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Do you think "Religion exploit the working people"
- Thread starter Lars
- Start date
Nope. Religious groups will help you a lot more than the government when you need it, in my experience. They'll feed you, help with bills, give you shelter and all for free.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Smaller religious are like that.
Big box churches, like mega churches are a completely different story imo, exploiting people for just about ever dime they have.
religions doesn't exploit people. some people with religions exploit people.
Spirit of Light
Be who ever you want
No i do not think so
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I'd hate to live in a communist world. Religion can be similar though. A monarchy/theocracy can be just as bad and in cases worse as I see it.
Altfish
Veteran Member
Some do; usually the mega church type churches - but as a proportion of income, the poor will donate more to the collection box in most cases.
Yes.
"Free."
Souperism - Wikipedia
Rice Christian - Wikipedia
Religious groups tend to use material benefit for proselytizing. In the long run, it brings in more tithers (and tithes) than it costs.
And the vast majority of the money to pay for all that material benefit comes from tithes from working people. It's pretty rare for a religious group to have some other significant revenue stream. It happens occasionally (for instance), but not that often.
The Catholic Church is like that, too.
I've not had to do anything to get help from them, except they'll pray before serving food at food lines or pantries and you don't have to pray along. Who cares. I've never had to give any money at church, either. You can keep passing the collection plate on by.
"Rice Christian" is a slur used by Hindu fascists (Hindutva) who are upset when Hindus convert to Christianity. Boo hoo.
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Phil Ferguson has an occasional segment on his podcast about church finances. He's an interesting character: he's a financial planner who does a podcast that's part atheism/secularism and part finance.
He encourages listeners to send him church financial statements (always by legal means - the scenario he likes to talk about is that if your local polling place is in a church, they'll often have an info table with tracts, church bulletins, and annual reports on it with a big "please take!" sign, which he encourages people to take advantage of). He then reviews the info and dissects it on his show.
The information has been illuminating - to me, at least. I've found it interesting just how little churches tend to spend on charitable activities and good works.
But they do pass the collection plate.
It seems to me that heavy-handed tactics would be a turn-off for many and would quite likely reduce their revenue.
"One of the earliest examples of this concept in English appeared in 1689 with the writings of William Dampier when he wrote regarding the French priests' effort to convert people of Tonkin that "alms of rice have converted more than their preaching.""
Boy, you're trying so hard to find any way you can to **** on religious charity, aren't you?
It's not that hard.
I remember during university, MBNA would give out swag bags to students to sign them up for credit cards. That was charity too, right?
You apparently have no clue what life is really like in terms of struggling and being destitute or else you wouldn't be saying such callous things. Come to my city and I'll show you around so you can get a glimpse. Until then, I'm not interested in your tone deaf, dumb comments about this.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I think its a half truth. Prosperity gospel, as far as I'm concerned, is intentionally structured to exploit people for their money. I see it as organized crime in religious drag.
You think Scientology will help you a lot more than the French government?
(Yeah, yeah...you said 'in your experience. Just making the point that it may depend on the specific groups involved, in my own way.)
Kooky
Freedom from Sanity
Were you talking about this quote:
"Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.
The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo."
It is from Karl Marx's work Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right
Scientology is just some money grubbing brainwashing cult. I don't consider it a legitimate religion at all as it was founded by a known psychopath and crook. I certainly don't expect them to do much of anything for free.