What is a religious extremist?

[stevecanuck]

The title of the thread is this:

What is a religious extremist?

Your expressed viewpoint was this:

“To me, there are only two choices to consider:”

Others disagreed.

Most of those (I haven't had time to read them all) seemed to say that an extremist is someone who hurts people in the name of their religion. Do you agree with that assessment?

 

[Viker]

A religious extremist is a devoutly religious individual who would be willing to use coercion, aggression and/or power of authority to impose upon others what they deem the correct way.

 

[Banach-Tarski Paradox]

Most of those (I haven't had time to read them all) seemed to say that an extremist is someone who hurts people in the name of their religion. Do you agree with that assessment

Depends on the form that the extremism takes, doesn’t it? (And extreme in whose eyes?)

Here’s some Catholic extremists reciting the Lord’s Prayer in public. Note that even the video was considered dangerous. Information itself about the public prayer was dangerous. That seems pretty extremist to me.

The Catonsville Nine original 5/17/68 footage

Deemed too dangerous for broadcast in May 1968, the iconic footage of nine Catholic activists burning draft files might have been lost forever if not for Pat McGrath — a dogged and sympathetic reporter, who has struggled to ensure its preservation. Read the full story on Waging Nonviolence: http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/...

 

[Banach-Tarski Paradox]

Most of those (I haven't had time to read them all) seemed to say that an extremist is someone who hurts people in the name of their religion. Do you agree with that assessment

Here’s a fun one!

On the one side is a Christian on a red tricycle armed with a “common garden mattock”, and on the other side is a Tiger Attack Helicopter.

Rocky Tiger Ploughshares - Action.

 

[abokarem]

Religious extremism is:
not accepting the other, not hearing the other, adhering to the formed concept that may be wrong, and not accepting new thinking.

 

[stevecanuck]

Depends on the form that the extremism takes, doesn’t it? (And extreme in whose eyes?)

That wasn't a response to my question.

Let me edit it to make it more clear:

Most of those who disagreed with me seemed to say that an extremist is someone who hurts people in the name of their religion. Do you concur with my assessment that the people who are disagreeing with me are claiming that an extremist is defined by the underlined phrase?

 

[Banach-Tarski Paradox]

That wasn't a response to my question.

Let me edit it to make it more clear:

Most of those who disagreed with me seemed to say that an extremist is someone who hurts people in the name of their religion. Do you concur with my assessment that the people who are disagreeing with me are claiming that an extremist is defined by the underlined phrase?

Do Tiger Attack Helicopters count?

We throw people in prison for that kind of stuff.

It’s just another battle in the wars between church and state.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

To me, there are only two choices to consider:

1. A person who simply follows the tenets of his religion in great detail, and without deviation.

2. A person who has to 'read in' commands to the extent that they do not comply with the actual message. (This is an edit to try to make it more clear.)

My vote goes for number 1.

Comments and quibbles welcome.

I would go for #3: An individual which follows any particular religion to the extent that it is harmful to themselves or others. This includes general dysfunction such as neglecting family due to religious obsession. If their faith interferes in their ability to properly socialize, do well at work, or meet basic responsibilities in life, they are a religious extremist.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

I dont see why it can't, for a while in Germany the Nazism were mainstream, would you say they weren't ideologically extreme even though they were mainstream within the context of German society?

When you look at German history, yes, Nazism would be considered an extreme.

 

[stevecanuck]

Do Tiger Attack Helicopters count?

We throw people in prison for that kind of stuff.

It’s just another battle in the wars between church and state.

Alrighty then, you have a nice day. Thanks for letting me know so quickly that you're not here to converse (at least not with me).

 

[stevecanuck]

I would go for #3: An individual which follows any particular religion to the extent that it is harmful to themselves or others. This includes general dysfunction such as neglecting family due to religious obsession. If their faith interferes in their ability to properly socialize, do well at work, or meet basic responsibilities in life, they are a religious extremist.

Thanks for that. I doesn't address the question in the OP, but I found it useful.

 

[stevecanuck]

Almost by definition, the extreme can't include the mainstream. Religious extremism has to be distinct from the religious mainstream or religious moderatism (is "moderatism" a word?).

If it's not a word, it should be.

If the vast majority of believers of whateverism practice their creed with very strict adherence to every single tenet and command (assuming whateverism has them), then they would be both mainstream and extreme.

 

[Banach-Tarski Paradox]

Alrighty then, you have a nice day. Thanks for letting me know so quickly that you're not here to converse (at least not with me).

I’ve posted examples where it does and examples where it doesn’t here in this thread.

That should answer the question unless somebody wants to quibble about the examples.

 

[stevecanuck]

I’ve posted examples where it does and examples where it doesn’t here in this thread.

That should answer the question unless somebody wants to quibble about the examples.

If you want to talk, I'm good with that. Can you please start by answering 106? I was trying to confirm exactly what you meant?

 

[danieldemol]

When you look at German history, yes, Nazism would be considered an extreme.

So if hypothetically Nazism had been popular throughout German history would you say it is not ideologically extreme?

 

[Polymath257]

A religious extremist is one that is willing to kill or oppress another based primarily on differences of religious belief. An analogous definition works for political extremism.

This is a good definition even in the case that the majority of a society believe that religion (say, for the Aztec religion).

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

A religious extremist is one that is willing to kill or oppress another based primarily on differences of religious belief. An analogous definition works for political extremism.

This is a good definition even in the case that the majority of a society believe that religion (say, for the Aztec religion).

Yeah, but it in the end boils down to what is considered to oppress.

 

[crossfire]

An extremist is more interested in being victorious in imposing their will on others instead of facing the truth and overcoming their own shortcomings.

 

[Polymath257]

Yeah, but it in the end boils down to what is considered to oppress.

Usually, that is pretty clear: killing or removing freedom of motion. Again, for extremists, this is done in the name of their religion.

 

[Banach-Tarski Paradox]

A religious extremist is one that is willing to kill or oppress another based primarily on differences of religious belief. An analogous definition works for political extremism.

This is a good definition even in the case that the majority of a society believe that religion (say, for the Aztec religion).

Would you not consider Dr. Martin Luther King an example of a religious extremist?