why should i 'respect' religious beliefs if i find them ridiculous?

Question

i constantly hear that one should respect others beliefs no matter how absurd one thinks they are. for example, you tell me that you believe that by eating raspberry yogurt, you become invisible and can then tell the future but you can offer no proof of this, and then demand that i 'respect' this belief. this is no different than telling me that a supernatural entity that you cannot prove exists, created the universe and sent his only begotten son, born of a virgin, to die on a cross for my sins even though i wasnt born for another two thousand years!...this is the very definition of absurd! why should i 'respect' this or any other belief like it?

Answer 1

Well Dojoman, you could fight everyone that disagrees with your idea of the truth. But all that will get you is frustration, stress, maybe high blood pressure, a stroke or a heart attack, because that's all unnecessary anger is good for. Or you could respect the fact that you live in THIS world, and in THIS world there are gonna be people with beliefs and opinions that are different than yours. You aren't gonna change a whole world of people with different beliefs. So for your own sake, just let it go. Then you can live a healthier, much happier life.

Answer 2

Sure enough there are a lot of things STUPID in the world but if this thing means a lot to a person, why have to question them? If you believe Jesus and God isn't real then I'm FINE with that. as long as you're a good person, I RESPECT you!!

That is how you respect another person, by understanding them. If someone believes they become invisble, then I respect them, as long as they don't manipulate anyone or hurt anyone and DO ANY CRIME or HARM then it's okay.

DO GOOD and BE GOOD...I dont mind your opinion and criticism, that's how anyone would be!! I am also partly skeptic about this catholic belief but seeing how this makes people do many GREAT and GOOD things for OTHERS then why stop? LEARNING about love and mercy in this religion makes people determined to change the world from being MORE BAD...if they are inspired by good actions, no need to make them stop..

Answer 3

I am a Christian, I believe that Yahweh was able to make all things; according to His Will and His Timeline. Yeshua was born a virgin, suffered for my sins, died, and was risen again. He conquered death, so that I could have eternal life. Just be simply having faith, in what Yahweh's Holy Word says.

If you do not want to believe in Yahweh or Yeshua, you have the right to make that decision. No matter what you personally believe, I will continue to "respect you".

Mature people show respect to others, regardless of whether they agree or disagree with his or her beliefs.

Answer 4

People respect other's beliefs out of an attemtp to get along and avoid hurting them. We respect other's beliefs because it helps insure civil rights. We respect other's beliefs because it is an act of simple kindness.

You may not believe in Christianity (neither do I), but enough people do to make it a major force in the world, and no matter how hard you try, you can't prove that it's not true. You may come up with enough facts to convince yourself, but you can't completely refute it. Nor can you prove that there is no God at all.

Respect does not mean approval or acceptance, it merely acknowledges that there are people who do believe and believe because they have, as do you, sufficient evidence to support (for themselves), their own opinion and faith.

Answer 5

Because if you go to a place where it overpowers everything else, and you make it clear that you don't respect it, then you could get shot. xD lol jk (I think). It's a whole matter of rights, everyone has a right to believe in what they wanna believe, and if you don't respect that then you could actually end up with no friends or anything. I'm Christian and my mom has a friend who is Jewish, and we respect her for that. Just because someone doesn't believe the same thing, it doesn't make them a bad person, but some people are overly-religious and take that stuff seriously.

Answer 6

~~~dojoman,,,,, When you bow to the dojo, you are not respecting the mat, floor, walls and ceiling. You are respecting the Spirit of The Place. The Atmosphere. The Ambiance. One does not have to respect The Belief, but one MUST honor the Spirit(person) that harbors the belief. This should be the aim of your 'respect'. It is obvious this is a challenge to your Tolerance,,, ~ Namaste` ~

Answer 7

and I consider the Big Bang ridiculous, but I don't need to mock those who believe it. I guess 'cause I'm Christian, I', instructed to respect everyone, not hate anyone, and to realize certain things, so respect is easier for me.

and Jesus dying for you before you were born is hard to believe? what about the soldiers who died for freedomof a nation? they didn't know the people who'd be there in the future. Or what about the founding fathers? they made a (and some even fought for it) nation, not just for themselves. Jesus was just this type of sacrifice on a larger scale.

Answer 8

The point is to respect that person's right to believe in that, not the belief itself.

The flip side is that the person is required by the same code of conduct to respect your right not to believe it and not try to force it on you all day every day.

In both respects many theists and atheists fail

Answer 9

You don't have to respect other's beliefs, but you need to respect that others have beliefs. And these might differ from your own beliefs, which may or may not be correct. Fact is, you can't prove your own theory either.
Maybe TOLERATE would be a better word.
Each to their own, whatever they believe in, if it doesn't impact on other people in a negative way.

Answer 10

I respect their right to believe whatever they want. That doesn't mean that I respect the belief itself. Sometimes they are ridiculous, but hey, they can believe what they want. I can even tell them that I think it's silly, but I'll try to do so in a respectful way (but I cannot control my sarcasm at times).