Is "Religious Forums" Too Political?

[amorphous_constellation]

The problem is that politics will throw a wrench into wanting to get to the productive business of discussing other things. I would like to stay on topic here in exploring spiritual ideas... but if messed up stuff happens in the real and present moment to moment world, it does seem very distracting

maybe you can limit the amount of posts in certain forum areas? Or redesign them.. like make it into a 'political spirituality' section or something, I don't know. If you think it best to part with that section, I'm not entirely opposed either

 

[Revoltingest]

The problem is that politics will throw a wrench into wanting to get to the productive business of discussing other things. I would like to stay on topic here in exploring spiritual ideas... but if messed up stuff happens in the real and present moment to moment world, it does seem very distracting

maybe you can limit the amount of posts in certain forum areas? Or redesign them.. like make it into a 'political spirituality' section or something, I don't know. If you think it best to part with that section, I'm not entirely opposed either

Limit posts?
A pox on you & yours!!!

 

[amorphous_constellation]

I'm a strong believer in doing things through the correct channels and trying to work for change within the system rather than against it.

I totally agree.. it's just that in this age, people are arguing that this technique is being bypassed.. which is a huge problem and why people don't want to let it be.. it's a meta-political problem, apparently

 

[WalterTrull]

Ya know. Thinking about it, religion (not spirituality mind you) pretty much is politics.

 

[amorphous_constellation]

Limit posts?
A pox on you & yours!!!

Ok... maybe that's a dumb idea.. I actually would like to see your vast amount of posts grow even larger

 

[Cooky]

I don't think enragement is a good way to deal with anything though. More mature discourse is key and I think this is what's lacking. Everyone just seems to want to prove each other wrong and one-up them, score points, rather than have a dialogue.

You'll find the same thing in science discussions, where followers of scientism are on the prowl for possible creationists, ID'ers, flat-earthers or miracle believers, and vise versa.

 

[stvdv]

We have concerns, being a religious forum, that the nature of political debate may have an adverse impact on membership and traffic, particularly with those that registered here with the intent of discussing religion.

IMO:

This is a good question.

When I was in the Ashram of Sai Baba, they only had religious topics, but they had like 4 different canteens to cater to all the different tastes (all vegetarian though). They even had a shopping mall and icecream stand. No kissing around though.

So, what I try to say, is that "pure religious" is not easy for most (If I remember correctly Aurobindo stayed in his room for 30+ years, not all could do that). So, even we could eat all kind of delicacies, Sai Baba did teach us, that it would be wiser to eat only satwic food. But knowing that not all could handle that, He gave all an opportunity to enjoy their meal, within the Teaching.

Coincidentally a few days ago, in meditation I was told to only partake in spiritual topics.
Now, you starting this thread, I think it was not a coincidence I was told this just before.

So, for me it is now the right thing to focus more on religious threads. But Sai Baba only told me this after almost 3 years. I have not been much interested in politics, so I did not partake much in it, but during the Trump chaos, it was tempting to update myself a bit now and then about politics

Some people criticized the Ashram of Sai Baba that it was too worldly with all the food choices, and not strict in sadhana ... you are free to do as you like, within the Ashram Rules. But I think it was great, because now I had to decide myself, what I want. So it is my free choice. Do I want spiritual focus or material focus. We are responsible ourselves.

So, for me Religious Forums is okay. I pick the subjects I like best anyway. I must admit that when there is more ice cream served, I eat more ice cream. So, hence Sai Baba told me that it's now time to start focus more on spiritual life.

I think you can not force things, esp. not spiritual drive. The way RF is now, you provide place for more people. So, all can enjoy something they need most at this moment. Those who want to focus strictly on spirituality can do it themselves.

I always told people "it's easy to be focused on God alone, if there is no distraction, but the real challenge is to keep your focus in the real world"

I see RF as a good example of the real world. Which leaves us with our common sense to restrict ourselves as to what we choose.

