Why is religion so repugnant to some people

[vorlon13]

In regards to Mormonism, the utter lack of skill evidenced in Joseph Smith's scam is especially galling.

Then learning of his continuing revisions to his self proclaimed perfectly revealed revelations, and the subsequent church hierarchy's continuation of the revisions compounds my ire.

Icing on the cake is when all the revisions are raised as an objection to the genuineness of the church itself, as surely God would manage to AT LEAST once cough up a revelation correctly in the first place, and the revisions are cited as absolute proof of their faith's authenticity.

Compounding the Latter Day Saint's malpractice and malfeasance is their holy writings vile and pervasive racism. And a racism cited by past revered leaders as essential to the faith, and their stating dropping it would in fact falsify their faith. And then subsequent leaders dropped it, supposedly at the behest of god, but on this occasion, unlike all the other revelations, the specific text of god's commandment is never published.

I could go on.

At least in regards to falsifying the Mormon faith, all the hard work of it has been done by the Mormons themselves.

[DeadChannel]

I don't hate religious people, I hate what religion has done to the world.

I hate that evolution can't be taught in science classrooms. I hate that people are shunned from their family because of lack of belief or being gay. I hate that hateful propaganda movies get made trying to belittle atheists (see: god is not dead... or don't). I hate people telling me that I'm going to hell. That I'm just rebelling or lying or that this is just a phase. I hate bombings and murders for the sake of religion. I hate that women can't even own their own body in some countries - because of religion. I hate how my aunt won't talk to me because I'm nonreligious. I hate that people question my morals as an atheist. I hate how the bible's not okay with me saying god damn, but totally okay with, like, rape. I hate strawmans and logical fallacies. I hate how theists think they're being persecuted because atheists disagree with them (ironically, this is actually, literally the opposite). I hate war that hides behind religion. I hate the hateful things that get put up on church billboards. I hate that I can't drive to spokane to visit my (mostly religious) family without a sign loudly proclaiming "if you die tonight, heaven or hell?". I hate that I can't tell my friends what I believe because they probably wouldn't be friends anymore. I hate how homophobia and racism and misogyny hide behind religion. I hate how religion stops scientific progress. I hate how censorship hides behind religion (see: moral majority, hayes code, that guy who tried to get that Perks of Being a Wallflower book banned here). I hate how religion trains it's followers to ignore logic and reason. I hate how religion teaches it's followers to commit doublethink. I hate that millions have died for a giant guy in the sky with a beard who may or may not exist, but doesn't have the facts on his side. I hate how people have committed suicide because their religion didn't jive with their identify. I hate that this question even really needs to be asked.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Looks like the OP has got her answer. Hear, hear.

[DeadChannel]

Heh, thanks.

I have a thing about walls of text listing things.

[tjakey]

I see no value in faith. I certainly wouldn't worship a god as described by those religions, even if it did exist. I am not a fan of dogma wrapped in mythology, don't care for the oppression of women or minority groups, not much impressed with slavery as a social institution, and an convinced that education and knowledge are vastly more important than ideology and belief. More to the point, I see the demanding of, and the offering of, worship, as an immoral and degrading act. No creature that demands to be loved at the threat of eternal damnation is a creature who deserves to be loved. The Jews consider me second class at best. Most Muslim governments would have me executed and we all live under the (admittedly tiny) threat of being murdered by a Muslim extremist pretty much anywhere at any time. In the meanwhile he Christians here in America are convinced they have the right to dictate my life and then watch me burn in hell.

The religions of the god of Abraham pretty much hate me. Why be surprised if I hate them back?

[watchamadoodle]

Atheism is like preserving the mystery in life instead of creating a false sense of certainty. I enjoy the mystery of atheism much better. (Unfortunately, atheism takes effort for me due to religious indoctrination.)

[Kitty Galore]

I can see people not believing in God but why hate it?

I had two uncles neither believed in God, they didn't go to church. They were good family men and good providers. They didn't hate religion they just didn't want to hear it.

When people who are believers have ANY effect on the choices I make for my own body, what my children learn in school, government laws that I have to live by, then yes, THAT'S when I started resenting religion. Before that, I just didn't want to hear it.

Religious people don't have to agree with me, just keep it at church and home.

[Brian37]

I can see people not believing in God but why hate it?

I had two uncles neither believed in God, they didn't go to church. They were good family men and good providers. They didn't hate religion they just didn't want to hear it.

"Hate" in what context?

I certainly cant hate all 7 billion humans who of most hold some sort of religion and or god belief. But ideas certainly I can hate. Just like if you had a friend going around claiming the New York Yankees won the Superbowl. You may love them but the only appropriate response to that claim would be "
bullshit".

I have no compunction for example, calling out sexism and bigotry and homophobia done in the name of religion. I do hate the idea that there is a magic man in the sky concerned with this tiny dot in the middle of nowhere. I hate that humans feel the need to hold old beliefs that have no bases in our modern understanding of nature.

But I do not hate the good side of our species. I do not hate our ability to be compassionate. I could not function in the world if I merely hated others out of ignorance. We do not live on an island.

Again, our species has yet to learn on a big scale the difference between human rights, and the credibility of any idea uttered. Human rights are a given. But no one is obligated to like what comes out of someone eleses mouth on any subject.

You can love the person and still hate a claim they might make. People are not one claim on one issue. It depends what the person is saying and the topic and the evidence they have. Certainly they are under no obligation to prove what they claim, but I am also not obligated to adapt that position without evidence, and I am also not obligated to remain silent if I do not like what someone claims.

[Anomalocaris]

I can see people not believing in God but why hate it?

I had two uncles neither believed in God, they didn't go to church. They were good family men and good providers. They didn't hate religion they just didn't want to hear it.

Because religion is not harmless. Furthermore it never puts on any appearance of being beneficial without this appearance being designed specifically to immediately further the cause of doing some much greater harm. If you don't hate religion, then either you don't care, or you are oblivious.

[Neo-Scholastic]

igion. You don't have to be religious to be an evil person, but religion has a record of convincing otherwise good people to do bad things. ..Religion is a repugnan institution that holds people back more often than it lifts them up.

This post is a clear example of selection bias: see only the bad, ignore the good.