375
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 30 points 11 months ago

One thing atheists often ignore is that being part of a religion means being part of a community, a group. That alone is reason enough for many people to stick with it.

Sure, the preacher/priest/whatever may be a scammer asshole, but this isn't about him, it's about me and the people around me. I belong in here and so do these people.

Remember, humans are social creatures. Being part of a group is a big fucking deal.

Another thing I've been giving some thought, religion can be a "lazy shortcut" for the brain to acknowledge some stuff without having to spend too much energy thinking about it. It's a lot easier to wrap your head around "Because God wants it" than digging deep into the hows and whys of anything. No, it's not scientific in the least, but humans are lazy. I am lazy, you are lazy, everyone here is lazy, we just opt to save energy in different things.

[-] GONADS125@lemm.ee 15 points 11 months ago

I've known atheists who go to church for the community. I'm an atheist, and I have recommended going to a nondenominational church to other atheists who had said they really lacked community support.

Of course, sometimes religious community systems can actually be very hostile and nonsupportive and downright exploitative. Really just depends on the specific church community. Just like there are some great people and some major assholes out there. Churches are no different.

[-] Urist@lemmy.ml 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Wonder why atheists often do not value the communal aspect of a community they are often excluded from. It is almost as if they do not value not being included in the group? Also, lazy shortcuts often lead to bad outcomes. Being wary about that is a good thing, in my opinion.

[-] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Hey, who are you calling lazy. I,m not lazy, I just choose to do nothing at all. ;)

[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 11 months ago

being part of a religion means being part of a community, a group.

The local crafting circle doesn't endanger children and carpet bomb the neighbours, though.

[-] hightrix@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

Don’t be silly, neither does the local church.

[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 6 points 11 months ago

The funny thing is that that kind of talk of the previous poster is just a bad type of generalization, a lazy shortcut. The existence of bad elements within a large group is a given. There are pedophile priests, just as there are pedophile uncles or teachers. The only difference here is in how accountable they are for their actions, as the Roman Catholic Church is well known for protecting its abusive priests, which isn't too different from Epstein's friends having money shields.

As for carpet bombing and general violence, one could say it's "politics as usual". When words fail (whether on purpose or not is irrelevant here), violence emerges, because one side wants to impose its will. Religion is just another lazy (and often effective) shortcut to rally people behind a cause, not unlike patriotism

[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

When words fail

George Bush said god spoke to him in a dream and told him to invade Iraq to usher in the apocalypse.

[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

No, but they enable those that do.

this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2024
375 points (80.2% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27281 readers
1816 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS