Religion
In reply to the discussion: Please note: [View all]cbayer
(146,218 posts)I was raised in a religious home by a preacher and what you describe in your first paragraph is pretty much what I was told. While some kids are fed dogma, many are not The Jesuits, by the way, really epitomize the traits of skeptical inquiry.
Why is it so ridiculously difficult for you to understand that many believers are just that - believers. They are not sick. They are not lying. They are not employing destructive defense mechanisms. They are not being manipulated. They just believe. If their individual beliefs do not infringe on your rights or the rights of others, why in the world would you make such a big issue of it.
Your inquiry into religion led you to the place you are. I doubt very much that you could choose to be a believer. Why is it so difficult to afford others the same latitude?
Your ideas and POV are "right" for you and only for you. While engaging in a debate can be enlightening for both sides, insisting that your way is the one way and that those who see it differently are just plain wrong at best and psychologically ill at worst, makes me feel the same way I do when talking to a fundamentalist.
If you are truly interested in what makes religious people tick, you might consider employing some of that skeptical inquiry, because the available data just doesn't back you up.