All religion=Christianity?


LaurenKatz's avatar
Usually when i hear atheists talking about how stupid religion is, the only one they ever seem to talk about is Christianity, like it's the only religion wrong with the world, and if it's not that it's Islam, two of the big proselytizing ones that say that you'll burn in hell for not believing what they believe, and then they go about it like those religions represent all religions.

But what about religions that don't push their beliefs on others? What about ones with totally different outlooks on the afterlife? if any at all? Like Buddhism and Judaism? I understand that christian ideas are pretty much embedded in western consciousness, such as the idea of hell, i had only learned about two years ago that Jews don't believe in hell. Before then i thought the whole concept of hell and damnation was universal and not exclusive to just Christianity (and Islam).

But that's the thing, a lot of the time, not all the time but a lot of the time Christians who turn atheist will condemn all religion like they're all like Christianity in particular. I know every religion has its "bible thumpers", Jews have them, Muslims have them, and Christians have them and so on, but religion at its core is meant to teach people the difference between right and wrong, and how people interpret right and wrong will sometimes vary depending on the person.

This is long XD, oh well.
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RestInMotion's avatar
Honestly the only thing I know about Judaism is that they are hated by the Christians and Muslims. I know why that started but I don't know why that has survived since then.
LaurenKatz's avatar
That has to do with just having a minority to blame for their countries problems. Same sort of thing happened to the gypsies. Although there were times when countries in Europe were prosperous because of Jews, like during the inquisition a lot if Spanish Jews left Spain for the Netherlands and the economy boomed there afterwards, while Spain's began to tank
RestInMotion's avatar
That's true, however the Jews made countries prosper again due to Christian discrimination. Jews were only allowed to handle money because the Christians thought that type of work was immoral.
Saeter's avatar
The function of religion proposing moral constructs is what is used to distract people from the power structure that they impose through said moral constructs.
LaEmperatrizMariana's avatar
The ones who think that are narrow-minded no matter how much proof there is that there's more religions besides Christianity. I'm not talking just about those atheists you mentioned either.
HaniSantosa's avatar
I think this is because atheists are most vocal in the western world, and the dominant religions in the western world are Christianity (and Islam). that's why those two are the "targets". However yes, there are different religion out there. also, not all Christians or Muslims are bad people.
LaurenKatz's avatar
I never said they were
da1withdalongestname's avatar
Simple, when they talk about "world" they mostly mean Western Europe & the Americas. They don't really mean the entire world, most of them are stupid like that. Don't worry, you're clearly smarter than them for knowing other religions that is different.
SosoSurprise's avatar
For Christianity it's the religion with the most followers as for Islam..from what I hear islamphobes say its just pure misunderstanding or maybe ignorance ?
LaurenKatz's avatar
SosoSurprise's avatar
I was looking for top ten religious countries apparently I'm asking for top ten religious Christian countries >.> maybe that's why I couldn't find saudi on any list
alzebetha's avatar
Those religions are just as stupid of course, just less intrusive and of a less immediate concern. The only positions I saw atheists accept are: Agnosticism,begrudingly. Laveyan satanism,once properly explained, and Pantheism where they just go 'wtf ever dude'

Also, Religion at its core difference between right and wrong? The stupid o metre just went through the roof. That's as if saying a train wreck that happened to hit your office, killed 256 people and made you unemployed was ment so you have more time to spent with your kids.
The-Golden-Knight's avatar
All religions have the common misconception that they are *the* only correct religion.
AellaWalker's avatar
Living in the US is endlessly infuriating. The people are ignorant, apathetic, and lazy and christianity only exacerbates that. It's the cause of great rage for many.
KingStephenArthur's avatar
about your first point. the reason christianity is attacked the most is because it is the largest and consequently the most harmful seeing as it's negative effects will reach more people.
Greatest-I-am's avatar
Most of the other non-Abrahamic religions and cults do not curse everyone who does not believe as they do to eternal torture in hell nor do they try to kill the infidels.

That may be the main reason but you should also note that most here are from North America and the vast majority are, if anything, Christians.

I am occasionally asked why I seem to center out Christians and it is simply because there are too few of the others religionists around for me to bother with. I would lose 99% of those who might comment.

Regards
DL
LaurenKatz's avatar
It's funny because Judaism itself doesn't condemn anyone for not believing what they believe, yet the two biggest religions that stem from it do.
Greatest-I-am's avatar
You need to remember that Christianity reversed much of the Jewish beliefs when they tried to genocide the Jewish race. The Pope nor the church apologized for any of it till about 2 - 3 years ago.

Christianity and the crusades also forced any religion including Islam to be more militant just to survive Christian barbarity.

All that death because-----

[link]

Regards
DL
Mercury-Crowe's avatar
<---also pagan

Eh, probably because Christians are the ones (at least around here) who are the loudest and most obnoxious, and like to tell you you're going to hell if you don't believe.

Really, I've never had anybody except a Christian be really nasty to me about religion. Never had anybody else bang on my door or confront me anywhere to tell me how wrong I am.
LaurenKatz's avatar
yeah, that gets pretty annoying.
Didj's avatar
It largely has something to do with the power and influence that Christianity has over the western world, and that a large percentage of Christians view all non-Christians as people who they need to assimilate... I mean "save their souls". Other religions in our part of the world are a minority and not nearly as "in your face" as Christianity. I have never seem a Hindu standing on a street corner with a copy of the Vedas in one hand and a megaphone in the other screaming at people passing by.
nonecansee's avatar
Haha! This isn't that long. :)

Well, you said so yourself: "Christians who turn atheist will condemn all religion like they're all like Christianity in particular." All they've ever really known is Christianity. Besides, if they condemn other religions, let them be as ignorant as they were when they weren't atheists =P

I don't know if this is just me but when I was in grade school, I was curious about other religions and when I learned about them, I only saw them as having some degrees of similarity to Catholicism. It was the religion I was raised in so all I really knew was Catholicism. Christianity and its forms aren't the absolute religion to base comparisons off of because you have other religions too.

I think the better way of thinking, especially for those newly-atheist ex-Christians who probably only are because they can't be bothered to go to church every Sabbath or pray frequently or whatever, is that Christianity is like most religions (not 'Other religions are mostly like Christianity'; you know, like a relativist view where you see things relative to other things relative to other things) :)
siegeonthorstadt's avatar
atheism = anti-Christianity