• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

World’s Most Persecuted Minority

dgirl1986

Big Queer Chesticles!
That's because Christians are supposed to follow Jesus and He said nothing at all about persecuting others. In fact, He said that we will be the ones being persecuted and that we should hold fast to our faith through it. So we can definitely say that Christians who persecute others are not following Christ.

On the other hand, there are ayahs in the Qur'an that command Muslims to persecute and subjugate non-believers. Unlike verses from the Old Testament, which are part of the national mythos of Israel and are not taken as commandments for us today. The Qur'an is a very different book from the Bible and viewed very differently among Muslims from how Jews and Christians view the Bible. The Bible was written and collected over a period of a thousand years in various settings by a multitude of authors. It's a collection of mythology, history, folktales, poetry, aphorisms, prophecy and theological statements. However, the Qur'an is believed to the dictation of a revelation from an Angel that was written solely by Mohammad. It is viewed as completely perfect and unalterable. So, unlike with Judaism and Christianity, where the Bible is open to critical study and interpretation, the Qur'an is to be stridently adhered to and cannot be questioned at all. Even the style of it is very different from the Bible. In the Qur'an, the style of it is as if Allah is speaking directly to the reader, instead of it being told in story form with the reader viewing the events from the outside.

This is a point that's often missed.

To me this is a wash. I don't think that the quran and the bible are all that different. What matters is how the fundamentalists of both religions read it. Fundamentalists take that sh** to the extreme.

I don't know...... Now a day's atheist are well liked by the majority of the secular world for their views.The U.S. today is less religious, and lean more towards atheism, and other beliefs.Unless of course you are in the deep south.Then again,there are lot's of atheist down here too.

How many atheists senators or in higher levels of government in the US then? Wasnt a survey conducted that showed a high percentage of americans would not vote for an atheist president?

Where in the US are atheists outcasts? Some backwater town in the deep South? I don't see any persecution of atheists in the West.

You don't see literal persecutions of atheists and humanists because some are to damn scared to come out, especially those living in the bible belt, who grew up there. You can lose everything. I have no doubt that there is discrimination against atheists, humanists, muslims and pagans. How popular is fox news again?
 

Saint Frankenstein

Here for the ride
Premium Member
To me this is a wash. I don't think that the quran and the bible are all that different. What matters is how the fundamentalists of both religions read it. Fundamentalists take that sh** to the extreme.

There are huge differences. If we do not understand those differences, we cannot hope to formulate a solution to the problem of Islamic violence and persecution.

How many atheists senators or in higher levels of government in the US then? Wasnt a survey conducted that showed a high percentage of americans would not vote for an atheist president?

That's not persecution.

You don't see literal persecutions of atheists and humanists because some are to damn scared to come out, especially those living in the bible belt, who grew up there. You can lose everything. I have no doubt that there is discrimination against atheists, humanists, muslims and pagans. How popular is fox news again?

There is no persecution of non-believers in America. Persecution is a very heavy thing. Being subjected to violence, extermination and legislation that bans a group is persecution.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Here for the ride
Premium Member
Well that is unnecessary.

What's unnecessary is atheists acting like what they experience in America is anything close to what Christians and others experience in the Middle East, North Africa and in other places like North Korea and China. I find those attempts at equivalence to be highly offensive and just plain stupid.
 

dgirl1986

Big Queer Chesticles!
There are huge differences. If we do not understand those differences, we cannot hope to formulate a solution to the problem of Islamic violence and persecution.

Please do tell.

That's not persecution.

There is no persecution of non-believers in America. Persecution is a very heavy thing. Being subjected to violence, extermination and legislation that bans a group is persecution.

I said outcast, not persecuted when referring to western countries. You obviously do not understand what it is like to be a non believer in bible thumping areas of the US and being unable to be open about it. Going through the motions of religion which makes you hate it more.

I have never had to live this way and I am glad. But I am sad for my american friends who do.
 

dgirl1986

Big Queer Chesticles!
What's unnecessary is atheists acting like what they experience in America is anything close to what Christians and others experience in the Middle East, North Africa and in other places like North Korea and China. I find those attempts at equivalence to be highly offensive and just plain stupid.

How are they acting like they are being beheaded, hung, set on fire, etc for their non belief? I dont remember seeing that in this thread.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Here for the ride
Premium Member
Please do tell.

I already did in my first post to you in this thread.

I said outcast, not persecuted when referring to western countries. You obviously do not understand what it is like to be a non believer in bible thumping areas of the US and being unable to be open about it. Going through the motions of religion which makes you hate it more.

I have never had to live this way and I am glad. But I am sad for my american friends who do.

No, I can understand. I'm not white, I'm trans and I'm not straight. Plus, those areas have a strong current of anti-Catholicism. Even here in Ohio, there's a lot of anti-Catholicism. We get told that we're going to hell, that we "worship" Mary and that we were Baptized "wrong". I had arguments in school about that and I was driven to tears at one point because people were ganging up on me . Those people don't like anyone who is not like them. Atheists aren't set aside for some special treatment in those areas.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Here for the ride
Premium Member
How are they acting like they are being beheaded, hung, set on fire, etc for their non belief? I dont remember seeing that in this thread.

Because when I brought up how Christians are treated around the world, people try to change the subject to talk about atheists in America.
 

gsa

Well-Known Member
Because when I brought up how Christians are treated around the world, people try to change the subject to talk about atheists in America.

