Why? Please do not answer if you will be insulting.?

Question

I am not going to approach this with anger, but curiosity. Why does it seem that people on this religious board both:

1. Bombard other's religions and ask insulting questions
2. Believe that all members of a certain religion are exactly alike (i.e. the stereotype that all Christains press their religion on others)

Please justify your answer, any answers like "because" or "shut up" will be ignored, possibly reported if they are insulting, or simply will have no chance for my best answer. I would like well-thought out answers please. I know you all have the intelligence, please put it to use and end this, once and for all.

I understand, this can be a touchy subject, but telling me to "f-off" isn't going to make anything better. By the way, the user who did tell me that has been reported.

Moiraes Fate, that is the same kind of thinking that I am talking about in my second question. Please think out your answers before answering, I am beginning to think that either
A. People are failing to see the point in typing such a thought-out question
B. My question is attracting many stereotypers, as well as intelligent people.
or C. Human nature is hard to overcome, and I fail to see how I could have gotten past this impulse to respond irrationally.

I think that C and A are the most likely.

Answer 1

Oh dear dear dear. Sir Isaac,(and might I say you do look shorter in your portraits) we could expound on that one phrase forever and not get a proper answer.
Religion (and politics) are the two main things that will upset a conversation immediately. Want to throw a wrench into a dinner party? Bring up the election or worse...mention that so-and-so's son is an agnostic. There goes the peace and tranquility of the party! You can at least sit back and enjoy your contrived chaos!
I'm dreadfully sorry, Sir Isaac, there really is no Why. There's only human stubbornness, ignorance and the inability to change in the face of something Better. Blessings, your Lordship.

Answer 2

I'll try to be blunt without being outright rude:
Long version---

1. Bombard other's religions and ask insulting questions-
On a forum like this, the anonymity provides a wall for us to fight behind. So we, as humans, feeling "safe" behind our little wall- act like we are invincible- thus saying things we wouldn't normally say in person. There are quite a few people here that are not that disrespectful, though the number seems to be decreasing. All sides of the religious debates have a number of very respectful and very honest answerers. They also have a number of people dropping by just to get points or a cheap laugh at the questioner's expense. In every case, it's fun... rude as it may be.

2. The more rational or educated answerers will know the difference, and you will be able to see it in their answers. What I don't understand is how evolution science gets mixed with astronomy and turned into a religion! Others can't understand the difference between a Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical,etc...
Or the people who lump all Muslems and terrorists together? That is extremely unfair and I would truly consider that to be a fault on my own part if I couldn't tell the difference between the people I am arguing with. People look for reasons to lump people together just like they file things into cabinets. It's a very sad thing, because we would all be better off with a little more unity.
There's problems with overgeneralizing on all sides.
Short Version-------------

1. People are going to be a bit rude when they can say whatever they want.
2. It really is irritating, isn't it?

Answer 3

First, I don't think all questions are meant as insults. Some people just take the questions as being insults. In many cases people are truly trying to understand how and why another person believes what they believe.

On the second question, unfortunately I think it's easier for people to stereotype. We've all done it at some point. I attempt to clarify by using phrases like "some Christians" or "fundamentalists" or "zealots" or whatever. Unfortunately though - when someone has a problem with someone else's religion it's often because they've run across the zealots who will condemn everyone who doesn't believe like they do. Basically - they've had bad experiences with someone on the other side of the argument. The zealots are often the loudest in any group and can make an entire group of people look bad.

Answer 4

This is a forum which allows for only limited means of discussion or explaining things. Often stereotypes are used in regards to certain religions, because it is often difficult to address each group separately and effectively, with sufficient detail by means of Yahoo! answers. I also think that sometimes people post questions and/or answers that are not meant to be viewed as rude, just an expression of their opinion or a fair question, but they are taken poorly. The problem with typing on a computer is that there is no allowance for voice inflection, facial expressions, etc. so things are not always read as stated. However, there are the blatantly rude comments.

Why do people bombard other's religions and ask insulting questions? Well, I think a lot of people on here do it. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Atheists, etc. None of us appreciate being asked insulting questions, yet we will ask questions back that are rude. Or we will post something on a "For Christians only..." question that is just to be contrare. And a lot of times, questions have a noticeable bias, so even if the question isn't rude, the answerers who don't agree with the asker will get heated and say unnecessary things. I personally have asked a question before and I used a disclaimer that it was not meant to offend. It wasn't rude in format/vocabulary yet some people answered sh*tty because they "thought" it seemed rude.

