There is a serious anti-Christian vibe around here

[Hortensis]

194. The ONLY real difference between a religious extremist

and an anti-religion extremist is the targets they choose for their hostility and aggression.

Oh, yes, and there are a lot fewer anti-religious extremists. Thank goodness.

Reading so many shockingly absolutist messages in the little nest of anti-religion extremists here suggests to me that religion itself probably doesn't encourage extremism in the religious majority nearly as much as I'd been given to assume -- given the large majority of religious people in our country, it clearly also constrains most of it.

For constraint of our anti-religion extremists, we have to thank above all their small numbers. What they might do if they were a majority or got control of national government -- well, we have lots of comments here to suggest those nightmares.

In the old days social disapproval would keep most extremists fairly tamped down and cause others to move to urban areas, where they'd find hangouts frequented by others like them. But it's not the old days and they can find each other from their easy chairs. Notably, there are a bunch of atheist and anti-theist forums out there...