Ladies and Gentlemen of Elements,
May I please make a call for all and sundry to treat one another with a little dignity! Yes, we must agree that religion, like politics, can often be highly charged and emotive issues; chiefly because they address the fundamental way we live our lives, and provide more impetus to our behaviour and thoughts. At least, more so than an episode of Gilmore Girls.
But that does not entitle the holder of any one view or standpoint to rudely belittle those of another!* Do you not understand that by doing so, you undermine your own credibility? Encouraging others to view your thoughts not as musings worthy of consideration, but the gruntings of a narrow-minded bigot?
This is not so say we shouldn't argue, or debate - far from it. Rigorous discussion sharpens the mind and elasticates the character, and bravo to those stalwart enough to enter into the fray. But I simply wished to implore that as we do so, treat your fellow combatants, or allies, with, in the words of Erasure, a little respect.
Also, my learned colleagues, be wary of making "factual" statements which may actually have more opinion about them than empirical certainties. eg. "Most Hindus don't actually believe in it anyway, they just do what their parents told them." From a conflict management, or counselling, perspective, I find it is best to rephrase your statements with, "I believe..." or "I feel..." or "In my experience, as a practising phrenologist..."
One final point, related specifically to religious discussion: aggression may be passive, as well as overt. Beware the trap of gentle smugness, and quietly-veiled self-righteousness. A case in point - and please understand, I make the following statement very delicately - I have noticed, both here and elsewhere, SOME atheists speaking with this mild dismissiveness, this understated arrogance. If atheism is the conclusion you have reached after your philosophical journey, bully for you. Spread your views, convert others to the cause, have your t-shirts printed reading "God cannot be dead because he didn't exist in the first place"... but please don't interact with that flavour of, "Of course, as history marches on and the backward peoples become more educated, the ranks of scientific thinkers will swell as the cathedrals and standing stones empty" etc.
It just makes you come across like a git.
Thank you.
* Except scientologists. Those guys are just blinking bonkers!
