Should atheists encourage strife between religious groups? (believe, blood, America)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think pretty much all atheists are well aware that much of the world does not think highly of us. According to the Gallup polls over the years, the willingness of the American people to vote for a qualified presidential candidate who happens to be an atheist are startlingly low.
Americans overall think atheists are dangerous and should not be trusted. Many of these same Americans see no problem with violating the civil rights of atheists. Some like former president George Bush Sr. reportedly think that atheists are not capable of patriotism and are undeserving of citizenship.
So-called weak activism, accommodationist activism, does not seem to be working. I increasingly have my doubts when I see individuals and groups violate the rights of atheists with impunity and get the support or at least a pass from state and federal government. Obviously, many government officials are so steeped in their own religious teachings that they cannot see beyond them to do their secular duty by atheists. If it is true that atheists will never get the respect they deserve using conventional channels, how do we get a seat at the table, so to speak?
Keeping the faithful's concentration on the differences between their religions is a good start. Many religious people seem happy to identify with people of other faiths before they will even accept the existence of atheism. When religious groups criticize other faiths, atheists should be there to make sure the attacking faith's own hypocrisy is noted. Taking the side of the 'lesser of two evils' is unacceptable. I say, the more friction between the religions, the better. I hate to see bloodshed over it, but if it is going to happen anyway (and who doubts it will?), the voice of reason should benefit.
I suspect they are quite capable of doing this all on their own. Amazingly, they all claim to have the very same imaginary friend, and they squabble over which one of themselves this imaginary friend loves the most, and, they wonder why so many of us non-believer types consider their religious attempts to be lunacy.
OP - I probably would go the opposite way and encourage true dialog among religions. The extreme elements in many religions seem to be at each other's throats, and promoting some understanding may increase tolerance and reduce unnecessary hatred and bloodshed.
Religionists due a pretty good job of stirring up trouble amongst themselves.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
