Are there things about religion that you, as an atheist, actively dislike?

[Thumper]

Saying "I must do this or I can't do that because of my religion" is perfectly acceptable.

However ...

Saying "you must do this or you can't do that because of my religion" is decidedly not acceptable.

 

[Thumper]

I also have a real issue with anyone who tells me I cannot be a "moral" person without religion. What morals does religion teach? We have outgrown killing witches, slavery, women as chattel ...

Seriously, somebody name me one ( 1 ) moral precept which can be shown to originate from religion, any religion. Just one which would not exist without religion.

 

[SabahTheLoner]

People do, of course, make claims for some of the benefits of religion -- and I don't mind admitting that there may well be some. I can understand how it may be comforting to have a firm belief in everlasting life, rather than having to wonder what it is like to be dead (well, it's "like" nothing, actually). Supposing that "somebody" always "has your back" must be nice, I suppose. As Josh Groban sang: "I am strong, when I am on Your shoulders..." Whether he is, in fact, any stronger than the atheist around the corner, of course, cannot be answered.

But is there anything about religion (in general, not one in particular) that you find that you, as an atheist, actively dislike?

I have to confess, there are several things that fall into that category for me. I plan to post several times in this thread, rather than try to do an exhaustive, up-front list. I hope other atheists will contribute, as well.

I think the thing I dislike most (in the present day) is the fact that religion really does appear to discourage learning in some areas, while at the same time encouraging credulity in others. I do not think that this is healthy for us. The problems that we must solve are hard -- and are going to get harder. If we refuse to accept some areas of science (evolution, human-caused climate change, etc.) then we may be at a severe disadvantage when trying to solve some of those problems. And holding to a belief that getting on your knees and praying will make it all better may well lead to terrible consequences.

Another pet peeve is that I see a lot of evidence of religion discouraging the celebration of diversity -- which to me is a core human strength. Children are taught early in life that people of other faiths (or no faith) should really better be avoided. (I remember a program on CNN quite a few years ago with Christiane Amanpour, interviewing a girl of about 9 in the US south, who, when asked about the non-Christian children in her school, replied with chilling nonchalance, "Oh, they go to Hell," before returning immediately and placidly to her homework.) And of course, we can't forget how the great religions all disparage the gay communities (can't be bothered with a long string of letters starting with LG.....) To me, it is our diversity that allows us to work together to find new answers to intractable problems.

I shall write more, but hope to hear from others...

As someone with both an atheistic view and a religious path, I would say there are many benefits to a religion. Those who truly believe in any one religion will find personal strength within the religion. I agree that one problem is when religion is an excuse for unhealthy habits that is individualistic. I never disliked religion itself as much as I dislike how it is used to make really bad excuses.
Only the individual is to blame for that.

 

[chickenranch]

- interpreting myths as literal truths, even when facts suggest otherwise
- any suggestion that I have to have a/any/someone else's religion to be moral, make someone happy, to be good
- proselytizing
- when a religion or religious person tries to deny rights or respect for anyone who doesn't follow the same belief system
- and from when I was about 7 and decided that I was an atheist, even though I didn't have the word for it yet - to follow one religion devoutly would mean that you agree that everyone else in the world that didn't follow that religion was bad, less, or going to hell - or whatever that religion predicted for its non-believers - it didn't make sense even when I was 7 to agree that a significant portion of the world was "bad," and that which portion seemed to rest solely on where you worshiped.

 

[Twilight Hue]

People do, of course, make claims for some of the benefits of religion -- and I don't mind admitting that there may well be some. I can understand how it may be comforting to have a firm belief in everlasting life, rather than having to wonder what it is like to be dead (well, it's "like" nothing, actually). Supposing that "somebody" always "has your back" must be nice, I suppose. As Josh Groban sang: "I am strong, when I am on Your shoulders..." Whether he is, in fact, any stronger than the atheist around the corner, of course, cannot be answered.

But is there anything about religion (in general, not one in particular) that you find that you, as an atheist, actively dislike?

I have to confess, there are several things that fall into that category for me. I plan to post several times in this thread, rather than try to do an exhaustive, up-front list. I hope other atheists will contribute, as well.

I think the thing I dislike most (in the present day) is the fact that religion really does appear to discourage learning in some areas, while at the same time encouraging credulity in others. I do not think that this is healthy for us. The problems that we must solve are hard -- and are going to get harder. If we refuse to accept some areas of science (evolution, human-caused climate change, etc.) then we may be at a severe disadvantage when trying to solve some of those problems. And holding to a belief that getting on your knees and praying will make it all better may well lead to terrible consequences.

