# Do progressives believe that all religions are liberal at their true core? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 23, 2026, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-progressives-believe-that-all-religions-are-liberal-at-their-true-core/1033297 "2026-09-23T00:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-progressives-believe-that-all-religions-are-liberal-at-their-true-core/1033297/181 "2026-10-10T19:01:00Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > How is it a polite fiction if no one believes it? That’s what a “[polite fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polite_fiction)” is? Something nobody actually believes but pretends they do out of “politeness”. > A **polite fiction** is a social scenario in which all participants are aware of a truth, but pretend to believe in some alternative version of events to avoid conflict or embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-progressives-believe-that-all-religions-are-liberal-at-their-true-core/1033297/182 "2026-10-10T19:21:58Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > That’s what a “[polite fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polite_fiction)” is? Something nobody actually believes but pretends they do out of “politeness”. I know? But in this context the only way that pretending to believe that ancient Hebrews dressed like modern day Orthodox Jews is to avoid offending someone else who actually thinks that, and if no one does, then who are you trying to avoid offending? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-progressives-believe-that-all-religions-are-liberal-at-their-true-core/1033297/183 "2026-10-10T19:34:41Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > But in this context the only way that pretending to believe that ancient Hebrews dressed like modern day Orthodox Jews is to avoid offending someone else who actually thinks that, and if no one does, then who are you trying to avoid offending? No, not somebody who believes it; somebody who _pretends_ to believe it. It’s part of a “polite fiction” that everyone involved knows it’s a lie. If the person being talked to _does_ believe a known falsehood, agreeing with them anyway is “humoring them”, not a polite fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-progressives-believe-that-all-religions-are-liberal-at-their-true-core/1033297/184 "2026-10-11T15:18:47Z")
It may or may not be true, but I have heard it from multiple sources, all of whom were Modern Orthodox, not secular. So if it is a calumny on some Orthodox people, the call is coming from inside the house. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-progressives-believe-that-all-religions-are-liberal-at-their-true-core/1033297/185 "2026-10-11T16:39:50Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > It may or may not be true, From Chabad’s own website: [https://www.chabad.org/library/article\_cdo/aid/7339258/jewish/All-You-Need-to-Know-About-Jewish-Clothing.htm](https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/7339258/jewish/All-You-Need-to-Know-About-Jewish-Clothing.htm) The very first Q&A is: > [@](#): > > Why Don’t We Dress Like the Jews of Ancient Times? > There is no mitzvah to wear the same clothes our ancestors wore. While contemporary Jewish dress reflects historical customs developed over centuries in different Jewish communities, the halachic focus is on modesty and identity rather than a precise ancient wardrobe. > > However, it’s important to note that the customs and traditions of Jewish dress are nevertheless significant. The Midrash1 explains that the Jews were redeemed from slavery in Egypt in the merit of a few practices; namely, they did not change the way they dressed to reflect the fashion of the Egyptians. Hassidic Jews believe that they dress _distinctively_ and that their ancestors _also dressed distinctively_, as in, they did not adopt the fashions of the people who surrounded them, an adaptation to avoid assimilation. That doesn’t mean that they believe that the clothes they wear now and that the clothes that their ancestors wore are the same; just that they are both _not like the clothes worn by people in the wider society_. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > but I have heard it from multiple sources, all of whom were Modern Orthodox, not secular. So if it is a calumny on some Orthodox people, the call is coming from inside the house. Is their contention that other Modern Orthodox people believe this, or that _those whacky other Orthodox people_ believe it? Because if it’s the latter, it’s not exactly inside the house. Not that it would be all that surprising either way - like I mentioned, I know an Orthodox guy who believed the hole in the sheets myth until he was about to get married. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-progressives-believe-that-all-religions-are-liberal-at-their-true-core/1033297/186 "2026-10-11T17:26:03Z")
No, I have heard ModOx people making that claim about Hasidim. So everyone involved is at least in the broad category of “Orthodox”. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-progressives-believe-that-all-religions-are-liberal-at-their-true-core/1033297/187 "2026-10-11T18:44:48Z")
I think the point is exactly that it’s a broad category. Groups that look the same to people outside both of them often look very different to those inside either of them; and the desire to distinguish one’s own group from the other may be strengthened by the tendency of others to see them both as the same. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-progressives-believe-that-all-religions-are-liberal-at-their-true-core/1033297/188 "2026-10-11T19:40:48Z")
Yeah, generally the Orthodox are pretty good about not insulting each other anywhere where goyim might overhear. So if you aren’t part of that world, it’s easy to see them all as a monolith and overlook how many of them absolutely hate each other for reasons incomprehensible to anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-progressives-believe-that-all-religions-are-liberal-at-their-true-core/1033297/189 "2026-10-11T20:36:10Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > No, I have heard ModOx people making that claim about Hasidim. So everyone involved is at least in the broad category of “Orthodox”. Yeah, but those are two separate communities. So my point is that you didn’t hear anyone say “in my own community this is a common belief”, which makes sense, because there doesn’t appear to be any community where that’s a common belief. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-progressives-believe-that-all-religions-are-liberal-at-their-true-core/1033297.md?page=9)