Religious Discrimination Options

Please keep this respectful. Any slurs or attacks against other members because of their beliefs will be deleted.

I'm curious to see what members have to say. In my life time I've been riddiculed by my family, who are Catholic both on my mom and dad's side. I've been picked on in grade school too, thats not surprising growing up in a small town with small minded people. But I've never really enountered discrimination in a work environment or otherwise had my rights overtly broken. In college, well mine at least, people either don't really care or are openly curious. I guess there have been a few religious nuts I've banged heads with, but nothing that really impeded my rights.

Now I do hold a certain level of resentment for religious fanatics of any sort, be they Evangelicals, Jehova's Witnesses, KKK, Pagan knights or cults that I percieve as dangerous. My main resentment towards Christianity in general stems from the idea of conversion. I do not think it is right for any religion to pressure or coerce any other denomination to convert. In prision I did not openly discuss my belief either. But in that kind of environment thats a good choice regardless of one's beliefs. I'm also bitter from just the general "holier than thou" attitude I've encountered in grade school and day to day life. All these aspects have formed a kind of prejudice in me against Christians. Not because all Christians are closeminded fanatics, but because a few roten apples spoiled my pie, so to speak.

For me, this manifests as a messure of mis-trust and disdain. I don't often talk about my beliefs with strangers because I don't want to be oustrasized in my community. And yet a portion of me finds pleasure in pissing off fundies. I've been known to challenge the various Mormons or whoever who periodically come to my front door and try to tell me I'm going to hell and need to accept Christ into my heart, under their banner no doubt.

Of course I do try to be respectful, usually, in these "debates" that get stired up. And I always respect people's beliefs in day to day life.

So where have you, if ever, experienced prejudice or discrimination because of your beliefs?

Do you hold any prejudice against a particular religion?

I’m going to a bit out of the norm here, my religious views have never caused any discrimination. I’m currently a agnostic theist, was raised relatively agnostic/atheist, at 12 became a roman catholic, lost all faith in the church (where your faith is as a roman catholic to a large degree) when I saw the hypocrisy of the church in a third world “Catholic” country.

Any discrimination on me has been based on politics, or my view of rights. I have gotten beat up by multiple people at once, multiple times because of them. Not that it was too bad, I liked fighting, and if I had a problem with it, I should have backed down.

As to what I discriminate against. Truthfully, beautiful blond women, obese people, people who believe fundamentally but lack depth of thought in their beliefs, people who whine and complain about their lot in life, but do nothing or little to change it.

I can go into depth about each one, the only one I have a true conflict with at the moment is beautiful blonds, mainly because I know now it is foolish, and I also know that if I date one I will lock myself in that relationship out of some bizarre guilt trip/ unrealistic view of shattered perceptions. Not caused by them but by me.

More then anything, I think it is important for people to recognize what is a fundamental right, when your rights are trumped (legitimately) and when you should fight to maintain, regain, gain your rights.

Because of experience in this, I will say something on the subject. In a land with few intellectual endeavors, conversing with an intellectual who is your polar opposite is incredibly intoxicating.

I also do not want to detract from your experiences, they are all legitimate, and in some cases, I would have been truly upset.

I want to explain, I think discrimination is a normal thing in the human experience; it even assists in exposing character. If approached with an open mind it may even expose a flaw in your thinking or views.

However, if you go against the tribe, be prepared for the consequences.

Me and my dad, never saw eye to eye, I was blessed with being able to but our differences to rest completely before he died. I acknowledged and truly understood that he did the best job he knew how in raising me. Now, was it brutal, demeaning, archaic, etc? Sure, but it worked, I survived and became a mostly productive well-adjusted citizen of society. However, I also now understand some fundamental rules in life.

I use tribe as a generic term for those around a set location with shared views and what they term as values.

Beyond everything else you need to respect the tribe, if it is at Thanks Giving dinner, walking into gang territory, dealing with a High School clique driving through a small town in the Southern US of A or dealing with a Home Owners Association. The rules of the tribe come first, fighting the majority alone gets you nothing, unless the tribes rules dictate that beating the leader makes you the leader. (In most cases, you do not want to lead those tribes, but that is just my opinion).

However, when it is institutionalized, you need to see what your options are. Do it in a way that you are not blinded by passion. Nevertheless, see how to do it, or comply for the time. If your goals require you fight, then fight. If your goals are destroyed by your fighting do not fight, and move on. If Fighting is more important then your goals then fight.

