TV’s Frink said:
moviefreakedmind said:
The latter part regarding the misogyny and anti-gay stuff is the kind of religiosity I’m referring to when I say that we shouldn’t be expected to respect religion. If you think that homosexuality is a crime against god, then I don’t respect your opinion and I don’t think that anyone should respect your opinion. If you believe women shouldn’t be allowed to drive, or should be forced to wrap themselves in burkas and other oppressive garb, then I don’t respect your opinion. The list goes on and on. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I find all of those individuals that think that way to be totally unworthy of respect, but their religious views are. I don’t think that that’s unreasonable and no one else should either.
It’s perfectly reasonable.
Absolutely. And to be completely fair, these problems (mysogyny, homophobia, gender inequality, etc.) are not the prerogative of religions. Several ideologies, more or less reactionary, more or less liberticidal, and more or less retrograde, also impose reduced freedoms to certain sections of the population, without being guided by religious beliefs (ex: Apartheid, Stalinism and extreme left , Nazism and extreme right …)
While, on the other hand, certain religious figures make things happen, guided by their faith (ex: Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa, Gandi …)
In short, it’s never simple. All ideologies, whether religious or not, deserve no respect when they treat some parts of the population unequally.
But it is also true that very often, extreme ideologies accomodate with religions to justify their misdeeds. It is therefore necessary to be vigilant with religions as soon as they become ideologies, as soon as they leave the intimacy of a personal faith/relation with God, to become a common shared thing made of rules, judgements and prohibitions.
Well, it is my opinion.