Why should I respect other peoples beliefs

01-06-2017 01:11PM

Tayschren wrote: »

"Respect other peoples beliefs" she says. Why should I respect other peoples beliefs if they are outright ridiculous.

Looks at the Christians(insert Muslim,Jew,Hindu or Scientologist) believing in the holy ghost,Jesus and God. How mental is it or how much of a hypnotized automaton do you have to be to believe that nonsense, the bible is the word of god, mass is going to help you, your going to heaven! feck of ye dope....Do I have to pretend im not laughing at your stupidity for believing this crap?

These religions/beliefs(spiritual jibber jabbers included) are makey upy wishy washy nonsense which makes you look stupid for believing it so no I don't think I will be respecting your beliefs... maybe harsh but there you go..

So educate me why I should respect other peoples beliefs AH

is it just other peoples religious beliefs you dont like OP?
or do you have a problem with other peoples beliefs about other things?
or do you just have a problem with peoples beliefs that differ to yours?
while you may not respect anothers beliefs, you should respect the right they have to hold them. I dont believe in God, however I will defend anyones right to practise their religion.
So long as the persons belief doesnt harm others.

animaal · 01-06-2017 01:11PM

No belief or idea requires respect. There are a lot of beliefs that I don't respect. But people do deserve respect.

I know plenty of people holding beliefs that I don't hold. Respecting the person means that I don't use our differences as a source of conflict. If that person brings up a "stupid" belief in a conversation, I might skip over the reference. Or I might make a vague comment about having a different viewpoint. The only time I'm likely to rail against a belief is if it's stuffed down my throat. But I find that these days, when an idea is being stuffed down my throat, it tends not to be a religious one...

neverever1 · 01-06-2017 01:25PM

Atheism is basically a religion at this stage and many followers of atheism are just as annoying as the other religious nutters who ram their beliefs down everyone else's throat.

Mrs OBumble · 01-06-2017 01:35PM

neverever1 wrote: »

Atheism is basically a religion at this stage and many followers of atheism are just as annoying as the other religious nutters who ram their beliefs down everyone else's throat.

This.

OP do you want other peopleto respect ypu and your beliefs, even if they don't agree with you?

If so thenyou should respect them too.

sbsquarepants · 01-06-2017 01:36PM

pilly wrote: »

You see this is the thing. A belief can not be wrong, byit's very nature it's what someone believes in, it's not a statement of fact. Especially when it comes to religion.

That's what people have to get over, both those who have strong beliefs and those who disagree with them.

It can of course be wrong.

R. Kellys flying ability is no more pronounced than my own, no matter what he believes!

basillarkin · 01-06-2017 01:40PM

Glenster wrote: »

Only after you share some evidence that Julius Caesar existed.

Way to deflect

Ush1 · 01-06-2017 01:43PM

neverever1 wrote: »

Atheism is basically a religion at this stage and many followers of atheism are just as annoying as the other religious nutters who ram their beliefs down everyone else's throat.

Sam Kade · 01-06-2017 01:45PM

neverever1 wrote: »

Atheism is basically a religion at this stage and many followers of atheism are just as annoying as the other religious nutters who ram their beliefs down everyone else's throat.[/ Atheists spend most of their time talking about God something like vegans talking about people that eat meat. No better than having religion forced on you. What do you call non believers that mind their own business?

elefant · 01-06-2017 01:47PM

Sam Kade wrote: »

Atheists spend most of their time talking about God something like vegans talking about people that eat meat. No better than having religion forced on you. What do you call non believers that mind their own business?

Atheists.

jigglypuffstuff · 01-06-2017 01:50PM

neverever1 wrote: »

What do you call non believers that mind their own business?

A unicorn :'D

Sam Kade · 01-06-2017 01:51PM

elefant wrote: »

Atheists.

Except they don't mind their business.

Sam Kade · 01-06-2017 01:52PM

pone2012 wrote: »

A unicorn :'D

As in one singular person.

storker · 01-06-2017 01:53PM

neverever1 wrote: »

Atheism is basically a religion at this stage and many followers of atheism are just as annoying as the other religious nutters who ram their beliefs down everyone else's throat.

