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 Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 10:44 am
Each religion, even within a tradition or denomination, has its flavors. Every practitioner of a religion customizes it to some extent or another, modifying the beliefs a little bit to suit them personally. Even if they do not believe they're changing it, by virtue of varying interpretation, it's in most ways inevitable. So even though you have two people practicing the same form of Christianity, one may have very different views than the other.
So given all the different flavors within a religion, why do we even judge people by their religion when everybody personalizes it to fit them? We may be able to know roughly what they believe and how they see the world, but how a person sees the world extends beyond their religion alone. This also suggests that religious intolerance is unfair, as you're generalizing a group of people that have their own distinct takes on the religion they practice. Many people are eclectic in one way or another.
What are your thoughts in this? Is it better to simply not judge a person by their religion and get to know them as a person? Or is it okay to make certain assumptions? What kinds of assumptions?
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 12:41 pm
yes, there are so many varieties of religious persuasion that it is wrong to prejudge based on any general label.
get to know the person first.
then if it turns out that he's a fundy bible-belt person who hates everyone who's different, ditch him. but don't just write him off beforehand because he calls himself christian (for instance).
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 2:37 pm
very true, everyone has a different take on a religion, so why would you descriminate a whole religouse group when they are all different?
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 11:31 am
Around Denver the subject of religion doesn't come up more than a simple "Well, mabey I could hang out later on Sunday cause I have church in the morning".
However, I know back around my home town, it does affect how people see and treat other people. I don't even tell people my religion around there because once someone finds out you're not Christian, that's it, you're one of the lowest life forms in the area. They don't want their children hanging out with you, seeing you, assosciating themselves with you, etc. Ironically, they mask their hate with fake smiles and public corgiality. Of course because of that you have alot of kids rebelling and becoming wiccan just to throw things off whack for the families. Its quite funny to watch.
However, I do think certain assumptions should be made based off a religion. For instance if your friend is a strong mormon or baptist, you can be pretty certain that they won't want to go out drinking and partying with you. Why? Their religion doesn't believe in drinking. So, if you like to go out drinking alot then a mormon or baptist friend might not be the friend for you.
As far as personality goes, there shouldn't be any assumptions made because I've met some really air headed Christians that think life is perfect and that Jesus will float down on a cloud to take everyone that believes in him back to heaven..and I've met some much more down to earth realistic Christians. Same goes for pagans and wiccans. I've met wiccans who think that casting a spell will seriously change their eye color from green to bright pink.
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 4:24 pm
So, going off of Tigress's post, how do you know how devout they are to their faith without getting to know them? Religion doesn't really come up in my conversations either; and not being mainstream it isn't a topic I volunteer to those who don't know me well to begin with. I don't ask a person's religion either, so it doesn't end up effecting how I judge them. What they say and what they do is more important.
Sometimes, though, I'm still tempted to generalize about religious paths in terms of their general outlook on life. Some religions will emphasize the value of this life, while others emphasize the afterlife or cycles of reincarnation. Some emphasize individual empowerment while others create a collective community spirit. These sorts of things tend to be reflected in many things the person says and does. Anything that's a pervasive psychological ideology will do that.
One problem religious customization creates is in defining the religions themselves. Within a religion there's constant bickering about what is considered a 'devout' pracitioner and who is considered a 'heretic' or 'fluffy.' Nevermind intolerance of two completely different religions, what about intolerance WITHIN a religion?
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 3:52 pm
I tell people I'm athiest almost immediately. If they treat me differently than how they were treating me before, it's screw you sucker I'll get myself a better friend. Well, as long as they treat me badly.
PS Love the hat, love the hat.
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 8:18 pm
Is that really fair though? Most people don''t like others being pushy about the issue of religion. People will also inevitably judge you based upon what you tell them about you. And why shouldn''t they? Not really a fair test I don''t think. Just because you disagree with someone on religion doesn''t mean they''re not worth your time. 3nodding
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:46 am
For the most part no one around here knows anything about religion, not even their own. It's just not important and most people call themselves christian because it's the common and their parents are.
If I meet a person and actually want to form a lasting relationship I will casualy bring up the subgect of religion and inform them my beliefes are different to the common. I find religion can be a real barrier between people and I want to make sure it's not there before we're good friends. I learnt the hard...
For the most part they just say "Oh.. ok." or "Oh... What's that?" In which case I give an explination. Mostly it makes little difference but sometimes it does. There's nto alot of intolerence near me I find. However for the few religious people I've met they do things differently. Take my to more religious friends.
One is.. difficult to talk to for mroe reasons that just religion but it is one. I have another however who I speak to about religion quite a bit and they gre to be accepting of my faith and now if I have a question about christianity or just want to talk about religion off a forum I talk to them. Both of these friends are different in practise but still christian.
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