As far as stereotyping goes, well, it's just easier than figuring out how each person is. If, for instance, you came into contact with a great number of atheists and they each said "We are so much smarter than you". Then let's say you assume that atheists think they are so much smarter than Christians, when in fact the percentage of atheists that have actually said this is only 1% of all Y! users. It's just hard because we don't talk to everybody, and there are often consistently repeated beliefs which lead to generalizations.

It would be nice for this problem to lessen, but seeing as how this is unlikely, I just deal with it and enjoy the debate.

Answer 5

They ask insulting questions and seem to believe all members of a certain religion are exactly alike for two reasons.

1. They are immature, or honestly don't know any better.
2. In a forum like this with hundreds of members coming and going the members are next to being anonymous. They can say almost anything without being accountable (because we only get one comment per question thread, can't argue the point with them so that they show how completely immature they are.)

Imagine what it would be like if members had to defend what they say and were likely to encounter a lot of the same people again. Things would be different. But that's the way things are at Yahoo Answers. If you want a more serious forum in religion and philosophy without trolls then you might want to consider Experts-Exchange, Philosophy & Religion at http://www-new.experts-exchange.com/Other/Philosophy_Religion/

It's not an ultra serious forum, but people there don't put up with trolls and try to thoughtfully answer questions.

Answer 6

I try to answer every question honestly and without malice toward anyone. I think some people have had bad experiences from some religions and as humans we tend to stereotype. To those that had a bad experience, even if they are super angry I try to approach them kindly because i feel that's what God would want me to do. If I'm mean then won't that turn them more away from religion and as a Christian I won't all people in Heaven with me. I choose not to answer ?s by people who are just trying to find the right nerve to make people snap. Some people are just instigators or unhappy and we can't stop that. Don't worry about those people. Concentrate on the people that seem to honestly be looking for help or real answers.

Answer 7

This is a wonderful question, and I have wondered the same thing many times...

I think that the anonymity of this forum give license to those who wish to "act out" - possibly because they are having a bad day at home, or they feel mistreated in some way by someone who may be "different" and this forum allows them to vent.

I think once someone starts with the negativity towards a group, a member of that attacked group feels defensive and goes on to attack someone else, and the attacking continues.

It takes everyone acting like adults... sometimes that is a difficult thing to do... even for the most responsible and intelligent of people.

Peace

Answer 8

I don't care about your best answer. I am simply going to express my opinion. Regarding issue #1. As long as there are 2 people with opposing opinions, there will be arguing and, more than likey, insults. People need to feel validated and if someone makes them feel that they're wrong, said person will be angry and hurt and what do we do when we're hurt? We strike back. Some do it verbally, some physically. Regarding issue #2. It's very easy to stereotype when there are so many that act the same way, regardless of the situation. Most of the Christians I've known in my life do press their beliefs on others. These same Christians are hypocrites because they don't practice what they preach and then try to hide it. I'm not saying that stereotyping is right but it's easy to do.

Answer 9

I think that until people realize that
1st it's men and woman that are the problem
2 it has nothing to do with GOD but the people
3 that there are good people in all religions and bad people in all religions, including Atheist and Christians, then there is always going to be problems on here. Immaturity, intolerance and a need to be right prevent imperfect men and woman from having intelligent conversations.
It's never been about Religion one way or another or about whether you believe in God or not. It's about having respect for the individual asking the question and treating others the way you yourself want to be treated. I am tired of the mockery on here. There really are people who have serious questions and want true answers but you have people, NOT RELIGIONS out there answering false answers about other people's religions and also making a joke about everything. But I want to reiterate this IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RELIGION!!!! and EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE PERSON. Free agency at it's purest!!!!!

Answer 10

To understand why religion is so controversial, we must first understand how religion began. During our cavemen years, man did not have much knowledge as to how the world worked. Thus, they began to form beliefs in an effort to answer their questions. These conjectures eventually developed into a primitive form of religion. However, as man split apart, each began forming different beliefs as to how the world was run (this is a simplification), leading to people having different religious beliefs. Consequently, conflict between disparate religions emerged.

This can not only be applied to religion, but to how we see the world in general. Each person has a different view of life and so conflict is inevitable. Since certain people are often ignorant of other people's viewpoint or religion, they will resort to asking insulting questions or stereotype because this method is often easier than trying to understand the other person. Ignorance leads to anger, from anger to hate, and war begins. Human nature, at times, often works in this cycle.