It isn't and never can be, even though some atheists in need of sense-of-perspective transplants might act as if it is, and thus become the very thing they criticise. I say this as an atheist who loves Christmas and who has no great objection to crucifixes in schools.

If I remember correctly some time ago Atheist Ireland dis-invited someone from speaking at some event because although the person was an atheist, they held other opinions that AI considered inappropriate for an atheist. This is where atheism can become its own worst enemy. Literally.

Most atheists I know, however, are fairly chilled out about other people's beliefs.

Yourself isit · 01-06-2017 01:56PM

challengemaster wrote: »

Well, considering it's actually backed up by science that religious people are less intelligent than their non-religious counterparts, technically there's nothing wrong about calling them stupid.

http://emilkirkegaard.dk/en/wp-content/uploads/The-Relation-Between-Intelligence-and-Religiosity-A-Meta-Analysis-and-Some-Proposed-Explanations.pdf

That's a generalisation. In a secular country or secular times it's not that smart to be an atheist. The op doesn't exactly write like a genius.

jigglypuffstuff · 01-06-2017 01:56PM

Sam Kade wrote: »

As in one singular person.

No, as in I'm joking... There are plenty who don't care to even discuss the topic...

meeeeh · 01-06-2017 02:06PM

I don't know about respect for religious beliefs, some are completely bonkers but as long as they don't overly cause harm or interfere with my life I have no desire to discuss them.

However it always makes me smile when people are so desperate to feel intelligent that they start to think being atheist makes them smart.

Shenshen · 01-06-2017 02:09PM

pilly wrote: »

You see this is the thing. A belief can not be wrong, byit's very nature it's what someone believes in, it's not a statement of fact. Especially when it comes to religion.

That's what people have to get over, both those who have strong beliefs and those who disagree with them.

Can it not? So the world is in fact flat and a oblength spheroid at the same time, because some people believe one and some the other?

Fratton Fred · 01-06-2017 02:11PM

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

so one of you gets to say "I told you so" for enternity. That's gonna be tough :P

pilly · 01-06-2017 02:13PM

Shenshen wrote: »

Can it not? So the world is in fact flat and a oblength spheroid at the same time, because some people believe one and some the other?

Okay, perhaps I should have been more specific. The definition of belief highlights that its usually something without proof.

Nobody can disprove that God exists any more than they can prove he does exist.

Ush1 · 01-06-2017 02:17PM

pilly wrote: »

Okay, perhaps I should have been more specific. The definition of belief highlights that its usually something without proof.

Nobody can disprove that God exists any more than they can prove he does exist.

Say whut?

VinLieger · 01-06-2017 02:21PM

neverever1 wrote: »

Atheism is basically a religion at this stage and many followers of atheism are just as annoying as the other religious nutters who ram their beliefs down everyone else's throat.

What a moronic thing to write, by definition atheism can not be a religion

Shenshen · 01-06-2017 02:24PM

pilly wrote: »

Okay, perhaps I should have been more specific. The definition of belief highlights that its usually something without proof.

Nobody can disprove that God exists any more than they can prove he does exist.

Yes, that brings us neatly to Russell's teapot, doesn't it?
Everybody generally dismisses the vast majority of things we could possibly believe in, on the basis that they are improbable. Like the teapot orbiting Jupiter, like the invisible pink unicorn living in my uncle's garage, like the tooth fairy, like the Royal family being man-eating lizard people. It's an endless list. At one end, it stretches into fairy tales, at the other into conspiracy theories.

All of them are utterly impossible to disprove, and so the burden of providing proof does fall on the person claiming their veracity.

ScumLord · 01-06-2017 02:32PM

pilly wrote: »

Nobody can disprove that God exists any more than they can prove he does exist.

I guess not, the same way if I come up with something unprovable you can't disprove it either, but you can safely assume that I probably haven't randomly come up with something that's true.

There's no reason to believe that 3000 years ago rambling nomads came up with a theory of everything that is completely correct and god decided they would be the only people on earth he would talk too.

