Quote from: SecondClass on June 13, 2016, 01:10:17 AMthat's nice, dearThis is the Serious board.
that's nice, dear
What am I if I just dont care?
That is a rather broad statement. It is difficult to delimit the notion of religion, let alone what constitutes a person as "religious". Are you talking about personal beliefs? Beliefs that align with a particular religion? Affiliation with a particular church or denomination? Participation in certain practices and rituals? What about spirituality? "Religiousness" and "religiosity" are subjective as they are based on your own understanding of what religion is, which, in essence, is influenced by your cultural upbringing, which, inherently, includes the religious principles rooted in society and the history of the nation/province/city/town you are from.So before one can actually have this discussion, please find me a definition of religion that can properly incorporate the dimensions of religion on both a substantive and functional basis.
The fuck lol
Quote from: Verbatim on June 13, 2016, 04:53:26 AMQuote from: challengerX on June 13, 2016, 04:50:16 AMThe fuck lolis it making you thinkdeeply
Quote from: challengerX on June 13, 2016, 04:50:16 AMThe fuck lolis it making you think
So one critique of these accusations is that “religion” is a broad enough category that anything can be mapped on to it:Does it have well-known figures? Then they’re “gurus” and it’s a religion.Are there books about it? Then those are “scriptures” and it’s a religion.Does it recommend doing anything regularly? Then those are “rituals” and it’s a religion.How about just doing anything at all? Then that’s a “commandment” and it’s a religion.Does it say something is bad? Then that’s “sin” and it’s a religion.Does it hope to improve the world, or worry about the world getting worse? That’s an “eschatology” and it’s a religion.Do you disagree with it? Then since you’ve already determined all the evidence is against it, people must believe it on “faith” and it’s a religion.
Quote from: Ginger on June 13, 2016, 01:14:23 AMThat is a rather broad statement. It is difficult to delimit the notion of religion, let alone what constitutes a person as "religious". Are you talking about personal beliefs? Beliefs that align with a particular religion? Affiliation with a particular church or denomination? Participation in certain practices and rituals? What about spirituality? "Religiousness" and "religiosity" are subjective as they are based on your own understanding of what religion is, which, in essence, is influenced by your cultural upbringing, which, inherently, includes the religious principles rooted in society and the history of the nation/province/city/town you are from.So before one can actually have this discussion, please find me a definition of religion that can properly incorporate the dimensions of religion on both a substantive and functional basis.I'd say, any medium through which you defer in the pursuit of knowledge (e.g. God, nature, science, empiricism, etc.)Deference being the keyword. Having a sycophantic or dogmatic attitude towards that which you consider the arbiter of the truth and meaning of reality, and censuring anything else that could attempt to explain the truth in its own way, is religious behavior, with or without a god. It is to claim that x medium is the One True God; everything else is a false idol.In this sense, this new throng of individuals on the Internet, who cling to notions of science and empiricism, yet resentfully shut down anything else, are ironically more religious than those who claim to follow an actual religion in the more classical sense (e.g. belief in a god, sacraments, rituals, church-going, gay-bashing, etc)--because at least you can have a dialogue with a Christian about the existence of their god.Can you have a dialogue with an r/atheist about religion? Not without them rejecting it immediately and ridiculing the very notion of it, you can't. They'll claim vehemently that there is no god, and simultaneously position science as the only path to true knowledge. This is religious behavior. Of course, this doesn't apply to all atheists, but even agnostics can have an unctuously religious devotion to things like science and nature--especially nature.The general theory is to have an open, vigilant mind, taking care not to develop a sense of piety or devotion to anything.
When everything is a religion, nothing is a religion.QuoteSo one critique of these accusations is that “religion” is a broad enough category that anything can be mapped on to it:Does it have well-known figures? Then they’re “gurus” and it’s a religion.Are there books about it? Then those are “scriptures” and it’s a religion.Does it recommend doing anything regularly? Then those are “rituals” and it’s a religion.How about just doing anything at all? Then that’s a “commandment” and it’s a religion.Does it say something is bad? Then that’s “sin” and it’s a religion.Does it hope to improve the world, or worry about the world getting worse? That’s an “eschatology” and it’s a religion.Do you disagree with it? Then since you’ve already determined all the evidence is against it, people must believe it on “faith” and it’s a religion.