I had a distant relative who was religious, she never mentioned it, the closest she ever got was saying something like, "everything happens for a reason" and even then i would have to resist the temptation to say, "oh yeah? what about cot death? huh? huh?"
My atheism comes from wanting to snap people out of delusions and group-think, I don't think it's right to do this when the delusion is harmless though, maybe if something bad happened to my relative and she could do something about it but instead consoled herself with that "everything happens for a reason" mantra, then I would try and change her mind.
I could imagine religion that is harmless, the Church of England comes quite close to that imo, but it says a lot that about the nature of religious belief as a whole that for it to be acceptable there's so much you need to strip away and water down. I suppose it comes down to whether those people who just get a basic level of comfort like my relative are responsible for the perpetuation of the more harmful religious ideas, does the strength in numbers they give religion lend credence to the arguments of the bigots, zealots, end times fanatics and flat earthers? Is there not a way they could derive comfort from something other than organised religion?
My atheism comes from wanting to snap people out of delusions and group-think, I don't think it's right to do this when the delusion is harmless though, maybe if something bad happened to my relative and she could do something about it but instead consoled herself with that "everything happens for a reason" mantra, then I would try and change her mind.
I could imagine religion that is harmless, the Church of England comes quite close to that imo, but it says a lot that about the nature of religious belief as a whole that for it to be acceptable there's so much you need to strip away and water down. I suppose it comes down to whether those people who just get a basic level of comfort like my relative are responsible for the perpetuation of the more harmful religious ideas, does the strength in numbers they give religion lend credence to the arguments of the bigots, zealots, end times fanatics and flat earthers? Is there not a way they could derive comfort from something other than organised religion?
“The larger the group, the more toxic, the more of your beauty as an individual you have to surrender for the sake of group thought. And when you suspend your individual beauty you also give up a lot of your humanity. You will do things in the name of a group that you would never do on your own. Injuring, hurting, killing, drinking are all part of it, because you've lost your identity, because you now owe your allegiance to this thing that's bigger than you are and that controls you.” - George Carlin
