I truly believe something, and I'm wondering if anyone else does, too? [see details]?

Question

I truly believe that before you are able to make any negative judgements about a religion, you should "try out" that religion.

Atheists and Pagans and even quite a few Agnostics and Buddhists have done this, in America. They were born into a religion, and then left to a different religion.

Thusly, if people followed such a thing, they couldn't say Christians are idiots without having been Christian for time, first. Likewise for Pagans and Paganism, Atheists and Atheism, Buddhists and Buddhism, Jews and Judaism, Muslims and Islam, Jainists and Jainism, etc.

A lot of people on R&S already fill this requirement.

Answer 1

You don't have to experience a religion from the inside to observe the actions of those who believe in it.

Of course, it's helpful to have a decent amount of knowledge about different religions. I think I have at least a basic understanding of the major religions.

And as far as negative judgments, I try to restrict those as much as possible. When I do have a negative reaction to someone, it's toward that person, not their religion, or the rest of the adherents of that religion. Likewise, my opinion of religions is based on the teachings of the religion, not the people who follow them.

Answer 2

I'm a believer and I try to be open-minded and understasnding of other people's religious beliefs. Where the problem comes in, at least for me, is when I ask them why they believe what they do, and they either can't explain why, or they get verbally abrasive. At that moment, I begin to draw conclusions about their beliefs and the temperature gets turned up a few notches. I challenge their core beliefs in the most caustic manner I can, and put them in a corner. At the point where they are enraged and the tears are ready to flow, I'll sit quietly sipping my coffee and not saying a word; I just look at them. After a few moments they either scream that they hate me, or they realize that they have no idea why they believe what they do, and freely say so. Then the real conversation begins about what a religion is and why it can't be possible that all of them are true, or why not all of them "point to the same god". Most every time this happens, the other person thanks me, and asks' if they can revisit the conversation again. I'm always available to them.

Answer 3

Well, you can learn a lot about a religion without needing to give it a "test drive". I do agree that people should have more understanding of other religions, the sort that you can get in a "world religions" class or something of the like. Finding out what a religion says about itself goes a long way.

Answer 4

Well, this is sort of like saying you shouldn't jump off a bridge when in fact you really have no idea what jumping off a bridge is like. You don't have to experience something to know about it.

But your point is true; everyone should research religions, etc before joining, rejecting, endorsing or condemning them. But this doesn't mean you need to actually become a Catholic or a Mormon or an atheist before you can criticise it.

I am an atheist and the reason why is that I read the bible and found it to be obvious fiction, full of contradictions, and loaded with hateful xenophobic messages.

Answer 5

I think it's very important to learn about different religions with an open mind. I think there is much merit in what you are saying, but it may not be practical for everyone. It would be very difficult to try out believing in something that you really didn't believe in in your heart. You could try the practices and lifestyle, but you might have to just accept the fact that you may never know what it feels like to believe a certain way.

Having believed in 3 different religions myself, however, I do know what it is like to believe in different things, and I know that when I believed in one religion, I believed very strongly in it - and then when I didn't, I believed just as strongly that it wasn't true. But now having experienced all this, I have sympathy for people of different beliefs, because I know what it's like to believe in something very deeply.

Answer 6

I think you can look at someone else's religion and have opinions about it, positive or negative, without having to be a part of it. I can have opinions about Christians, Jews, Taoists, etc. while not believing what they believe by looking at their teachings, history, belief system, etc. I think what you mean to say is that you shouldn't make judgements without first acquiring sufficient knowledge on the topic.

Answer 7

I was born into a nonobservant Jewish family, but I made a choice not to believe in it. I try to be tolerant of others, specifically Christians, but some of the things that have been said to me make it hard.

Answer 8

I see where you are trying to be understanding and open minded and wishing that others would be as well

but sometimes you can just see that something is bad and wrong without having to try it out first to confirm it

we are given at birth certain common sense traits for survival that allow us to assess something and realize that it's just not a good idea

take eating poop....ok?

do you REALLY need to eat poop to know that it's bad?
or, can you see for yourself that it's probably best to stay clear of it? that it just doesn't make sense to go and try it out

so too for religions

there are just some religions that it's OBVIOUS that they are bad for you, that they just won't be something you should tolerate

Answer 9

o hi srry i couldnt say hello on my other account i answered to many questions how old r u cause u said u were a wiccan teen so try and IM me or something

Answer 10

I believe people should research and think about other beliefs, but they don't necessarily have to "try out" other beliefs.