Al-Qaeda you'll see that religion is what motivates them, it's all about religion, it's not about excessively violent people - Muslim terrorists rationalize their behaviour and think they are 100% right, and their ideology is based on Islamic holy books (Quran, Sharia and others).
Don't bring the argument that Christianity was bad with the crusades and the inquisition - I don't care about the past right now, we have managed to domesticate Christianity (Catholicism at least, and Anglicanism, Lutheranism and Calvinism) and even if we compared the Christian theocracies with the average Muslim country, the latter still wins the contest of Who's more harmful?. I know that in the US there are problems with Christianity that should be actively fought, and it's a pressing concern. But do you want to compare the Westboro Baptist Church with Islamic terrorists? Shit, even the KKK and the European Hammerskins/Aryan Brotherhood seem weak. This isn't meant to imply you can't solve problems in the US related to a lack of secularism but Islam is still the world's most harmful religion and it's something that can be objectively measured.
What do you think? Is my reasoning correct? If you answered no (Like I'm doing), then what are your priorities? Which religion is worse and which is more harmful to you?
Final thoughts - I think all religions are equally false and I can't stress this one enough, but there are so many false claims in the world to fight against that we ought to worry about harmful false viewpoints. Islam is one example, but I don't allow Christianity to get a pass. Buddhism also gets the occasional criticism when shit happens. Judaism goes unnoticed and should get a bit more of criticism, particularly in Israel. (I'm not talking about Jewish culture and ethnicities, only about Judaism as a religion regardless of the practitioner's race)
As a former christian (or as some would say "not a real christian"). All religions are equally harmful... in the sense that they harm one or more things to a person.
Lets take Christianity for example.
What i have noticed over the time i have been an atheist, Christianity tends to KEEP people dumb. Some atheists argue that it makes them dumb but i disagree. When a christian doesn't know how or why something occurred they simply think God did it. So they stay in the dark of the real cause of whatever occurred.
You may wonder, why would they say or think that it was some god? Well, its quite simple. Atheists are programmed/reprogrammed to think outside the box where as a christian is programmed/reprogrammed to have all the questions answered with one answer, God. Its mind boggling!
Now if we take Islam, what is harmful is the violence it promotes.
I know you didn't want this info brought up again but like the crusades and Salem witch trials, yes Christians were violent but i completely threw this argument out the window. And for fellow atheists reading this post, this is why.
The whole idea that Christians did such and such in the past in the name of religion doesn't differentiate the violence there was at the birth of the Olympics. Men training for 40 years just to die at the end in a death match. This tells me that there was always violence in the past and is no different from being in the name of religion or in the name of whoever king ruled at the time. We were savages! BIG time savages. Id say that since we have gotten more civilized, there is actually less death than before.
However... In today's world it is widely accepted (for the most part) that killing is not a good thing, whether we reason it secular or some book says so. So i think that most people should know better by now... In that case, Islam is still living in the dark ages (in a way) and must be taught to think like a progressive, 21st century human being who has a brain and knows how to use it.
So they all are equally as harmful but in their own way. Which is worse? Whats the ratio of stupid to violent people? about the same, give or take from both sides.
xR34P3Rx
it isn't in our nature to think of a God, it is in our nature to seek answers and the concept of God is most influenced in this world.
it isn't in our nature to think of a God, it is in our nature to seek answers and the concept of God is most influenced in this world.