Why do people keep arguing about religion?

Question

Religion is such a personal thing and completely unprovable, so it's just down to faith, so why do people constantly criticise other people's beliefs or try to force their beliefs on others?

spartan, I've never even heard of you before

icecream dreams, I'm not denying any religion, I am just saying that it is all a matter of faith. Don't be so angry.

Answer 1

The easiest way to understand the nature of the conflict is to break it down into steps. The people involved in the conflict generally follow a pattern of reasoning that can best be described as follows:

1. I am right about the nature of the Divine.
2. The things I have been taught about the Divine (which must be true) state that anyone who disagrees is wrong. There can not be two right answers, according to what I have been taught.
3. By being wrong, you have placed your immortal soul in peril. Furthermore, if I let you continue to be wrong, you will suffer horrible punishment. I must help you by making you agree with me.
4. Finally, if I don't convert you, you might convince someone that YOU are right, and I am wrong. That would mean another immortal soul in perril. Therefore, I must stop you before you can endanger anyone else.

That's the super simple version, but there it is in a nutshell. The people hassling you about joining their faith really think that they are doing you a favour. They can't choose to leave you alone anymore than they can choose not to perform the Heimlich manouever on you if you are choking in a restaurant. Evangalists (be they Christian, Muslim, or whatever) see no difference.
The issue is further complicated by some religions that state that no other religion should be allowed to exist, or others that command followers to spread the faith.
Finally, there are some people that use faith for selfish ends, but they are a minority.

I hope that helps.

Answer 2

Spirituality is personal and 'unprovable'. Religion is not really personal, since it is the corpus of beliefs and laws that make up a group's common culture of spirituality.

When two groups or individuals hold differing or opposing views about something, discussion is natural. When both are convinced that their own views are the only true way to see something then dissent is inevitable and interminable.

That is why people will always argue about religion and politics and will never (or will rarely) be able to come to a satisfactory compromise because they are arguing from a position that allows none. People argue for the sake of it because it is 'safe' to do so - they know that the pleasure of arguing will never result in a situation where there is no more room for argument. There is no 'end game'.

Answer 3

Successful religions persist only to the extent that they attract new followers and retain the current ones. It's pretty obvious how that causes them to have their followers try to force their beliefs onto others. It's also important to notice that the demand to "tell the world" also helps to retain the current followers, by making them feel as though they're personally involved in something important, and moreover, that it's a struggle against the world, so they're a small, select group of special people.

There may be other ways to attract and retain followers, but these are the ways that make the most sense to the widest range of people, and so they're the most popular. Imagine a religion that said that the only legitimate way to attract new followers was to study philosophy for 6 years and then make valid arguments in favor of the religion. That religion would quickly disappear, for obvious reasons. Religions need to work with the raw materials that they have, and that means using legions of followers who simply don't have what it takes to make valid arguments. What's left? Repetition, insult, slogans, social sanctions, rallying the angry mobs, etc.

Now, I think you were also asking "why do non-believers criticize the beliefs of believers?", right? Unfortunately, there are some non-believers here who are simply acting as childishly as most of the believers. But in the larger world, the driving force for the criticism of religion (for example, my posts reminding people that there is no evidence for any gods or life after death) is that nonbelievers don't want to have religious beliefs forced on them, and that happens FAR more often that believers think they're doing it. The biggest example is almost certainly the movement to have religion control sexuality. I don't think that believers think that's what is going on even as they participate in it, in the forms of the anti-abortion movement, the fight against contraception, sex education, homosexuals' rights, etc. In each of those cases, the evil intent is disguised by a slogan intended to make the perpetrators believe that they're involved in some noble cause, so they never have to think of themselves as essentially American Taliban. Those of us who do not want to live in a giant, well-armed version of Taliban Afghanistan do not, and should not just roll over and say "everyone has the right to their own religious beliefs, so I'm not going to say anything about it". Religious belief is no excuse for bad behavior, and it's certainly not an excuse for destroying the United States.

Answer 4

No one wants to believe that they have spent their entire life living a lie, so we all seek proof that our beliefs are true, and we try to show others what we have found out. However, some do get fanatical about it. Some religions offend others by their practices, so when someone comes at them, the often will strike with their proof. Not necessarily to convert, but to protect what they hold dear. Some things that can not be tolerated are blasphemy, idolotry, and sorcery. It's just like any other debatable topic.
Take abortion. You are either choice or anti abortion. I would say what I know to prove that it should be a woman's own choice, and someone else will prove why it is murder.

Answer 5

You asked a very good question. One thing that I have learned in life is to never argue religion and politics. As far as I am concerned all the religions were started by mankind, not by some supreme being. It is okay to have a religion if that religion inspires you to be a better person. After all it is how you treat people that you will be known.

Answer 6

People Are Jealous off each others religion . And it is that in country like ..... where the government doesnt abolish a single state of secularism or any other thing , people of different religion starts diversifying. Well sole cause of not abolishing a country to unity is one of the main cause for arguing about religion. People dont understand the fact that IT WAS GOD WHO CREATED US AS UNITE DURING OLDEN DAYS (SAY DURING FORMATION OF MAN). People always think that their..... religion is the one that started earlier . These are all the reason leading to arguing of relegion amongst people

Answer 7

It's not unprovable just cause you say it is, who are you to disclaim the existence of God when blatantly so many intelligent minds in this world alive today will tell you Jesus is alive, don't deny the healing and beautiful work done by Christians, Jesus is the theme, thats a beautiful thing, seek Jesus not Religion.

Answer 8

Because somewhere in everyone's mind is that stupid nagging voice that says - ("I MUST be right and in order for me to be right everyone else must be wrong, because if they were right I would have to be wrong and I CAN'T be wrong. So I must argue to prove others wrong so that I am safe in my belief") - Such foolishness I know, because no one elses belief makes anyones elses wrong, just viewed differently.

Why do people argue about it? It's probably the only subject just about everyone on the planet has some knowlege of and feel they can argue their point. Seems to me we ALL have just enough knowledge on the subject to be dangerous

Answer 9

This is a place where people are aloud to share beliefs.
Mine are different from yours. I do not believe in arguing about religion. I do not believe that religion is a personal thing,nor that it is unprovable. I do not criticize other people's beliefs nor try to force my beliefs on others. I see this as a place where we are free to share our experience and listen to that of others. "As far as possible, be at peace with all men."

Answer 10

Gee... i do not recognize... Why might want to human beings argue about different maximum foundational question concerning our existence? P.S. - Seeing as God isn't a actual being, there is not any opt to bodily instruct or disprove Him. Marx envisioned God might want to grow to be irrelevant in the commercial international, and Nietzsche proved him suited. each and each philosophic stance, even those made by technique of theists, when you consider that has in uncomplicated words proved this to be the perfect say on the existence of God.