Why do we judge a religion by its followers, not it's teachings?

Question

So, you just see a handful of people of another religion then you conclude that that's the way their religion works? Wow. So that must mean:

Christians are hypocrites,
Muslims are terrorists,
Atheists are jerks,
Theists are ignorant.


Gee. I wonder. Christianity teaches that do not judge others, love thy neighbour, stuff like that, suddenly there's a Christian who acts like a jackass, does that mean all Christians are like that? Nope.

Same goes with Islam, Atheism(I know it's not a religion, so blah), Hindu, and any other religion out there.

So a muslim claims to be a holy man and told people that a certain group of people are enemies of God, well you know what? I don't care how holy that guy claims to be, if his word contradicts with his religion's teaching, I'll just assume he's doing it for his own personal hateful agenda.



Why must we judge a religion by it's followers?


P/s: Roasted Chicken or Turkey? (or Salad and mashed potatoes if you're a vegetarian)

Answer 1

Actions speak louder than words and we are all xenophobic by nature.

Answer 2

In the words of Muhatma Gandhi - "I like your Christ, but not your Christians."

This is a perfect example of what he was talking about. He was basically saying that I like the teachings, but not the way they were being carried out.

And judging a religion by it's followers is an easy out for some people to put blame on the whole group. A good example is Islam. Many people fear Muslims because of the 9/11 attacks and for the terrorist regime in the Middle East and Iraq. Most people don't seem to understand that an over-whelming majority of Muslims actually stand against these terrorists as much as many Christians, Jews, Atheists, etc.

Muslims may stand out MORESO against these terrorists than others, because what they are doing is defiling the teachings of Muhammad. The problem is that these Muslims are afraid to stand up because of those same teachings.

Qur'an [4.93] - And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his punishment is hell; he shall abide in it, and Allah will send His wrath on him and curse him and prepare for him a painful chastisement.

They feel that because these terrorists are Muslim, that if they stand up against the terrorists, then they will be sentenced to Hell for eternity.

But this is just Islam. There are many examples of other religions out there also.

p/s: Roasted Chicken AND Mashed Potatoes

Answer 3

Because a religion IS the grouping of the people who form it.... not the scriptures that go into initially forming it. Christianity today isn't the same thing as christianity a thousand years ago.
In any case though....

Christians ARE hypocrites.
Muslims ARE terrorists.
Athiests ARE jerks.
Theists ARE ignorant.

The important distinction to make is that the world isn't in black and white.... Our assumptions in life are not absolute truth, but rather an average of predictable values. Just because christians are hypocrites doesn't mean every person you meet who is christian will be a hypocrite.... but rather that the majority of christian people in any given group are statistically likely to be hypocrites.


I will quite gladly make sweeping statements about pathicular groups, and they will generally be true. When faced with a single individual though I will do no such thing though, as one person is never a big enough sample-size to automatically assume the average. Judge them on their own words and actions instead.

Answer 4

I judge religion by its followers because they are a result of the teachings. If a majority of followers of a certain religion are insane, then it is reasonable to conclude that insanity is an important trait of the religion.

Islam has a problem with violence in many middle eastern countries right now. Muslim say it is a religion of peace, but the actions of many of its followers is not peaceful at all. Therefor I can only conclude that the teachings can be misinterpreted to spawn and reward violence.

Christianity has a large portion of its society focused on abortion, anti evolution and anti gay teachings. It is reasonable for me to conclude that Christianity is really about political movements and control rather than about Love as professed by many. When was the last 'Jesus Loves you' rally when Christians provided help for the poor? I haven't seen one yet, but I see many anti abortion protests and hear of anti Gay rallys quite a bit. Actions speak louder than words.

One has to judge a religion or teaching by the actions of its followers. Marx wrote a very good book with many Jesus like principals. The Russians put it in action, and the resulting stifling of freedom, proved that the teachings were flawed. If one doesn't judge the actions of the followers then we are doomed to repeat them.

Answer 5

Only ignorant people judge religions by their followers. I view religious teachings as sources of history and culture, and find them fascinating.

What is wrong with judging groups of religious followers by other followers though? Often groups that subscribe to a certain culture and lifestyle end up the same. You just shouldn't judge groups of followers by a minority of that religion's followers. For instance - Muslim terrorists are only a tiny drop in the bucket compared to real Muslim groups.

Answer 6

A philosiphy can only be judged by looking at its followers. Any religion will naturally paint itself in the best possible light, but all that is is words. What matters is how it is put into practice in the real world. I believe it's called "walking the walk".

I also believe that people who give others "warnings" about Hell are in reality making judgements on other people and hiding piously behind their Bible (or whatever) when they get called on it.

Turkey and mashed potatoes, with dressing if you have it.

Answer 7

very well said. i take it upon my self to study all religions and i have to admit they all have their good points as well as their bad. its not my place to judge. we all should take a minute to find out about a religion before we pass judgement on it, you cant judge a religion by a handful of people if so christianity would be in big trouble. what i mean by that is look at just a small handfull of christains who have killed because they said god told them too we know christains are not like that but what if an outsider met these people first

Answer 8

We do this because we judge more by actions than philosophies.
It's the concept that "actions speak louder than words".
And it's human nature to do so.
The trick is to keep the judgment open to be molded by seeing the actions of a majority of those you meet, rather than basing the entirety of your judgment of a group on a few individuals.

Turkey.

Answer 9

God acts like a jackass in the bible so I think the Christian jackasses are the more devoted followers.

Answer 10

Because actions speak louder than words, and a religion's teachings are *useless* unless consistently put into practice.

I'll have the turkey, but can I have the 'tatoes too?

.

Answer 11

Possibly the teaching are a bit out of whack