Another pet peeve is that I see a lot of evidence of religion discouraging the celebration of diversity -- which to me is a core human strength. Children are taught early in life that people of other faiths (or no faith) should really better be avoided. (I remember a program on CNN quite a few years ago with Christiane Amanpour, interviewing a girl of about 9 in the US south, who, when asked about the non-Christian children in her school, replied with chilling nonchalance, "Oh, they go to Hell," before returning immediately and placidly to her homework.) And of course, we can't forget how the great religions all disparage the gay communities (can't be bothered with a long string of letters starting with LG.....) To me, it is our diversity that allows us to work together to find new answers to intractable problems.

I shall write more, but hope to hear from others...

My dislike about religion is that it can actually become dangerous and make people do horrible things to one another, or create dangerous situations.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

My dislike about religion is that it can actually become dangerous and make people do horrible things to one another, or create dangerous situations.

But any and all beliefs, whether religious or not, have the potential to do that (with the possible exception of a heart-felt belief in never doing harm to others). There's no question that non-religious, purely political philosophies -- if they are held as being necessary and true -- can lead people to do very horrible things to one another indeed. The belief that some human beings (by virtue of the race, skin colour, hair or eye colour, place of origin, or even religion) are by definition not "equal to the rest of us" can do that.

Look, there are things I can prove to you. If we have the opportunity, I could prove to you that the decimals in the number PI will never, ever end. There are countless things that can be proved. Nobody on earth today still tries to demonstrate that Sun is in orbit around our home -- that's a futile battle.

There are also many things that can't be proved. I cannot prove the non-existence of a deity of some kind, and I will never be able to do so, and therefore I don't try. What I can do, however, is demonstrate how the various understandings, taken in toto, of the various deities proposed by humans, always and without any exception result in contradictions that bring those beliefs into very real doubt. Doubt, though, is not proof.

So all I ever ask is that if you have a belief that is important to you, by all means believe it, and live your life accordingly. Just do not make the gross mistake of supposing that you must now make sure that others must also share your belief, and also live accordingly. They may if they'd like, to be sure, but not because you have any say in the matter.

But in the interest of humanitarianism (rather than humanism), if someone you know proposed to prove that gravity is false by jumping off the local cliff -- I beg you to try and dissuade him.

 

[FooYang]

For me it's practically everything about religion. The beliefs are completely illogical, irrational and unscientific and the people are immoral bigots who don't agree with our superior morality. We have freedom, they have enslavement.

 

[Aurelius]

I only very strongly dislike one kind of application of religion. It doesn't apply to all religions or religious people. Whenever religion causes people to devalue and sell short their own human goodness and worth. This is particularly true of many applications of Christianity and demonizing human nature.

Everything about ourselves we value and call good come from this nature that some religious ideas tell us is evil.

Some religious ideas essentially strip humans of our natural nobility and dignity and place it outside us in a deity.

It also occurs to me that we'd have no measure for goodness without our lesser angels. Both come from accepting we are what we are.

In that way some religious concepts can totally rob us of the ability to live a reflective life.

Reminds me one of our founders (United States) said it unfits humans for every noble enterprise. Religion of such a kind.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Probably my main objection is the veneration (and so often of an individual, like a prophet or representation of something divine), which often results in such devotional allegiance as to cause defensive frictions (and more) with others when no criticism or dissent is often allowed, tolerated, or encouraged. And it seems that whatever message is the essential component of any religion (even - don't venerate the messenger), the messenger is never far from the action.

Secondly, the very origins of so many religions seems to cause many problems - they tie us to the past rather than looking to the future. That is, any particular messages (tenets and dogma, for example) are mostly related to the times whereupon they originated, they often presuppose some kind of future, and often there is the inevitable splitting (in addition to any other reasons) because they clash with changing times and circumstances. The plain fact is that religions have developed locally and inevitably cause friction whilst spreading and/or clashing with other faiths developed elsewhere. Which to some, like myself, is one of the main reasons for not believing any - that they are just natural phenomena and a product of the human mind in that particular region.

Thirdly, and perhaps just a facet of reality, is that many religions tend to appeal to the lowest common denominator (the least educated) - have faith and trust (often in those with some power over one) - whilst not encouraging critical thinking or questioning of religious texts (or even their authenticity). Perhaps this is why many do tend to shy away from religions - they seek more than is available?

