I am tired of hearing about how Christians have it sooooo tough in the US these days. They are only the ones in control and are able to force their primitive beliefs on everyone from Prop 8 to blue laws.
But at least some do get it: God's big enough to take it | Stephen Tomkins | The Guardian
My favorite quote:
I suggest in future you give some kind of summary of the issue at hand.
And certainly a cross God is not the God for me!
Moving thread from IMHO to The BBQ Pit.
Seriously though, I’ve been a Christian, an atheist, and a Buddhist, and I’ve experienced some form of (mostly trivial) discrimination from all angles. Still, I don’t remember feeling quite so actively disliked as when I was an outspoken Christian. (Then again, 13 is an awkward age. It pretty much feels like everyone hates you when you’re 13.)
I’ve never personally run into any kind of religious discrimination. Although I’ve also never been particularly outspoken about my beliefs, unless asked.
I know someone who claims he lost his job on account of witnessing to coworkers. Fair enough, I think. He should have kept his mouth shut.
Yeah, religious discussion in general is not really appropriate for the workplace. But it does surprise me how many people don’t seem to agree. It sounds like he was fired more for being a sanctimonious jerk than for being a Christian.
But were you an outspoken Buddhist or an outspoken atheist? It’s not Christianity that bugs, it’s things like witnessing to strangers or telling others they’re going to hell. (Not saying you did that, but those things will lead others to dislike you.)
Believe me, your perceptions are accurate. I’ve been an atheist, a lukewarm secular Jew (briefly), and a Christian. No one ever discriminated against me or looked down on me for either of the first two cases. In the three years that I’ve been a Christian, numerous people have called me stupid, arrogant, nasty, and hateful, and have falsely accused myself, my friends, and my family of committing various horrible crimes. None of this has anything to do with witnessing or telling others about hell. It rather has to do with being a Christian. People say these things to me while knowing nothing other than that I’m a Christian.
Oh, no, I definitely did that (Well, I never told people they were going to hell–I hated the concept of hell even as a Christian.) And yeah, you make a good point. I don’t deny as a Christian kid I was quite unlikeable. I got a lot less ‘‘discriminated against’’ as I mellowed. I learned my lesson the first time around and if there’s one thing I’ve vowed never to be again, it’s aggressively religious. Despite being as non-dogmatic as possible, I have still been discriminated against for being an atheist Buddhist, but this is due to my weakness for conversations about spirituality. If someone asks me what religion I am, I’m likely to tell the truth no matter the circumstance, and in doing so I have shot myself in the foot a couple of times. It’s just one of those topics that really interests me. I have no interest in changing anyone’s spiritual perspective, I just think spiritual perspectives are neat to hear about. I wish people were less antagonistic on the Dope about this, because there could be soooo many fascinating threads on this topic.
Anyways, my original point was that people discriminate based on religion, period, and it doesn’t really matter what religion (or non-religion) you are–eventually you’ll probably experience some form of discrimination.
I also don’t mean to imply I’ve been a victim of discrimination on any kind of meaningful level. Just given weird looks and mildly ostracized or asked really stupid, offensive questions about my beliefs. I think people who experience hard-core discrimination like being fired and so on are most likely extremely dogmatic and difficult people to be around, which probably has less to do with their specific religion and more to do with the mode of expression. I’m sure there are exceptions, but it seems like people who complain the loudest about discrimination are also the quickest to attack others’ beliefs.
From what I’ve seen, you get that in any three days around here.
Oh? Are those the days that Der Trihs takes for vacation?
Yes; one of the things he likes to talk about is what an asshole he used to be before finding Christ. So now he’s an asshole who’s holier than thou. He thinks it’s some kind of improvement.
Yeah. There has been unprovoked unpleasantness on these boards both from atheists and Christians alike, on a level you generally don’t find in every day life.
Not to pick on the OP, but the underlying implication of ‘‘Some Christians do get it’’ is that most Christians don’t. It’s kind of the religious equivalent of saying, ‘‘this small group of people is a real credit to their race!’’ I know you probably don’t mean it that way, Cumberdale, and I can relate to your frustration when religious zealotry interferes with basic civil rights. However, the kind of narrow thinking that is often displayed on these boards with regard to spiritual practices is quite frustrating, especially for those of us who really enjoy a good conversation about religion.
Amen.
Scientific method:
Question) Does being a Christian in and of itself make people set on you unfairly? Or is this something unique to myself?
Test) Take a poll in IMHO
Expected Result) Hunh, gee it’s only ever me who gets judged unfairly. What a wacky and random thing. Who would have guessed my luck! Wait what? You say it’s not just random chance? Pff. Don’t be silly.
Perhaps other people have condemned you for being a Christian–I don’t know your personal life. However, I feel your posting style in this board has been quite obnoxious, the Galileo thread being a prime example. So, I don’t dislike you because your a Christian, I dislike you because of the way you post.
I’m sorry if that’s been your experience, but if you talk to people in person the way you’ve sometimes posted here, I’m not surprised if you get negative reactions.
On the other hand, if your experience was typical, then we’d have to figure out how 80% of the US population are somehow being persecuted by the remaining 20%.
I think he says that because he’s not in the US.
Show me an American who calls hi/rself a Christian and has published similar views and I’ll really be impressed.
I’ve never witnessed to anyone without some major prompting first (e.g. : we were having a religious discussion) and I’ve been called names before. However, I wouldn’t say I was discriminated against. If you lose a job, or are denied the right to join an organization, or someone vandalizes your house, or a person publicly smears your name, then you have been discriminated against. If your friend decides they can’t stay friends because you’re an atheist/Christian, then you have lousy taste in friends.
I think a lot of people like to play the victim, or play a minority card, when the reality of the discrimination they face most days is “Sally doesn’t like me and called me a dummy!” or “Billy says that I’m going to the bad place!” People disagreeing with you, thinking that you’re silly, or even being nasty about your beliefs is a part of life. Grow a thicker skin and move as far away from that person as possible.
The only people who have a leg to stand on with the discrimination argument are the gays. Even then, I think the discrimination flows less from Christianity and more from White Republican Males who use Christianity as an excuse. The reason gays cannot marry has less to do with God and more to do with a lot of people who think it’s icky.