 

[Cooky]

@Terrywoodenpic has been posting in the political forums here since the dawn of RF (yes I did use the Wayback Machine to see if political forums have always existed here -- they have).

From 2005:


...Maybe he can tell us how things have changed over time.

@Sunstone, @Mister Emu and @Jayhawker Soule too (as well as others).

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I understood the wording might not fit everyone perfectly. So I made sure I placed the header in the OP...

...in big and bold letters, and went on to explain the process in detail in the OP and gave direction to select the choice that "best fits your views."

But thank you for your critique.

You realize that - at least on mobile devices - your instructions aren't seen until the reader is already past the poll, right?

 

[Cooky]

You realize that - at least on mobile devices - your instructions aren't seen until the reader is already past the poll, right?

Are you using a flip phone?

I saw the instructions... I'm using a Samsung galaxy s10 plus.

 

[SalixIncendium]

You realize that - at least on mobile devices - your instructions aren't seen until the reader is already past the poll, right?

If people are voting in the poll prior to reading the OP, how is that on me?

 

[Vinayaka]

What is the percentage of RFers who are American? Anybody know?

 

[Cooky]

Here's a couple posts by @Rex one week after opening this site, on March 26, 2004. These posts seem to be both political and religious in nature.

 

[sun rise]

Political threads come and go depending on the news. I expect them to die down after January 20th.

What we're seeing is the natural outcome of recent events.

 

[Colt]

"This is the lowest point in American history..... unless you've ever read any books about American history."

Political threads are always divided. Don't go there if you don't want to hear an opposing view.

 

[Cooky]

June 11, 2004 (Sorry, I'm having fun using the Wayback Machine)...

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

The numbers listed under Religious Debates and Political Debates are

Religious Debates

44,078 & 3,014,415​

Political Debates

16,324 & 652,598
​

 

[Unveiled Artist]

The mission statement has a problem...it doesn't match
the evolution of RF. We have "mission creep".
Participation in political discussion isn't mandatory...anyone
who wants to limit their involvement to religion has that ability.
The core mission I see is discussion that is civil, diverse &
interesting. Let the members decide what is discussed.

If RF were to limit political discussion, I'd be outa here.
(Perhaps staff think that would be a worthy benefit?)
There are only so many times per year that I'm compelled
to explain why I'm an atheist, & that I don't eat puppies.

There could be a way to mute political posts from showing up in the new thread list. When you choose a favorite forum and/or ignore a person the thread for that forum or person still shows up.

 

[Left Coast]

I participate in both political and religious threads, and would be sorry to see the political content of the site go. I do think things are often quite toxic there; however, I also think the same about the religious debates on the site.

It seems to me that we have some members whose interest is simply in ****ting on the beliefs of others, or convincing the rest that their worldview (political or (ir)religious) is The Right One® rather than engaging in respectful dialogue or an attempt to compassionately understand people who have different views.

Part of that is a function of the fact that religion and politics are deeply personal topics that form a core part of many of our identities. So a debate that challenges those ideas can feel, in a way, like an attack on us as a person.

But I think it's also a failure (and I count myself as guilty as anyone) to see the person on the other end of our comments as a human being. The anonymity of the internet emboldens us to say things we'd never say to a person's face. So we treat other members like intellectual punching bags rather than real people with complex lives, ideas, and feelings.

That's not to say we shouldn't vigorously debate ideas. I think we should. But I think it might be helpful for everyone to remember: we have all been wrong before, and we'll likely all be wrong again. A dose of humility and compassion might go a long way to reducing hostilities here.

 

[Revoltingest]

It seems to me that we have some members whose interest is simply in ****ting on the beliefs of others, or convincing the rest that their worldview (political or (ir)religious) is The Right One® rather than engaging in respectful dialogue or an attempt to compassionately understand people who have different views.

Limiting discussion to religion wouldn't change that at all.
There is one way to get rid of that behavior though.
Limit posts to pix of puppies & kittens.