Thanks-Giving dinner is not one of those areas, where I could ever warrant a fight. I would spin everything in a way as to avoid a fight (not lie, but spin) unless cornered. If cornered with say for example “if I find Lucifer as my personal guide and example?”,
“Well sure, our founding fathers felt personal rights was every ones birthright, other then the Quakers at the time there where few Christian churches who felt the same way, that is a very lucifarian principle.”

Now, that is one way to deal with it, the other would be, “what are you getting at? We are giving a nice little get together with good food and good people, I’d rather not talk religion or politics right now. Man that gravy was grubbing?”

In the end I guess I would recommend everyone read The Art of War, know when and how to fight, and then not fight when you don’t have anything to gain from it.

Family in my life is important, I nearly never discuss religion with them, and when I do it is one on one. For me it is easier since I do not have a set religion, so I am not opposing anyone else’s view, but I have been in the middle of a few situations (not of my family) where I was asked to step in and explain things.

In the end, (most) parents more then anything want to know they did good by their kids. Often religion gets mixed up in that not to mention arguing and all the rest. With most mystic/pagan/LHP/whatever you can always say it is something I am exploring right now, where I’ll end up I have no idea. And it is an honest answer, until you know you have settled. But acknowledging your parents for time and sacrifice, for the skills and knowledge, instilled. For the love shown and given (remember people show love in different ways). You can usually calm them down, and leave them thinking they raised a good kid, no matter what they are doing or how screwed up they seem right now.

Then of course there are some parents this won’t work on and perhaps you should avoid until you are ok with the whole situation, and can deal with it.

As a Christian I am often mocked by "wiccans" etc for my beliefs, I find it laughable.

I am christian and there is nothing I hate more than people who claim to be of the same religion but holds the "holier than thou" attitude.
Please dismiss these people as the same idiots that make foolish claims here. Actually I feel like being christian is hard for me because
everyone else hates them to the bone. I don't mind other religions though

Well first off this thread was created some nearly 3 years ago. And yeah there are pagans who feel that because they practice a religion outside of Christianity that they must be more intellectual and therefore better than sheep who just follow the herd. But there are still Christains who don't intentionally try to be predudicial towards people not of the same faith - but they are anyways without even realizing it.

I've been discriminated against, an i have discriminated.
What discrimination means always seems a thing of debate,
I'd personally see it as a natural part of an intelligent mind to discriminate, the over factors that govern an intelligent mind are often to blame for 'racism' etc.

I am a secretive person, the reasons for that are many but mainly because the majority of people are quite single minded over their beliefs.
I will believe in anything i think might work, very heathen.
Atheists are usually easy going but to win an argument with one they need to have experienced something supernatural, so i don't usually bother explaining my beliefs to them unless i have something up my sleeve.

I hate to say it but i am quite prejudgmental about the christian faith, I see it as a good idea that went very wrong a long time ago.
I can't help but think, the christian church burnt alive anyone with an opposing view for hundreds of years, if their god had any real power an was in any way moral then that wouldn't have happened.
I'd rather spend an eternity in hell rather than pay tribute to a god that condemns people to an eternity in hell for not believing in him.

I know their are Christians with views different from the Church, but why call themselves christian? the name is filthy with the blood of millions.
I highly respect most christians, their are a lot of good people that don't hold a faith that i will go to hell because i am not like them, i like people like that.
My general opinion of christians will change when the general opinion of themselves changes drastically, i.e. completely revolutionized to the point where they can interact with others diplomatically.

Unfortunately good christians are a minority subculture, most christians use their unfaltering faith to suppress their un-sociable un-happy feelings by praying for everyone they don't approve of to spend an eternity in hell.
I believe in belief, an to think that those ignorant little pricks are walking around happy an free of sin, all the while believing that everyone they meet who isn't a member of their church will be burnt in hell for eternity..
well it kind of give's me the creeps, especially when they give out those vacant idiot smiles along with a leaflet.

The majority of christians are just people who know that spiritual things exist but who can't be bothered to understand them, it's an easy well trodden road.

I think that any faith that has been used politically should be judged as one would judge a political system.
Religion's are groups of people who believe in the same thing, if that belief can't evolve an change rapidly then it's repressive to the growth of the individuals involved.

Good choice bumping this ancient thread!