aToTeT
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Atheism has been widely persecuted throughout history.
This is not particularly contentious, I should think, and it is an important historical aspect to explore in this context: religion is not and has never been bloodless with the singular, solitary, and very notable-for-it example of the Jains.
Consider the viewpoint of a rapidly growing population who has experienced the persecution of a religion by the cultural values imposed, the legal rights afforded, the instances of violence, and— just in general. While there is still a majority of religiousness in the LGBT communities, they are also: 2/5ths atheistic in their views — why? Because from what cause has homosexuality been made expressly illegal and subjected (for instance) gay men to chemical castration and indeed death itself?
Religious cause.
Consider the viewpoint of a rapidly growing population who has experienced the persecution of a religion by the cultural values imposed, the legal rights afforded, the instances of violence, and— just in general. While there is still a majority of religiousness in the LGBT communities, they are also: 2/5ths atheistic in their views — why? Because from what cause has homosexuality been made expressly illegal and subjected (for instance) gay men to chemical castration and indeed death itself?
Religious cause.
2.5 Billion Christians
1.9 Billion Muslims
1.1 Billion Hindus
.5 Billion Buddhists
The majority of Chinese persons are atheistic (by-any-other-name) — Though shared ideology serves much the same and similar effect, it is also not generally considered a Religion — this means that at minimum there are:
1+ Billion atheists in China alone, and worldwide? As many as up to 1.5 Billion atheists— it is truly hard to say, for so very many reasons.
“Three fifths of Humanity can’t be wrong.” — Someone, probably Pascal, might have wagered this, or a near derivative of it at some point in history.
It isn’t that it’s a rare thing to celebrate a religion: rather, that would be the ‘common’ aspect — Christmas, Ramadan, Obon, literally dozens of particular holidays derived from Hinduism, and many many many more: Religion is celebrated the world over, and is the very origin of holidays and weekends unless I am very well mistaken.
But it very much is, in that same vein: also not at all rare to hear religions and the religious derided without end.
People have been hurt by religion, and feel malice and resentment for it. People fall out of faith in a state of existential horror for the extent of their time, passion, and Paradise lost. People grab onto widely-accessible substitute belief systems (or as like it would be said: there is no such system, that being the point inherent), which they came to not by way of their own thought but by the first ’sensible-sounding’ aspect of it.
The need for community is among the highest of human needs, and it should not be a surprise that one would begin to say what their community says to better fit in.
It isn’t that it’s a rare thing to celebrate a religion: rather, that would be the ‘common’ aspect — Christmas, Ramadan, Obon, literally dozens of particular holidays derived from Hinduism, and many many many more: Religion is celebrated the world over, and is the very origin of holidays and weekends unless I am very well mistaken.
But it very much is, in that same vein: also not at all rare to hear religions and the religious derided without end.
People have been hurt by religion, and feel malice and resentment for it. People fall out of faith in a state of existential horror for the extent of their time, passion, and Paradise lost. People grab onto widely-accessible substitute belief systems (or as like it would be said: there is no such system, that being the point inherent), which they came to not by way of their own thought but by the first ’sensible-sounding’ aspect of it.
The need for community is among the highest of human needs, and it should not be a surprise that one would begin to say what their community says to better fit in.
Truth be told, I was a member of a forum related to this sort of thing back in the day: religious debate, discussion, theological history — I quite liked it at first (and indeed for years), but it did proceed over a wide timeframe to become increasingly… let us call it ‘unwelcoming’ to alternate belief systems of any stripe.
I recall people I had long known becoming increasingly zealous in their views as the differing views shrank with time to the point they became almost invisible and were effectively crippled on sight by insanely severe moderation efforts to… there is no other word for it: cull all newcomers that did not fit their particular view.
It is not impossible that the moderation team of another website has followed such a path, regardless of where it led to.
That religion does poorly in the more ‘developed’ countries and therefore among the internet-thriving parts of the world, and that this matches with steeply decreasing birth rates as people become increasingly disconnected from the world outside where indeed Religion is the more common state of being… 'God died', and I’d quote Nietzsche on what to do about it, but other ‘people' co-opted his insistence that we search for meaning before it is too late, and ascribed him (a high critic of nihilism) upon nihilism as a substitute ‘Father’ figure. Then proceeded to truly horrifying ends the likes of which few religions have ever matched (though not for lack of trying).
For the record, I do not say this in the support of any group, only to note that more than half of humanity is presently religious: to ascribe hate upon them wholesale is to disparage half of humanity today in the process, and almost all of our ancestors in every civilisation that has ever existed
(including the one that I mentioned above: more than 90% religious, despite the severe apopulistic dearth of adherence of their political heads).
That there are people willing to ascribe hatred so profound to people so many, such that it collects in a pocket that echoes far and which froths within:
Should be very concerning to those who know their history, or who religiously follow current events.
For myself entirely, as no Atheist and in representation of no Religion: my spiritualism is quite profoundly singular and can be found in very few people, if indeed it is found in any other person.
I know of few who see every person as not simply possessing godly traits, and none but myself and the insane see God not in man, but god as Man.
Should others ever ascribe to my Religion: I worry that Nietzsche might have inadvertently spawned the lesser evil.
I know of few who see every person as not simply possessing godly traits, and none but myself and the insane see God not in man, but god as Man.
Should others ever ascribe to my Religion: I worry that Nietzsche might have inadvertently spawned the lesser evil.
But generally, yes:
It would be celebrated in places. As the reverse would be celebrated in others.
If that is the case with this particular example? I cannot say.
Entirely possible it is that they fear the very mention of religion anywhere on their platform due to, let’s say:
Charlie Hebdo.
Violence goes in all ways, always (excepting the Jains, the only religion to ever truly practice peace).
As Christendom has Crusaders, as Islam has Mujahideen, as Buddhism has no name for holy warriors and yet has been leveraged to war under a thousand different names: so too are there schools of Atheistic thought that can only be described as: militant.
Cruelty is as human as is kindness.
