Why do right-wing religious zealots think its important to impose their will on others?

Question

I was going to start this by talking about right-wing Christians, but after a little thought I realized this could apply to any religion.

Why do people think they need to impose their views on others?

Example:
Christian conservatives want to ban gay marriage and go further if they could. If they believe in God, isn't it good enough for them to think these people will burn in hell?
Why even bother? If they believe in God like they say they do, why not let him(or her or it or whatever) take care of it?

I believe in God and realized that until I fix myself (which is never) I don't have time to try to fix others. Help others, yes. But not "fix" them.

What do you think?

To answer some things people are saying, no, I don't think homosexuality is ok, but until congress get our troops home, economy fixed, and social security on track, there are better things to do.

Answer 1

Because they don't truely believe. If they did, they'd trust their ideas to win out, rather than force.

Answer 2

I cannot answer for all Christians, but I can answer for myself. I want things to go well for this country (since I and my wife and children live here...) So I, like ALL voters, vote for what I believe will be in the best interests of the country. I hope that's what you're thinking of also when you vote.

I happen to believe our country will be better off if we're on God's "good side" rather than on His "bad side".

Also, although I think it's a ridiculous idea that people should keep their religious beliefs out of their politics, even if I did do that, I would still be against changing the definition of marriage to include the union of two same sex partners as well as abortion. I think that a true analysis of those two issues (without God in the equation) still proves them out to be bad ideas.

Answer 3

It's true.
Religion gives many people a feeling that they must pass it on to others, with or without their permission. Christians are the most notable here because they make the most noise both online and in the western world, but obviously there are Islamists too, although the impact they're having on the west is greatly exaggerated.
This is why America was founded on secular ideals, so that every man could live their life unmolested by the beliefs of others.
Let each man live his own life, and give society its freedom back.

Answer 4

It has to do with the Great Commission ( Matthew 28:19-20) Read this and it will give you a better understanding of what they are trying to do. Unfortunately, most get over zealous with it and actually do more harm than good by turning people away from God instead of toward Him. We can only witness and try to help people, The Holy Spirit has to do the actual work of moving a person to salvation.

Answer 5

The forced feeding runs in both directions.

I find the overbearing multi-culturists every bit as annoying as the ones who would mandate Bible classes in public schools.

For instance, I happen to like Thanksgiving and Christmas but… many left-of-center folks would hammer these into one-size fits all, generic holidays. Gak! Just leave our institutions and traditions alone, thank you.

On the flip side, many right-of-center treat gay marriage as a personal challenge to their very survival. Personally, I doubt very seriously that allowing gays to marry would cause even a minor ripple to cross the social pond that is America. In fact, my view is that marriage is already way overrated and that the gay community should be careful what it wishes for because… they might just get it!

Answer 6

You pose a good query, Martin. I too have wondered on such things and have come to the conclusion that they all think that they are right and feel better about themselves by imposing their righteous views upon other people. According to all the scripture I have heard you are not supposed to judge people and in my opinion that is exactly what they are doing. They're all a bunch of hypocrites!!!

Answer 7

The need to wipe out all other religions and viewpoints to justify their own. Most zealots (with very few exceptions) are monotheistic religions that teach that other religions are wrong and there are no other gods.

And when you think your view is the only correct one, there's a need to impose that onto laws, schools and government so everyone else behaves like you want them to.

Answer 8

They are easily distracted by trivial issues (shiny objects} and are unable to focus on important issues. Given a choice between a guy that will be pro life and will got to war with Iran and Korea, and a guy that is pro choice and wants peace they will usually pick the "war monger" over "the baby killer"
I think we should tax all churches and religions that push a viewpoint on any political issue that way we could see whats more important to the churches the message or the money.

Answer 9

This is the aggressor mentality. Some people want to dominate others thoughts and actions. A religion can give some of these aggressive personalities the backing they require to attack others. Remember, Hitler thought he was being a righteous Christian when he undertook his action. I have never liked bullies. I joyfully aid the seekers and searchers, and gleefully squish the self-righteous.

Answer 10

<> What religious institutions? <> Forcing a non secular corporation to act in a fashion that contradicts this is Dogma is a violation of the 1st exchange to the form of america. <> How do you define "freedom"? consistent with threat 'freedom', and what you think of freedom could be, are 2 very numerous issues. <> Catholics are no longer religious zealots. Hate plenty?

Answer 11

Part of their belief system seems to be the command to convince everybody else that their opinions on God, life and spirituality (etc) are the only valid ones.

Instead of Jesus's main, preeminent command to "Love one another as I have loved you," they prefer to ignore that and focus on another, subordinate commission Jesus gave to "Go out and convert the nations."

What they don't (or won't) understand is that love is primary, and if you are loving people and God the way Jesus said to, the conversions will happen through the Holy Spirit.

I guess it's human nature to be lazy and inexact: converting people via your own self-righteousness is way easier than loving them the way Jesus did.