[levellingmcs]

I go to a Catholic school and I am one of few atheists in the school.

Many of the atheists that I have met say that they have no respect for religion. I have a huge level of respect for religion and would like to believe in God, I just can't and I suppose I don't know why. I can understand why religious people may have no respect for atheists but I do not understand why atheists have no respect for religious people.

What do you think? Do most atheists have no respect for religion and if you are an atheist, why not?

Thanks

[Norton1]

Kind of difficult to have respect for religion as an atheist where there's some bloke in Rome sitting on a golden throne saying we need to help the poor.

Lest anyone think I'm being facetious;

[moorbre]

I don't have no respect, but less for them. This is because I find it stupid to believe in something without evidence ><

[Gofre]

It's possible to respect religious people but not their beliefs. People are more than welcome to have faith and as long as they don't allow it to detriment who they are as a person, I'm fine with that. However that doesn't change my opinion that religion is, for the most part, detrimental to humanity and not necessarily deserving of respect.

[Kjærleik]

I respect religious people's right to believe in whatever they want, it's a basic principle of freedom. However, there are a lot of aspects of religious views that I don't respect at all - especially views that essentially are about limiting the freedom of others.

[Dharp]

For the most part. I don't respect the "Religion" rather, I respect the people who are a part of it, Some of the most selfless and caring people i have ever met were Christian, One of my old friends dads was a missionary and he taught me how to ride a bike :')

[Pheylan]

(Original post by levellingmcs)
Many of the atheists that I have met say that they have no respect for religion

(Original post by levellingmcs)
I do not understand why atheists have no respect for religious people

Two very different things. Which one do you mean?

[derangedyoshi]

(Original post by Gofre)
It's possible to respect religious people but not their beliefs. People are more than welcome to have faith and as long as they don't allow it to detriment who they are as a person, I'm fine with that. However that doesn't change my opinion that religion is, for the most part, detrimental to humanity and not necessarily deserving of respect.

This.

Many of my friends are religious, since I went to a Catholic school, and I respect their right to believe whatever they want. I don't think less of them because they're religious. But that doesn't mean I have to respect religion itself.

[Stiff Little Fingers]

This seems appropriate:


I respect religious people - my respect isn't won or lost simply on something you believe in, but I do not respect religion, it's harmful and divisive.

[aljolson]

(Original post by levellingmcs)
I go to a Catholic school and I am one of few atheists in the school.

Many of the atheists that I have met say that they have no respect for religion. I have a huge level of respect for religion and would like to believe in God, I just can't and I suppose I don't know why. I can understand why religious people may have no respect for atheists but I do not understand why atheists have no respect for religious people.

What do you think? Do most atheists have no respect for religion and if you are an atheist, why not?

Thanks

I give respect if it is merited, I dont dis people unless there is a reason. My Aunt was a RC convert, actually to her it was more like going home, and I loved and respected her totally. There is good and bad in everyone, so no reasons to be disrespectful of anyone, unless they deserve it.

[JCC-MGS]

I went to a Catholic school and I used to HATE religion, it was one of the things I used to get in trouble for a lot. Mellowed out as I got older and now I think religion's badboy

[RobertWhite]

I have no more respect for a religion than I do not one. I am ambivalent towards it. I do not like it when religious people try to enforce their ideologies on me, I do not respect those people. As an atheist I do not see credible evidence for me to believe in a God. Therefore I do not see why I should respect what I perceive as tales made by man which are followed by billions of people. People have to earn my respect.

[prog2djent]

Its good to have respect, minimal, for religious people, but not for religion or historical and current influential figures. Remind me how Central to Southern Africa is supposed to progress when the catholic church and eveangelical USA missionaries are involved.

[lukas1051]

I respect people's right to have religion and to practice it, but I do not respect religion itself, it is not worthy of my respect, it promotes ignorance and hatred and bigotry.

[FatCharlie]

There's different between having respect for religion peoples choice to believe and having respect for all of their followers.

I for one study religion and therefor must try to stay neutral. Being bias can create problems. I do however not think that all followers of all beliefs do require the same respect - because they are using religion for violence, intolerance, sexism etc.

[chickenonsteroids]

Why would you understand why religious people don't have respect for atheists but not understand why atheists don't have respect for religion? That doesn't really make sense to me. You'll find that its mainly the internet where you get the extremities of atheism and religion. That's what I've observed anyway.

Religion I don't really care for but I'll respect a religious person. Why not? As long as someone doesn't promote hatred of any sort they have my respect and its there to be lost.

[The Patriot]

(Original post by levellingmcs)
I go to a Catholic school and I am one of few atheists in the school.

Many of the atheists that I have met say that they have no respect for religion. I have a huge level of respect for religion and would like to believe in God, I just can't and I suppose I don't know why. I can understand why religious people may have no respect for atheists but I do not understand why atheists have no respect for religious people.

What do you think? Do most atheists have no respect for religion and if you are an atheist, why not?

Thanks

I think you're post is entirely flawed.

Firstly, why would you like to believe in God. I don't want to believe in anything. All I want is to know something. So I align my beliefs with what fits in with scientific facts most of all. Sure there are some things science can't yet explain, but overall its a much more credible position than religion.

Secondly: this.

"I can understand why religious people may have no respect for atheists but I do not understand why atheists have no respect for religious people."

Why the double standard? Why can you understand why a religious person may not respect an atheist but not understand why an atheist doesn't respect religion? They're in essence the same reasons.

Finally, no, not all atheists have no respect for religion, just like not all religion people have no respect for religion.

I, personally, have very little respect for religion, as I see it as a vehicle for being happy with not understanding things, war, superstition, intolerance, social divisions and judgement. It is also the cause of one hell of a lot of wars, and somehow, a Nazi-pedophile had worked his way into a free and insanely privileged life by pretending to feel that he is God's messenger on earth. What a self-serving arrogant view of yourself.

However, religion can have a few good effects: it can make people's lives a lot happier and they can live in a more loving, selfless manner. Ultimately I reject this though as you don't need religion to be moral, and you don't need it to be happy. As shown by the many millions of happy atheists who aren't killing themselves in the name of their God or worse, killing other people.

[Vozhak]

(Original post by levellingmcs)
I go to a Catholic school and I am one of few atheists in the school.

Many of the atheists that I have met say that they have no respect for religion. I have a huge level of respect for religion and would like to believe in God, I just can't and I suppose I don't know why. I can understand why religious people may have no respect for atheists but I do not understand why atheists have no respect for religious people.

What do you think? Do most atheists have no respect for religion and if you are an atheist, why not?

Thanks

I have no more or no less respect for religion that I have for an elder or a teacher, politeness etc.. To be honest I don't really quite understand WHY religion is supposed to be given special respect so to speak, not the people, I respect all people equally, but when I am told that religion as an institution or a belief is supposed to be given more "respect" and special treatment than say philosophy or humanism then I think that's unfair. You said you can understand why religious may people have no respect for atheists; care to elaborate your understanding?

[NR09]

I respect people's right to believe what they want, but that doesn't mean I have to respect their actual beliefs.

And I find it very difficult to respect most religions, I find their claims completely ridiculous and outdated by a couple of millennia (give or take a few centuries depending on which religion).

[james22]

I have no problem with religious people, I only have a problem with religion. I despise what religion has done to some people and what it often teaches. This is not all religions though. For example I have no respect for Christianity or Islam, but I am fairly neutral on Buddhism.