Do you hold other members of your belief (or non-belief) system to a different... (moral, beliefs)

[Feathers in Hair]

Do you hold other members of your (or non belief) system to a different standard than you might members of another religion? While I was thinking, specifically, of a higher standard, perhaps people might have insight into holding them in a lower standard as well.

As I noted last night in another thread, I have a horrible tendency to think that other pagans should be non-bigoted. By pre-judging them, it tends to come as a shock when they hold the beliefs of other people as wrong or 'less valid'. I know this is silly, because they're just as human as anyone else, but I tend to view those people more harshly than I would if someone from another belief system were saying the same thing.

Does anyone else experience this? Is it something that's detrimental to society?

[Terrywoodenpic]

No I don't think I do.
I expect every one to hold as true to their beliefs ,as I try with mine.

Terry
_________________________________
Amen! Truly I say to you: Gather in my name. I am with you.

[Fluffy]

Yes I am guilty of this one. Most specificly, I do am far more against Wiccans who go around saying they worship the devil than if a member of a different faith did it instead. However, I feel such feelings are legitmised since it is far easier to convince people of misinformation when you are of that faith rather than another one. Wicca certainly could do without the bad press so I dislike it when it happens.

However, I have seen other Wiccans condemn any other Wiccan who wears leather, shows off a pentacle of doesn't keep a book of shadows. Such views, in such a diverse faith, seem very odd and alien to me and I must admit I cannot comprehend where they are coming from. However, I can empathise with such an attitude, about any faith in fact, if they feel that they are in someway touching on what I was saying in my first paragraph.

[Engyo]

I am not sure I would call it "holding to a higher standard"; however I do have certain expectations of someone who claims to be Buddhist. I can be offended much more easily by unmindful behavior from a Buddhist than I am by the same from a non-Buddhist. This is an incorrect attachment on my part, and I am working to release it.

[Feathers in Hair]

"Working to release it" sounds like a very healthy thing to do. *believes she will try this out*

[James the Persian]

Yes, I think I do. This is pretty common, surely? There is little that is likely to get me so riled up as an Orthodox Christian - particularly one who claims to take their faith seriously - who clearly espouses beliefs condemned by the Church. A good example would be a childhood friend of my wife who attends Liturgy on Sundays and then goes to witches during the week to get spells cast, have her future divined etc. This is not an uncommon thing to find, particularly among women, in rural Romania. If she didn't claim to be a good Orthodox woman I would forgive it as just part of the folk superstition of the area (though the spell-casting often being in order to curse people would still be morally unforgiveable, despite the fact that I think it is nonsense) but I feel that someone brought up in the faith ought to know better. Then again, I'm not exactly favourably disposed towards hypocrisy even amongst followers of religions other than my own.

James

[Snowbear]

I have seen far too much hypocrisy from people of ALL faiths as well as unexpected goodness from people I would least expect it from to pre-judge anyone. I've found it's better to just kick back and watch.... people will eventually reveal their true nature

[Quoth The Raven]

Personally, it annoys me more that people will say,'I believe this is wrong because my religion says so.', but if it's something their religion says is wrong that inconveniences them then it doesn't count.
We recently had a case here of a woman having her feeding tube removed. Long story, husband and his mistress tried to kill her and left her in her car boot in the middle of the city, the result was PVS, court appointed guardian right off the bat, feeding tube removed on the advice of doctors. Her husband (of course he's going to say it, because they're considering upping his attempted murder charge to murder since her death) and the rest of her family said she would not want to have her feeding tube removed because she was a devout Catholic. That's fair enough, but considering she had her photo up on swingers websites and regularly engaged in sex with men other than her husband - or in various configurations involving her husband - I find it annoying that people can claim she'd have any view based on her devotion to her faith.
My sister in law is the same. She's also Catholic (please don't think I'm Catholic bashing, they're just the two cases that immediately come to mind) and looks down on my other half and me because we're not married yet. We've been together for over 10 years, but the fact we don't have a piece of paper makes our relationship less in her eyes, because we're 'living in sin'. Considering her husband has had a vasectomy and they were quite busily engaged in premarital sex for quite a while, I'm also at a loss to see how she can claim to have any view based on her devotion to her faith.

[Unedited]

From my experience, Pagans I meet are more likely to have been born into another religion (usually Christianity) than, say, Christians. And, in my experience, people who change religion, or otherwise question their religion, are more considerate of other religions. These two not-always-true assumtions lead me to also assume that Pagans should be more considerate of other religions. Of course, they aren't always.

I make a lot of assumtions, but I figure as long as I remember they're assumtions, and not truths, that I'm fine. I suppose if I were to change my assumtions, I'd rather assume everyone to be considerate of others.