Another reason, and one I particularly dislike although I can understand the motives, is religious education, or indoctrination as it often is when applied to young minds not capable of questioning adequately that which is being served up. Often it just tends to form bigoted individuals hardly questioning what they have imbibed as children - our religion is obviously correct, it is our belief and/or it is our culture.

I could probably dredge up a few more since I do believe religion has been the worst creation of humans, even if it is understandable why we did so.

 

[JChnsc19]

People do, of course, make claims for some of the benefits of religion -- and I don't mind admitting that there may well be some. I can understand how it may be comforting to have a firm belief in everlasting life, rather than having to wonder what it is like to be dead (well, it's "like" nothing, actually). Supposing that "somebody" always "has your back" must be nice, I suppose. As Josh Groban sang: "I am strong, when I am on Your shoulders..." Whether he is, in fact, any stronger than the atheist around the corner, of course, cannot be answered.

But is there anything about religion (in general, not one in particular) that you find that you, as an atheist, actively dislike?

I have to confess, there are several things that fall into that category for me. I plan to post several times in this thread, rather than try to do an exhaustive, up-front list. I hope other atheists will contribute, as well.

I think the thing I dislike most (in the present day) is the fact that religion really does appear to discourage learning in some areas, while at the same time encouraging credulity in others. I do not think that this is healthy for us. The problems that we must solve are hard -- and are going to get harder. If we refuse to accept some areas of science (evolution, human-caused climate change, etc.) then we may be at a severe disadvantage when trying to solve some of those problems. And holding to a belief that getting on your knees and praying will make it all better may well lead to terrible consequences.

Another pet peeve is that I see a lot of evidence of religion discouraging the celebration of diversity -- which to me is a core human strength. Children are taught early in life that people of other faiths (or no faith) should really better be avoided. (I remember a program on CNN quite a few years ago with Christiane Amanpour, interviewing a girl of about 9 in the US south, who, when asked about the non-Christian children in her school, replied with chilling nonchalance, "Oh, they go to Hell," before returning immediately and placidly to her homework.) And of course, we can't forget how the great religions all disparage the gay communities (can't be bothered with a long string of letters starting with LG.....) To me, it is our diversity that allows us to work together to find new answers to intractable problems.

I shall write more, but hope to hear from others...

The divisiveness, the judgement, the marginalization of the unaccepted i.e. homosexuals

 

[Straw Dog]

What I like least about formal religion is the dogmatism... the strict, rigid thinking that must fit into a preconceived conceptual box that was initially conceived in the Bronze Age.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is extreme skepticism... which may invariably manifest as pessimism or nihilism. Historically, I perceive this to be reactionary in context.

There is a practical middle path that some philosophical and religious traditions explore.

 

[Heyo]

Nothing that I dislike is universal to all religions and nothing that I dislike is unique to religion.

 

[ToelessTooth]

Usually proselytism/missionaries and uncritical dogmatism (most religions didn't originate with such a literalist view of everything)

 

[Andy Sims]

It was humor that clearly didn't translate. Which btw prosody is a facinating thing!!! Imagine a song, you have the lyrics to it but you don't have the instrumentalism. What's the statistical likelihood of recreating the instrumentalist part from just reading the lyrics? Kind of simuliar to the varieties of views on the bible interestingly enough.

I think the effort, for better or worse, would result in the creation of a new tune and arrangement. It would certainly spark some creativity. I know that I sometimes focus on an image to inspire a poem or story, and that sometimes results in a new song as well.

Or used to. I haven't written new poetry or songs for a while. I should probably get off of my derriere and do so. I mostly write instrumental tunes these days for the contra dance band I play in.

But the main question had to do with objectionable aspects of religion, didn't it? I find that in its tendency to bring out tendencies in some of its members to judge others without mercy and mistreat the "other" without any real though, compassion, or consideration. Those tendencies exist in all of us, and not all of us try to resist them, but some sects actively encourage them, sometimes resulting in great harm.

 

[infrabenji]

People do, of course, make claims for some of the benefits of religion -- and I don't mind admitting that there may well be some. I can understand how it may be comforting to have a firm belief in everlasting life, rather than having to wonder what it is like to be dead (well, it's "like" nothing, actually). Supposing that "somebody" always "has your back" must be nice, I suppose. As Josh Groban sang: "I am strong, when I am on Your shoulders..." Whether he is, in fact, any stronger than the atheist around the corner, of course, cannot be answered.