In a few posts now I have addressed the issue of global persecution of Christians and the theoretical problems with it. No one who is a Christian has responded to those points, which do not deny violence against Christians but dispute the cause of it.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Here for the ride
Premium Member
In a few posts now I have addressed the issue of global persecution of Christians and the theoretical problems with it. No one who is a Christian has responded to those points, which do not deny violence against Christians but dispute the cause of it.

I didn't read every post in this thread.
 

JerryL

Well-Known Member
Oh, you poor atheists. You never had an openly atheistic president. I'm so sorry for you. :( :rolleyes:
It goes much farther than that. Atheist is actually used as a slur in the US to de-humanize others. For example: the "godless communist" phrase... to dehumanize communists. Indeed "under God" was added during the height of anti-communist propaganda specifically to make the "us" in "us vs them" be "not atheist"

In the United States, seven state constitutions include religious tests that would effectively prevent atheists from holding public office, and in some cases being a juror/witness. These are rights the people have fought and died for (Women's rights and Minority rights). Being barred from participation in government is pretty classic oppression.

Respondents to a survey were less likely to support a kidney transplant for hypothetical atheists and agnostics needing it, than for Christian patients with similar medical needs. (Atheists face death in 13 countries, global discrimination: study| Reuters

the Boy Scouts of America does not allow atheists as members.

A 2006 study found that 40% of respondents characterized atheists as a group that did "not at all agree with my vision of American society", and that 48% would not want their child to marry an atheist. In both studies, percentages of disapproval of atheists were above those for Muslims, African-Americans and homosexuals.

And that's in the US. 13 countries will kill you for coming out as an atheist.
 

gsa

Well-Known Member
I am reposting in form of a quote so you can read it:

The OP referenced "minority," not "religious minority." However, the video did. So I have no problem if we want to restrict the discussion to religious minorities.

In that case, however, there is no basis for concluding that Christians are the most persecuted religious group because of their religion, even in those countries where their religion is a minority. Consider these words from a specialist on religious violence:


There are all sorts of violent persecutions taking place today, and I would probably rate the massacre of Shiite Muslims in Pakistan and Iraq, along with the massacre of everyday Muslims and Christians in northern Nigeria, at least as high as persecution of Christians in various places. The recent pogroms against Muslims in Central African Republic have been well documented and just staggering in their scale. Christians—whether Egyptian Copts or North Korean evangelicals—are hardly the only religious groups under attack.
The problem with imagining a global persecution of Christians, or of any religious group, is that each case is really quite different. The relationship between Copts and Muslims in Egypt has become much more fraught over the 20th century because of economic and political differences. Nigeria is another place where Christians have gained and exerted political and economic power in some ways, while a kind of radical Islamism has energized some movements in the north, with extremely violent consequences. But it is not just Christians who are victimized by the Nigerian group Boko Haram (“Away with Western Culture!”). It is often other Muslims. It is quite wrong to imagine that Christians alone are somehow uniquely targeted by violent groups. And in some cases it is Christians—evangelical, Pentecostal—who are instigating violence, whether against gay people in Uganda or against so-called “child witches” in many parts of west Africa.


Link.

In fact, it is easy to see the kind of bogus associations that are made to reach inflated numbers. For example, one proponent of the global persecution theory, John Allen, conflates violence against Christians with violence against Christians because of their religion. So for example, he cites the case of a Mexican bishop executed by a drug cartel. Christian activists killed for protesting corporate abuses in South America, the Israeli security checkpoints (because they divide Christians for worship purposes), etc. In many if not most of these cases, Christians are not being targeted for their religious practices. Indeed, in many cases cited, it is Christians who are persecuting Christians:

About 70 Protestant Christians lived in the village of San Rafael Tlanalapan, Puebla state, until Monday (Sept. 12), when they faced a frightening ultimatum – leave immediately or be “crucified or lynched.”
Traditionalist Catholics in the village, near the municipality of San Martín Texmelucan about 60 miles from Mexico City, reportedly threatened to burn down or otherwise destroy their homes.

The Protestants left.


Now you tell me, is this a case of anti-Christian persecution? If so, then anti-Muslim persecution is at the heart of the violence in Syria and Iraq, anti-Christian persecution explains Northern Ireland, etc.

The point in critiquing this is not to discount anti-Christian persecution, which does in fact exist, but to demonstrate how it is not some sort of global crusade, nor is it something that can be conflated with other types of violence against Christians.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Here for the ride
Premium Member
It goes much farther than that. Atheist is actually used as a slur in the US to de-humanize others. For example: the "godless communist" phrase... to dehumanize communists. Indeed "under God" was added during the height of anti-communist propaganda specifically to make the "us" in "us vs them" be "not atheist"

In the United States, seven state constitutions include religious tests that would effectively prevent atheists from holding public office, and in some cases being a juror/witness. These are rights the people have fought and died for (Women's rights and Minority rights). Being barred from participation in government is pretty classic oppression.

Respondents to a survey were less likely to support a kidney transplant for hypothetical atheists and agnostics needing it, than for Christian patients with similar medical needs. (Atheists face death in 13 countries, global discrimination: study| Reuters

the Boy Scouts of America does not allow atheists as members.

A 2006 study found that 40% of respondents characterized atheists as a group that did "not at all agree with my vision of American society", and that 48% would not want their child to marry an atheist. In both studies, percentages of disapproval of atheists were above those for Muslims, African-Americans and homosexuals.

And that's in the US. 13 countries will kill you for coming out as an atheist.

The most serious thing you've brought up is the legislation that requires a religious test in some states and the transplant survey.
 
Top