Does religion deserve respect, and if so why?

Question

My view is that people deserve respect, but ideas and beliefs do not. What do you think, and if you think religion *does* deserve respect, what form should that respect take? Does it mean freedom from ridicule, condemnation, criticism or even intellectual challenge? Please justify your answer.

groovy granny: I don't think so. People cannot change their ethnic origins, which is why I would say it is wrong to be racist, but they can and do change their religion. Why should I show undue deference to someone's religious beliefs when they might be a completely different religion, or no religion at all, the very next week? I would argue that ideas and beliefs don't qualify for respect because they are not an inextricable part of a person, they are merely things we adopt in life and can change if we wish to.

Julia: I agree, well said.

cutiepie11: I don't think that argument holds water - It's an undeniable fact that the most civilised societies on Earth with the highest quality of life also tend to be the least religious.

BIBLELADY: Personally I do not want or expect respect for my own ideas and beliefs - They stand or fall on their own merits. If I resent someone challenging, condemning or ridiculing my ideas and beliefs, it can only be because I'm not secure and confident that I can defend them.

Answer 1

While you're basically right about people deserving respect, but ideas and beliefs don't, the problem is that few people are able or willing to separate the two, and most do attack the person for their ideas and beliefs.

On the other hands even if the person isn't attacked, if their ideas and beliefs are, people do tend to take that as a personal attack.

I think that schools should start teaching about disagreeing without being disagreeable and start teaching language that will still relay the message without putting the other person on the defensive. Unfortunately few are willing or able to do something this simply and that's the reason for a lot of conflict in the world, mainly because people don't know how to talk to each other.

A couple of days ago, I posted a question, in which a person answered which is greater, freedom of speech or the right not to be offended. Why should the two be mutually exclusive?

Answer 2

Yes, religion does deserve respect. Religion is an organized system of beliefs by which a person establishes his/her personal values. It is through religion that we establish what is true, what is good and what we should do. The laws of most countries have as their foundations the accepted religious values of its citizens. Concerning its historical perspective, it is religion that brought us art, brought us great buildings, brought us music, brought us a sense of justice and it is religion that protected the rights of the poor and weak against those in power.

Does all this mean that we should not question the belief systems that are set in place today? No, they need to be questioned.. How else can they be determined to be valid?

Problems develop when a religion, such as Islam, claims that no one, even non-believers, is allowed to illustrate the Prophet under penalty of death. They claim that such images are condemned not only because they are disrespectful, but they will lead some people to worship the image, and the Prophet did not want his followers to worship him. However, all this can be questioned. Is it really disrespectful to have an image of someone? If so, why do we have pictures of people we love? Would such images lead one to worship the image? The very people who worry the most about this don't seem to worship the images... So, it looks like a false position.

Summary: Religions do deserve respect. However, persons who don't believe deserve the same respect. And no one can claim a freedom from criticism or intellectual challenge.

Answer 3

It's obvious that you and your sects Do Not respect others beliefs and ideas because you come to this section to express your views and question others daily and you ridicule,condemn,destructively criticize and do not challenge but mock others beliefs. You and your sects don't respect people because people are consumed by their ideas and beliefs and some live and breath it daily. It's not about religion anyway. It's all about the Living God. JESUS said that believers will be persecuted daily and that unbelievers hate him. God deserves respect and the people who follow him.

+j+

Answer 4

Religion was created by men, more so by followers of a saint or so. It is upto the followers of a religion to respect it. Criticism , ridicule, etc, is dependent on the followers and onlookers (their individual characters). If a religious group does not cause any problem to others, and those others also are reasonable enough to recognise the personal freedom of religion to men, then respect is effortless. Any dilution in these conditions will result in imbalances even in the name of religion.

Answer 5

Well, in the sense that people create and believe in the religion, then yes, it deserves respect. If you ridicule, condemn or criticize the religion, then aren't you doing the same to the people of that religion! I can understand disagreeing with the beliefs of a particular religion and having your own opinions of it but to criticize the religion seems to be to be criticizing those who believe in it!

Answer 6

How can you respect a person and not respect their beliefs? If you do not take the time to understand a persons beliefs than how can you hope to change them. You have the right to believe as you choose, but I have the resposibility to show you the light. If you believe in something you should have the courage to stand up for it.

Answer 7

Hmmm... ultimately, religion is a conflict of interests when it comes to world view. Everyone wants to have their world view go unchallanged, because having one's world view be challanged is psychologically stressful. People who live in cloistered christian communities are "less fulfilled" but probably happier, at least in some form. I think that ultimately, if people want to avoid being challanged on their views, they have to segregate themselves, but that comes with a lot of opportunity costs. The stress of various world views is just an inevitable consequence of having different world views exist.

I personally follow everything with logic, though I occasionally slip up logically, retracting any illogical statements.

For the most part, religion doesn't deserve redicule as long as it serves its purpose. The situations in which we have problems is when religion is counterproductive.... though I can't think of any unambiguously negative situations that would serve as an example.

Answer 8

I think religious organizations should be just as open to criticism and complaint as any other organization -- as long as it's done with respect and maturity.

For instance, the Catholic Church deserved to be criticized for its handling of priests who sexually abused minors. Most of the criticism was expressed respectfully and fairly.

But when the entire Catholic priesthood was castigated because of the misbehavior of a tiny few of them, that' was wrong. It's the same as thinking that all Muslims are terrorists, or that all black people are drug dealers, because of a few bad apples.

Answer 9

even though religious people are still people and make just as many mistakes as non-religious folks doesn't mean religion shouldn't be respected. whether people like it or not religion does keep many people sane and out of trouble cuz i am a christian and if i wasn't religious or believed in God i might not give a rats butt about living my life in a respectable way... i do believe religion should be given respect in that sense "it keeps humans from doing wrong/bad things, etc"

Answer 10

Religion does not deserve the respect. Jesus deservs respect.
Jesus came here to free us from religions. He taught us to have a personal relationship with God. He is our Mediator. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, and no one will enter to the Father's house except through Him.