But is there anything about religion (in general, not one in particular) that you find that you, as an atheist, actively dislike?

I have to confess, there are several things that fall into that category for me. I plan to post several times in this thread, rather than try to do an exhaustive, up-front list. I hope other atheists will contribute, as well.

I think the thing I dislike most (in the present day) is the fact that religion really does appear to discourage learning in some areas, while at the same time encouraging credulity in others. I do not think that this is healthy for us. The problems that we must solve are hard -- and are going to get harder. If we refuse to accept some areas of science (evolution, human-caused climate change, etc.) then we may be at a severe disadvantage when trying to solve some of those problems. And holding to a belief that getting on your knees and praying will make it all better may well lead to terrible consequences.

Another pet peeve is that I see a lot of evidence of religion discouraging the celebration of diversity -- which to me is a core human strength. Children are taught early in life that people of other faiths (or no faith) should really better be avoided. (I remember a program on CNN quite a few years ago with Christiane Amanpour, interviewing a girl of about 9 in the US south, who, when asked about the non-Christian children in her school, replied with chilling nonchalance, "Oh, they go to Hell," before returning immediately and placidly to her homework.) And of course, we can't forget how the great religions all disparage the gay communities (can't be bothered with a long string of letters starting with LG.....) To me, it is our diversity that allows us to work together to find new answers to intractable problems.

I shall write more, but hope to hear from others...

Only two things really bug me about religious people. Everything they say and everything they do. No not really. One thing that really grinds my gears is how the lgbtqia community and individuals are treated by religion. My sister is married to a trans man. My own mother, who I speak to maybe twice a year for this very reason, told me she hates my sisters sin but loves her as a daughter. Then she accused me of being a satanist because I’m an atheist and she doesn’t know the difference but that’s neither here nor there. In any case I almost barfed from anger. I hate that billions of religious people look down on her and make her life hard because she found true love. I hate that love the sinner hate the sin thing people do.

 

[Meow Mix]

People do, of course, make claims for some of the benefits of religion -- and I don't mind admitting that there may well be some. I can understand how it may be comforting to have a firm belief in everlasting life, rather than having to wonder what it is like to be dead (well, it's "like" nothing, actually). Supposing that "somebody" always "has your back" must be nice, I suppose. As Josh Groban sang: "I am strong, when I am on Your shoulders..." Whether he is, in fact, any stronger than the atheist around the corner, of course, cannot be answered.

But is there anything about religion (in general, not one in particular) that you find that you, as an atheist, actively dislike?

I have to confess, there are several things that fall into that category for me. I plan to post several times in this thread, rather than try to do an exhaustive, up-front list. I hope other atheists will contribute, as well.

I think the thing I dislike most (in the present day) is the fact that religion really does appear to discourage learning in some areas, while at the same time encouraging credulity in others. I do not think that this is healthy for us. The problems that we must solve are hard -- and are going to get harder. If we refuse to accept some areas of science (evolution, human-caused climate change, etc.) then we may be at a severe disadvantage when trying to solve some of those problems. And holding to a belief that getting on your knees and praying will make it all better may well lead to terrible consequences.

Another pet peeve is that I see a lot of evidence of religion discouraging the celebration of diversity -- which to me is a core human strength. Children are taught early in life that people of other faiths (or no faith) should really better be avoided. (I remember a program on CNN quite a few years ago with Christiane Amanpour, interviewing a girl of about 9 in the US south, who, when asked about the non-Christian children in her school, replied with chilling nonchalance, "Oh, they go to Hell," before returning immediately and placidly to her homework.) And of course, we can't forget how the great religions all disparage the gay communities (can't be bothered with a long string of letters starting with LG.....) To me, it is our diversity that allows us to work together to find new answers to intractable problems.

I shall write more, but hope to hear from others...

I worry that there are a lot of people that invest a lot of time and money into things that just aren't true. That these things can be harmful (such as fostering homophobia, misogyny, and such things) has already been covered plentifully.

But I worry about the waking human hours spent on counting how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. It feels wasteful, and this is of course a bias because so is playing a video game or some such and perhaps most people enjoy the time they spend thinking about their religion (and who am I to say that isn't worthwhile), but this is just where I'm coming from.

How many years does it amount to for an individual? How many man-hours for the entire human race? How many people have abstained from making the most out of life because of silly religious taboos?