With or without religion

With or without religion you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil thing. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.

~ Steven Weinberg

Religious beliefs deserve no respect (2)

Religious beliefs deserve no respect because those who hold them don't respect the opinions of other people.

They can't because they believe in an almighty dictator who is always right.

They also believe they know exactly what the tyrant has ordered and that they are always right about what his dictates are.

That makes everybody else wrong. If you don't agree exactly with them, there are but three possibilities.

• You have never heard their preposterous, pretentious but unproven confabulations. That makes you ignorant in their eyes.
• You have heard them, but they make no sense to you. That makes you stupid in their eyes.
• You have heard them and you understand them, but you still reject them. That makes you evil in their eyes.

Religious people don't respect people who don't believe what they believe.

They think they are ignorant, stupid or evil.

Stupid religious people, also called fanatics or fundamentalists, will tell you this to your face.

Smart, but dishonest religious people, also called hypocrites, won't tell you this to your face. They will tell you they respect you and your opinions. They hope they will be able to convert you to their beliefs if they act as if they respect your opinions. Which they don't.

Smart, but honest religious people, also called doubters, might be meaning it when they say they respect your opinions. But they think, respectfully, your opinions are wrong. Although they are not sure. Maybe.