Thread: Imminent ban on religious discussion

I am very close to banning discussions on religion. Far too many demeaning and insulting comments are being made here for my liking. If I see one more comment in here, implying that someone is less than intelligent for believing in God (or the opposite) I will ban the topic. You are not smarter than someone else simply because you have opposing view points.

Most of you are adults and you should all know how to converse in a polite and respectful manner. Debate is fine but nastiness is not. The confrontational posts are out of hand and I have had enough. If you can't talk about it without being rude, then you simply won't discuss it at all. And that's too bad, because their are a lot of smart people here from all over the world with interesting insight into their different religions and cultures.

This stops now.




--JustJenna

You are right, we should be respectful of everyone and their beliefs.. or lack of beliefs. If I could make a suggestion... if there are only a few people out there that constantly don't act maturely or show respect for people, can we just have those people banned or not be able to post in the threads? Because there are so many intelligent people that are able to debate maturely and with respect. A few bad apples shouldn't ruin it for everyone else. Also, thank you for taking the time to point this out and let people know it won't be tolerated anymore.

It seems that my recent comment seemed to incite a lot of argument. I don't mean to continue the discussion here, but let me clarify that I didn't intend to imply that religious people are unintelligent. I was simply referring to the fact that intellectual circles (universities, scientific foundations, etc.) are traditionally more atheistic than their counterparts. This is objectively true, and it by no means implies that a religious person is less intelligent than an irreligious one. Perhaps the fact that the discussion was already charged led to an interpretation of the statement as an inflammatory one.

I would contend that religious discussion should be encouraged (in any environment). When we stick to our respective corners and ignore decisive topics, an us-versus-them mentality is quick to develop. I think a part of the problem is that many people consider the act of espousing an alternative viewpoint to be in itself offensive. In that case I would remind everyone that debate and critical analysis of ideas are useful tools in the pursuit of truth. So long as personal attacks and dirty tactics aren't used then there's no reason that important topics can't be discussed.

I think it'd be a shame if these discussions would be banned. Perhaps a sticky "read this before joining a religious debate" mentioning rude behavior/I-am-smarter-than-you statements result in a swift ban of the person? (as in other discussions)

Perhaps the thread title "Are Atheists hypocritical" isn't the most open discussion inviting title. It may have been better if the poster had used a more neutral "Difficulty grasping the Atheist point of view" title or something like that

I think it should be banned.

I am member of several forums and one thing I have seen time and time again is people cannot discuss Religion without it devolving into name calling and sowing extreme ill-will between the two factions.

I would say the only thing that comes close is Race and Politics.

When entering a religious discussion, I always keep an open mind to everything. I will never insult anyone for believing but at the same time, I will defend my own way for looking at these things. Constructive discussion about this can be enlighting, so banning directly for talking about this would be not cool.

However, banning users that insult and do not contribute anything to the discussion itself, is totally acceptable. I even would encourage it.

In my opinion this will have a negative overall effect on the section as a whole. Censorship is never a good idea. Especially when considering all the subjects that are influenced by and contain elements of religion. Abortion, Gay rights, Censorship, Evolution, Cloning, Medicine, Foreign and Domestic Policy, Euthanasia, just to name a few.

Fervency in a particular belief will always invoke a deep emotional response, the Religious are quite "thin skinned" at times and can often misinterpret comments made to be "demeaning and insulting" (which should never be tolerated), when they are actually subjective and relevant. The problem with this particular subject is that it's actually a genuine subject, there have been studies that indicate that Religious people as a whole are typically less intelligent. While there is obviously critics, there is genuine debate in the public community and therefor it will always be an issue. Probably a better issue than Intelligent Design anyway. (Jokes)

Maybe a warning that when religious topics are discussed, be prepared to be exposed to such arguments if you choose to participate, instead of banning the subject outright?

Religiosity and intelligence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0224132655.htm

If it comes down to a ban, I would totally support the move.

Religion is a very sensitive topic,
and there are always fanatics that come with it.

It's bad enough that politics, sex, race, and social standing
creates conflict. We don't have to add religion to it.

There are plenty other things to talk about. :)

ban the Religion Discussion.... It's good 4 the community . We don't wanna have confrontations with one another . For god sake's we are here to give or take invites. Forums will be a battle-zone if posts or thread about religion are allowed . There will be groups or factions . we don't want that . so in best interest it is better that threads ans posts about religion are banned.