Why are religious people easily offended?

[Chisti]

I don't quite get this. If religious people are easily offended, doesn't this show that their religion is so powerless that it can't even stop them from getting offended over trivial matters?

Btw, I am not saying it's okay to offend people, religous or otherwise. Just wondering how religion is going to help a guy attain the highest (god or liberation or whatever) when it can't even help him with small things, such as anger management, self control etc.

 

[Fraleyight]

If you are coming from a point of view of faith alone it is hard to defend it. I think a lot of people that believe in a certain faith still have a lot of doubts. They do not want these doubts questioned because they do not want to question themselves. That is how I felt when I was struggling with my beliefs as a christian.

 

[Me Myself]

I agree, I think that nothiing makes a bigger diservice to God than pretending he doesn´t have sense of humor anyways

People need to chill. If not for their´s sake, for their religion´s sake. They just make it look bad when they act so sensitive about it. Gives me the feeling of a weak thing honestly.

 

[Straw Dog]

I don't quite get this. If religious people are easily offended, doesn't this show that their religion is so powerless that it can't even stop them from getting offended over trivial matters?

It seems that certain religious people only get easily offended whenever they solely invest in an overly abstract belief structure which requires compliance, not only from themselves, but from everyone they come into contact with. Any indication of disagreement causes anxiety and lapse of confidence in their worldview.

Btw, I am not saying it's okay to offend people, religous or otherwise. Just wondering how religion is going to help a guy attain the highest (god or liberation or whatever) when it can't even help him with small things, such as anger management, self control etc.

Yeah, that's a fair point. Most of us don't really wish to offend individuals. Nevertheless, there seems to be a difference between certain approaches to the spiritual. There are those who insist on a top-down approach and those who recommend a bottom-up way. The top-down say that the way to be was passed down from an unknown superior being long ago and that a very specific abstract faith is required to pursue that way of being even to the extent of direct experience. The bottom-up way says that we must start first and foremost with a concrete faith in our direct experience of things as they are and develop any practical beliefs from its realizations.

 

[1137]

I think this is a complete over generalization. Both religious and non religious people can be easily offended, and many religious people are not easily offended.

 

[Sunstone]

I think this is a complete over generalization. Both religious and non religious people can be easily offended, and many religious people are not easily offended.

I agree.

 

[Sunstone]

I don't quite get this. If religious people are easily offended, doesn't this show that their religion is so powerless that it can't even stop them from getting offended over trivial matters?

Btw, I am not saying it's okay to offend people, religous or otherwise. Just wondering how religion is going to help a guy attain the highest (god or liberation or whatever) when it can't even help him with small things, such as anger management, self control etc.

I've wondered much the same myself. But maybe it's more a personality issue than a religious issue.

 

[F0uad]

Atheist do not find it offended when you call them illogical?
Lesbians and gays do not offended when you say you don't like them kissing?

And the list goes on...

Everyone gets offended when there ''belief'' or way of thinking gets attacked its human nature, some are more open for discussion then others because of there devotion to that belief or way of thinking.

 

[HerDotness]

Atheist do not find it offended when you call them illogical?

I don't get the least bit offended when someone says atheism is illogical. I demand that they demonstrate just how it is illogical.

Nor do I get offended when a religious believer calls ME illogical. Same request--demonstrate what I've said or done that is illogical.

Anyone who gets upset over an accusation of illogic is too invested in their beliefs, IMO.

Everyone gets offended when there ''belief'' or way of thinking gets attacked its human nature,

Not true, as is the case with most generalizations. It's generally pretty difficult to offend me with negative remarks about my beliefs. I typically start with a shrug and, "Prove that" or "So, prove me wrong in some way." When it appears that the person is ill-informed, unable to offer more substantive arguments than insults, I simply dismiss the discussion as a waste of my time.

 

[Breathe]

I don't quite get this. If religious people are easily offended, doesn't this show that their religion is so powerless that it can't even stop them from getting offended over trivial matters?

Btw, I am not saying it's okay to offend people, religous or otherwise. Just wondering how religion is going to help a guy attain the highest (god or liberation or whatever) when it can't even help him with small things, such as anger management, self control etc.

Religion is deeply personal and important to people. People don't like their personal things being bashed unfairly.

To criticise someone's religion is to criticise something that people hold dear. It can be done constructively, but I've found that people often just insult someone's religion. Even if people can say it constructively, it's often not.

"Religious people are idiots who won't change their minds about anything, religious people are less moral, Muhammad was a paedophile, Sikhs are dangerous because they can carry swords, Catholic priests are child molestors" -- are these constructive criticisms? No, they aren't constructive.

