# To Non-religious- well-known religious persons you like, respect... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2005, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660 "2005-05-06T06:30:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/1 "2005-05-06T06:30:02Z")
… or just don’t dislike as much as the rest? ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/2 "2005-05-06T06:34:36Z")
Well, I think our local Monsignor (now retired) is a pretty nice guy. And when he was younger I’ll bet he was able to shoot just about any golf score that he needed in order to win. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/3 "2005-05-06T06:46:11Z")
[Titus Brandsma](http://carmelnet.org/titus/html/biography.htm), a Catholic priest and anti-Nazi activist who died at Dachau, is somebody I admire very much. Gandhi, though more for his political actions than religious affiliations. Warts and all I admire Martin Luther King, Jr., especially during his last few years when he had stopped being such a shill for D.C… I’ll add Malcolm X with the qualifier “only during his last few months of his life” (I can’t get over his blind acceptance of the “white men are the devil/botched experiment” garbage before his break with E.M. when he was such an extremely intelligent man.) There was much I admired in JP2, but what I loathed offset it. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/4 "2005-05-06T06:56:19Z")
Provided Dopers count as “well-known” here: **Polycarp** , **Siege** and **Mangetout**. I’m sure there are several more Dopers that I either can’t think of right now, or don’t know they’re religious. Göran Persson, prime minister of Sweden. He’s been talking about becoming a priest after he’s ended his political career, so I guess he’s religious. I’m sure there are many more, I just can’t think of them. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/5 "2005-05-06T07:09:21Z")
My brother. He’s LDS, converted when he turned 18. I respect him because he’s never once tried to convert anyone in our family or even attempted to convince us his beliefs are any more respectable than any other beliefs. I also respect him because he “walks the walk.” One example is that he’s an attorney and actually quit working at a very large firm that offered him major opportunity and bucks, because they represented a company that was doing something he felt was immoral, based on his religion. He now has his own practice so that he doesn’t have to compromise his standars and also so that he can make his family his priority. That’s another reason I respect him - he’s an outstanding husband and father and his wife and kids are always, without question, his priority. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/6 "2005-05-06T10:46:55Z")
Mr. Rogers, may he rest in peace. Jimmy Carter, too. Lousy president, great statesman. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/7 "2005-05-06T10:57:16Z")
**Orson Scott Card** the Science Fiction writer. Apart from his views on homosexuality, he’s admirably tolerant of people who do not agree with him. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/8 "2005-05-06T14:03:19Z")
Desmond Tutu; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Gandhi; and plenty of others. A person’s religiosity has nil to do with whether I like or respect them, although it can influence their actions in a way that makes me like or dislike them. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/9 "2005-05-06T14:27:57Z")
To the already-mentioned Martin Luther King, Jimmy Carter, and Gandi, I would add Billy Graham. I admire religious people who, if they’re involved in politics, put their religion above politics. Also, my sister-in-law, who is very religious without being the least bit disapproving of her atheist brother-in-law. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/10 "2005-05-06T14:51:54Z")
Dalai Lama ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/11 "2005-05-06T14:53:28Z")
MLK, Jr’s right-hand man, Bayard Rustin. He was a Quaker. Of course, he was also gay, which is which often forgotten when discussing earlier civil rights discussion and gay rights. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/12 "2005-05-06T15:46:30Z")
I admired the Pope (John Paul II). He impressed me with his determination to go on with his duties despite his failing health. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/13 "2005-05-06T16:02:58Z")
My boss and all the other women in Administration at the college I work at. They’re all nuns. They’re also the most progressive, put together 60 and 70 year old women I’ve ever met. Neat ladies. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/14 "2005-05-06T16:03:27Z")
Cheesy, but I went to Catholic School, and the nuns and priests there were all really wonderful people. I’m not religious now, but what pains me the most about all these bad prieists that’re on the news weekly is knowing that it’s going to trickle down and hurt all the wonderful, loving, truly Christian people of the cloth. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/15 "2005-05-06T16:52:03Z")
**Polycarp** and Mr. Rogers ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/16 "2005-05-06T17:01:12Z")
There are tons. What is the debate, here, exactly? To debate if it’s immoral to like great figures who also happen to be religious? My question when I look at a person is not, Is he religious, but, if he is religious, did he use his religion in a way that benefitted the world or did he use it negatively? Mother Theresa used her religion negatively. Anti-birth control in a country that sorely needed it (India) she is the direct cause of thousands of unwanted babies, more poverty, ignorance, and blind adherence to a rule of Christianity in a country that does not need it. Martin Luther Kind, Gandhi, Thurgood Marshall, Orson Scott Card, Fred Rogers…like I said, there are tons. Oh, and my college Calculus teacher who was a nun and the most patient woman I’ve ever known. She really was like nuns are supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/17 "2005-05-06T18:03:25Z")
I suspect that the OP has a misunderstanding of most non-religious people. Folks we “like, respect…or just don’t dislike as much as the rest?” Wha-? Why on earth would **Friarted** think that the non-religious dislike most religious people? I don’t eat hamburgers, but that doesn’t mean I dislike burgereaters. I don’t like bowling, but that doesn’t mean I dislike bowlers. I don’t sing in public, but that doesn’t mean I dislike public singers. Why would I dislike all religious folks? Not how it works. And I’ll wager that’s not how it works for 99% of nonreligious folks. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/18 "2005-05-06T18:11:02Z")
Garrison Keillor. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/19 "2005-05-06T18:22:49Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > I suspect that the OP has a misunderstanding of most non-religious people. Folks we “like, respect…or just don’t dislike as much as the rest?” Wha-? Why on earth would **Friarted** think that the non-religious dislike most religious people? There are some atheists who believe that religion–or, really, any belief in a higher, unseen being–is a sign of deeply flawed thinking, superstition, gullibility, stupidy, or insanity. In that context, it’s an interesting OP. However, I suspect most of the respondents are just as you say–they don’t have a problem with people of faith. It would be interesting to hear from the other types. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660/20 "2005-05-06T18:29:42Z")
> [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](#): > > There are some atheists who believe that religion–or, really, any belief in a higher, unseen being–is a sign of deeply flawed thinking, superstition, gullibility, stupidy, or insanity. In that context, it’s an interesting OP. I suppose that’s true. Hell, I think that belief in the astrology column in the newspaper is a sign of superstition, and belief in military press releases is a sign of gullibility, but I like plenty of people who evince these types of belief. I would be interested in hearing from **gobear** , **loopydude** , and others who (IIRC) have expressed a belief that religion is a delusion/superstition/whatever: do you find yourself not respecting or liking religious people because of that? Daniel [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-non-religious-well-known-religious-persons-you-like-respect/302660.md?page=2)