I can't prove they were right or wrong, but I can safely assume they were wrong. There's literally no reason to believe their version of events.

Zirconia · 01-06-2017 02:35PM

I don't respect religious beliefs, but I do respect peoples right to hold such beliefs.
And while I don't respect their beliefs, I'm not rude or confrontational about it - I keep my opinion to myself; unless they try to evangelize and push their beliefs on me, as I find that disrespectful and rude.
I do have to say though, that my opinion of someone I consider to be intelligent does drop somewhat if they mention they hold religious beliefs, but I respect their right to their beliefs and leave them to it.

Permabear · 01-06-2017 02:38PM

This post has been deleted.

ThinkProgress · 01-06-2017 02:38PM

Layinghen wrote: »

Because it is the polite thing to do.

F*ck being polite... crazy people use your politeness as a green light to keep being as crazy as they wish!

Widdershins wrote: »

I would like to know how this person defines ''respect''? I do think everyone's morally entitled not to be persecuted, harassed, bullied or mocked because of their strange beliefs. As long as they're not harming anyone, that is. I think that's just common decency.

But no belief system is above criticism. You can criticise the ideology without being rude to the person.

But religious beliefs are harming people... they are (and always have been) harming society as a whole. And they hold us back as a species from evolving properly!

I agree with you that people should not be "persecuted, harassed or bullied"... but that last part about being mocked... nope you're wrong there! Actually I think it's essential that we mock strange beliefs that have no concrete foundation in reality. The more whacky something is, the more it should be mocked imo...

A big part of the reason some of these crazy beliefs are able to grow in the first place, is because too many people bite their tongue and don't want to upset anyone... If everyone took this pacifist attitude, then we would all probably be going around believing in unicorns and mermaids etc!! :pac:

This notion that "if it's not harming anyone" is total BS... It's the same as basically saying, lies are perfectly okay so long as they are not harming anyone! But generally speaking, lies are NOT okay. If everyone went around constantly lying all the time... pretty soon society would start to fall apart! Nobody would trust anyone, and we wouldn't have any idea what was real or a lie!

pilly · 01-06-2017 02:43PM

ScumLord wrote: »

I guess not, the same way if I come up with something unprovable you can't disprove it either, but you can safely assume that I probably haven't randomly come up with something that's true.

There's no reason to believe that 3000 years ago rambling nomads came up with a theory of everything that is completely correct and god decided they would be the only people on earth he would talk too.

I can't prove they were right or wrong, but I can safely assume they were wrong. There's literally no reason to believe their version of events.

In your opinion.

Widdershins · 01-06-2017 02:46PM

ThinkProgress wrote: »

F*ck being polite... crazy people use your politeness as a green light to keep being as crazy as they wish!

But religious beliefs are harming people... they are (and always have been) harming society as a whole. And they hold us back as a species from evolving properly!

I agree with you that people should not be "persecuted, harassed or bullied"... but that last part about being mocked... nope you're wrong there! Actually I think it's essential that we mock strange beliefs that have no concrete foundation in reality. The more whacky something is, the more it should be mocked imo...

A big part of the reason some of these crazy beliefs are able to grow in the first place, is because too many people bite their tongue and don't want to upset anyone... If everyone took this pacifist attitude, then we would all probably be going around believing in unicorns and mermaids etc!! :pac:

This notion that "if it's not harming anyone" is total BS... It's the same as basically saying, lies are perfectly okay so long as they are not harming anyone! But generally speaking, lies are NOT okay. If everyone went around constantly lying all the time... pretty soon society would start to fall apart! Nobody would trust anyone, and we wouldn't have any idea what was real or a lie!

Mocking disputing or arguing with religious beliefs with the average person is a waste of time. They already have a religious answer...because they think you are one of the unbelievers, you'll never understand.

AudreyHepburn · 01-06-2017 02:47PM

You don't have to respect the beliefs in themselves OP, but you should respect the person's right to hold the beliefs.

It's the decent and polite thing to do.

Permabear · 01-06-2017 02:47PM

This post has been deleted.

Why should I respect other peoples beliefs

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