It is possible to be constructive in one's criticism of a religion, without deliberately flaming someone. I have talked about sensitive topics, usually without offending someone of a different religion.

It's possible to easily offend people who are not religious, as well, by talking about things that they hold dear to them. Politics is a good example.



And, people who are generally easy to offend should try to chill out.

 

[Chisti]

I think this is a complete over generalization. Both religious and non religious people can be easily offended, and many religious people are not easily offended.

But atheists, non religious folks have nothing to lose. They are not representing anything divine or godly, so their behavior will not give ppl a chance to attack them.

 

[Vinayaka]

I think it's an individual thing ... religious or not ... some people are born with a thick skin ... some have a well developed sense of humour ... some mature, and become 'not easily offended' over time etc.

 

[1137]

But atheists, non religious folks have nothing to lose. They are not representing anything divine or godly, so their behavior will not give ppl a chance to attack them.

Hmmm, firstly an atheist simply does not believe in a personal, theistic god. I fall into this category along with many others. Atheists can believe in reincarnation, soul, spirituality, divinity, etc etc etc, just do not believe in God. So, this is another over generalization.

As for atheists never being "over sensitive", what world are you living in? I know atheists that god completely insane when someone even mentions that they believe in God. The idea can be quite offensive to people. Don't generalize, every situation should be treated individually.

 

[Kathryn]

I think this is a complete over generalization. Both religious and non religious people can be easily offended, and many religious people are not easily offended.

Right on.

I think each individual's level of maturity and self confidence makes the most difference when it comes to whether or not they are easily offended - not their religious affiliation, or lack thereof.

 

[Kathryn]

But atheists, non religious folks have nothing to lose. They are not representing anything divine or godly, so their behavior will not give ppl a chance to attack them.

After all the pages and pages of threads about Richard Dawkins' behavior, you can honestly say that atheists' behavior will not give people a chance to attack them?

 

[Skwim]

Atheist do not find it offended when you call them illogical?
Lesbians and gays do not offended when you say you don't like them kissing?

And the list goes on...

Most people become atheists because they've used logic and reason to arrive at their position, whereas a lot of those who adopt a religious faith do so to meet emotional, more subjective, needs. Therefore, atheists are more apt to use logic in evaluating "offensive" remarks---most likely not putting much stock in them---than are the religious, who take a stronger emotion approach.

Everyone gets offended when there ''belief'' or way of thinking gets attacked its human nature,

No they're not. I, for one, would immediately put it in perspective: Do I care what this particular person thinks? If "No," then there's no reason to take offense. If "yes," then I would consider if the remark was true or not. If I thought it was true, I would take it into consideration, and hence no reason to be offended. If I thought it false, then no reason to take offense. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I'm not about to invest anything into all of them; therefore my pick and choose approach.

 

[Sunstone]

I think there might be something to the OP. Anger, annoyance, irritation, etc. can tell us something about our egos. In general, I suspect the more egotistical we are, the more things provoke us. To the extent that religions might or might not help us deal with our egos, we should expect them to be of some benefit in ameliorating our anger, annoyance, irritation, etc.

 

[Vinayaka]

we should expect them to be of some benefit in ameliorating our anger, annoyance, irritation, etc.

Ya think? I never could understand faiths that seem to make people angrier, or work by people yelling at each other. Or worse, just one guy yelling at you for an hour every Sunday. I get enough of that at home, besides going to church and getting it too.

 

[F0uad]

I don't get the least bit offended when someone says atheism is illogical. I demand that they demonstrate just how it is illogical.

Nor do I get offended when a religious believer calls ME illogical. Same request--demonstrate what I've said or done that is illogical.

Anyone who gets upset over an accusation of illogic is too invested in their beliefs, IMO.

Lol :bow:

Ok you belief at the end that nothing created something instead of something created something, we all accept and science does also that nothing cannot create something yet you are accepting it as the creation of the universe what sounds to me illogical?

I don't want to have a debate about it i think we should do that on a different thread, i was simply giving a example..

Not true, as is the case with most generalizations. It's generally pretty difficult to offend me with negative remarks about my beliefs. I typically start with a shrug and, "Prove that" or "So, prove me wrong in some way." When it appears that the person is ill-informed, unable to offer more substantive arguments than insults, I simply dismiss the discussion as a waste of my time.

Thats your opinion and your way of thinking i was trying to get a broader picture here. In a way you are offended because you have to get on a counter-attack as you say yourself, ''offended'' doesn't mean it has to be insults it can be also false-claims or true ones.

 

[1137]

F0uad,
You are right that there are no uncaused events logically. That has absolutely nothing to do with a personal theistic creator god. It proves nothing of the sort. Especially since using logic (more basic > less basic) such a God violates logic.