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Does Non-Faith Deserve Respect?

ChristineES

Tiggerism
Premium Member
It was asked along with a video if faith deserved respect so I am going to post the other question:
Does non-faith deserve respect?
 

tomspug

Absorbant
Non-faith deserves nothing, because it is the absence of belief. No one rewards you for not accomplishing something. If people have non-religious beliefs, those can be respected, but that is not the same as the absence of faith. Religious or not, beliefs are beliefs.

I would argue that respect is never deserved. It is only earned. For this reason, we should be careful in choosing from whom we wish to receive respect.
 

darkendless

Guardian of Asgaard
Non-faith deserves nothing, because it is the absence of belief. No one rewards you for not accomplishing something. If people have non-religious beliefs, those can be respected, but that is not the same as the absence of faith. Religious or not, beliefs are beliefs.

I would argue that respect is never deserved. It is only earned. For this reason, we should be careful in choosing from whom we wish to receive respect.

Belief's are not accomplishing anything, non-beliefs are simply not trying to convience ourselves that we're trying to accomplish anything in the first place.
 

rojse

RF Addict
Non-faith deserves nothing, because it is the absence of belief.

What about refusing to believe in something many other people do? Or coming to this decision through rational thought? Is this not worth respect?

No one rewards you for not accomplishing something.

There is quite a big leap in these two statements to come to this statement - it's baffling to see how you managed to combine them.

Even so, not having any religious belief is not equivalent to doing nothing.

If people have non-religious beliefs, those can be respected, but that is not the same as the absence of faith. Religious or not, beliefs are beliefs.

I would argue that respect is never deserved. It is only earned. For this reason, we should be careful in choosing from whom we wish to receive respect.

By this reasoning, does that mean I should not respect religious views until they have earnt my respect? And if this is so, how would you see yourself earning this respect?
 

kai

ragamuffin
Non-faith deserves nothing, because it is the absence of belief. No one rewards you for not accomplishing something. If people have non-religious beliefs, those can be respected, but that is not the same as the absence of faith. Religious or not, beliefs are beliefs.

I would argue that respect is never deserved. It is only earned. For this reason, we should be careful in choosing from whom we wish to receive respect.



what if i believe there is no god ,thats a belief, i cant prove it so its a matter of faith---- no
 

Comicaze247

See the previous line
Geebus.

How about this?

People who give respect deserve respect.

Now shut up and quit putting each other down for believing what they believe.
 
There's a difference between respecting a belief or non-belief and respecting those who hold it.

If by "non-faith" you mean doubt and skepticism, and a passion for evidence, yes that is something we should all respect. It is fundamental to critical thinking and the goal of education.

If by "non-faith" you simply mean the absence of belief in something....well obviously it depends on the belief. Our knowledge is at a point where we probably do not respect absence of belief that the Earth orbits the Sun, or that people of all racial backgrounds are equal.
 

fantome profane

Anti-Woke = Anti-Justice
Premium Member
My answer is simple: I do my best to give simple respect to all people.
Good answer. People deserve respect simply because they are people. However ideas do not deserve respect simply because they are ideas (even though they are ideas of people). If upon due consideration you find that someone’s non-faith reasonable and well thought out and that it leads them to act in a reasonable manner, then I think that is deserving of respect. If on the other hand you honestly believe that someone’s non-faith is unreasonable and leads to unreasonable actions, then it is not deserving respect. Ideas must be evaluated, considered, judged. If we decide in advance deserve respect, faith ideas or non-faith ideas, then these ideas cannot possibly be judged as they should be.

Many people think that if we want to show people respect we must automatically respect their ideas. But the truth is just the opposite. If we want to show people respect then we should listen to what they have to say, consider and judge their ideas on the merit of those ideas. If we cannot do this then we cannot show people the respect they deserve.
 

tomspug

Absorbant
What about refusing to believe in something many other people do? Or coming to this decision through rational thought? Is this not worth respect?
Refusing to believe in something is itself a belief. You are trading one faith for another, which is not the same as the absence of faith. Non-faith would be either willful ignorance or a refusal to participate in any manner of religious thought.
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
Refusing to believe in something is itself a belief. You are trading one faith for another, which is not the same as the absence of faith. Non-faith would be either willful ignorance or a refusal to participate in any manner of religious thought.

Not so. Refusing specific beliefs is just that, the choice not to adopt specific beliefs.

Besides, religion is not only, or even mainly, about beliefs.
 

doppelganger

Through the Looking Glass
Besides, religion is not only, or even mainly, about beliefs.
Frequently it is mainly and even solely about beliefs. Beliefs are comforting. They help people feel like they are in a controlled universe by hiding their own role in controlling it. (and I'm not limiting that to "religious" beliefs)
 
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ChristineES

Tiggerism
Premium Member
I started this thread because I thought the other was silly. I wondered why someone would worry about about faith. If someone has faith, it doesn't actually effect those who don't have faith. It isn't the faith you can respect or disrespect, but the people who have it.

If someone who has faith gets into your face and harasses you because you have no faith, then they are being disrespectful to you (harassment being disrespectful). The opposite is true, too. If a person who has no faith harasses those that do, it, too, is disrespectful. It isn't the faith that makes a person get into your face- the person does it him or herself. Faith doesn't exist by itself- it is not an entity. Nor can it change a person in any significant way by itself.

I also don't think it is right to judge, therefore disrespect, someone if you nothing about them.
 

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
It was asked along with a video if faith deserved respect so I am going to post the other question:
Does non-faith deserve respect?
My answer is simple: I do my best to give simple respect to all people.
It would be more respectful to answer the question asked. There is a difference between respecting the person, respecting the person's rights, respecting the person's choices, and respecting the person's methodology.
 

Beckett

New Member
Not so. Refusing specific beliefs is just that, the choice not to adopt specific beliefs.

No he's technically right, in so much as there is a difference between the ACT of refusing and the STATE of not accepting. If you say: I believe there is no God - that is a leap of faith (albiet not a very large one.) While saying: I do not believe in God - is no such thing.
 

Random

Well-Known Member
There is a difference between respecting the person, respecting the person's rights, respecting the person's choices, and respecting the person's methodology.

Talk about making relationships complicated...:rolleyes: A person's rights, choices and methodology are bound up in who they are as a person in the first place.
 

Random

Well-Known Member
TO answer the OP, what is "non-faith"? Is it doubt the Sun will rise in the morning?

If it's merely disbelief in God, gods or the claims of religions, then it deserves to be held to the same standard of criticism as faith, at the very least. Respect should follow if it holds water (so to speak), intellectually and emotionally.
 
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