What is so frightening about religion?

Question

-I've heard a lot of Atheist opinions on religion, God, and everything else concerning sanctity. After throwing around some religious beliefs, I saw many of the Atheists became rather defensive of THEIR beliefs. I even looked at some profiles or two, and found that I was blocked. This tells me that several people either don't want me looking at their profile for some strange reason, they don't want me contradicting their answers for fear that I might just speak some sense, or that they are afraid to hear a different opinion. I also noticed some Atheists ask scorning questions putting personal beliefs down.

-Just mention the topic of religion, and every person without a belief in God seems to get critical and snide. Why is religion so frightening and offensive to people? I would appreciate it if some 'religious' people could get in some opinions this time.

-Here's a reflection I had on the topic: Religion is only the first layer. Morality is what matters. It is the action of the person that determines their guilt or innocence. People use religion to help them make a better life for themselves and others. Some people can't make proper use of religion, and their religion is labeled because of their sinful actions.

Answer 1

people are fearful of religion because it is the unknown.

there is no facts "set in stone" on the face of the earth that cements any one religion.

Answer 2

I don't find most religions to be frightening at all.

Just many of its followers.

Answer 3

you seem to be a really intelligent man, i'm an atheist, but i have nothing against anyone else with different cultures or beliefs.

yet i believe exactly the same thing as you that having a religion gives someone their morals, and if you don't have morals your not worth my respect.

the reason I'm not religious is because there is no hard solid proof, and yes i understand that is what religion is all about having faith in what cannot be proven.

my conclusion, i'm way to scared and stubborn to believe something that seems so beyond my own power  

Answer 4

Its big, scary teeth.

Answer 5

Religion on it's own isn't frightening, but the stupid things that some adherents do can be.

Answer 6

people just suck in general and religion points out how bad they suck. anyone is capable of doing anything at any time. not that anyone would admit to that fact.  

Answer 7

We have our rights just like you do.  You don't listen to us, we do not have to listen to you either.

Answer 8

That people actually fall for it.

Answer 9

Oh nothing

Answer 10

David Koresh called, he wants his beliefs back.  

Answer 11

Wow. Someone's full of themselves.  Blocking people for being a report monkey doesn't validate your "faith", Binky.

As for religion, it's dangerous to society as a whole, and the sooner the insanity ends, the better for everyone.

Answer 12

because there is no proof that sustains any of it and people believe it..

Answer 13

It is frightening to think that there is a God in heaven that judges people. That records every word and action that people say and do. God can terrorize people as a judge; but God is also love that loves people.

A lot of folks cannot stand to think there is someone that has more authority over us, that they and their views are not the last word. Some may think they are getting away with something, but they are not. God sees and God will judge. Some people cannot stand to think of the universe being governed by a moral being with a sense of what is right and what is wrong. They do not want to submit to God. And that is what you have to do if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. We have to submit and find our place in God's heavenly kingdom. Unbelievers are missing out on God's plan for their lives and their place in His kingdom. They are missing out on the reason they were created by Him - to worship God. They do not want to hear that. As well as that there will be a terrible eternal punishment for neglecting their salvation. A great salvation that God prepared for them through Jesus Christ.

Answer 14

maybe they just blocked you b/c your an a*hole

Answer 15

What is frighting is this :

"Some people can't make proper use of religion, and their religion is labeled because of their sinful actions."

Who determines what is the proper way of using religion ?

Who determines what is sinfull ?

The holy scriptures are open to all kind of interpretations , this freedom is used to contrained the way people want to live.

and that is for me the frightening part : the intrusion into other people's life.

Answer 16

Power

Answer 17

Religion: A belief in a divine or superhuman power or powers to be obeyed and worshiped as the creator, and rulers of the universe.

One can find God anywhere in the universe, and is always present.  One cannot hide from God whether they believe or not believe.

God is within, not out there in some mysterious layer of the ozone.

There is never a need to fear God, God is pure unconditional, ever present love.

Organized religion can be very controlling and some ask you to fear God or worse.  God loves you just the way you are, you were made in his image.  I have searched for a religion for several years and finally found The Universal Spiritual Leaning Center and it teaches the love of God.  This is the closest thing that I have found to my beliefs.

Religion that preaches that Jesus is Lord violates the word of God, "There shall be no other God's before me".  Jesus was a man, a very enlightened man, who spread the word of God.  The bible is a book of parables used to teach people the proper behavior in living your life.

Don't be afraid of God.  Religion can be scary.

Don't let your opinion of people change because of their reaction to religion.  Organized religion has helped people and injured people.

I'm glad that you are not afraid to address issues that concern you.

Regards,

Answer 18

Being an atheist just means I dont happen to believe in any God.  It does not require me to make any judgements about what you believe or what anyone else believes.

I dont have any opinion on anyone else's religion. Personally I do not care what others believe - that's their own private concern not mine. I have plenty of friends who are believers, I respect their rights to believe or follow whatever faith they wish. I certainly do not find religion frightening, but I have no reason to think I should be nice to someone who is being insulting.

In the free exchange of speech - I may respond rudely to those who are intentionally rude and obnoxious in the way they phrase certain questions. Why be nice to someone who is being abusive? It merely encourages unacceptable behavior.

As for your remarks on finding that you are being blocked - Over several years on Yahoo Answers, at certain times, I have been harassed. Worse in my opinion, I have had individuals who did not like my point of view, use the lists of Questions and Answers on my profile to go through and report every one.

As a direct consequence; I have NOW protected that information from abuse by trolls and point gamers. Blocking is not an action based on fear... it is self-defence.

Your idea that morality is the reason that atheists do not believe in God, assumes that atheists are not moral or ethical. In fact many atheists -do- contribute to charities and are involved with causes that work to feed the hungry, find cures for diseases and actively work to make the world a better place. We do these things precisely -because- we do not believe in a God or any other intermediary agency that will make the world a better place for us, if we stand by and do nothing.

Atheists may not believe in a God - but we do have families and friends and we do care about other people.

Responses to your remarks in "Addtional Details"

I dont think I am avoiding your question. If you didn't want to know about the issues of making our profiles private you should not have mentioned it.

Do you read our answers? Or are you just looking for someone to agree with your inflated opinion of your own intellectual masterbation...?

Answer 19

Great question!  Points I have tried to make with so many people.

Many people mistakenly follow a religion (good or bad), instead of using the brains God gave them, to make better choices.

They would rather believe everything a certain religion teaches, than to do some research and learn the truth for themselves.  They feel good, being lazy.  

Answer 20

The frighteing thing about religion is simple; it replaces logic and reason with fear and supersition. Why? In order to keep the gullible sheep in the pews and filling the collection plate.

That's why.

Answer 21

wow... thats the other way around. Religious people are the ones that get angry nervous when you question god.. And its my opinion that reason is they have no answers, they blindly fallow a religion rather then think logically. and if they do have an answer is irrational, "O well god has a plan" or  "God works in mysterious ways". No god is imaginary use your brain and think LOGICALLY  

Answer 22

Morality should certainly be a predominant concern of any interpersonal relationships and activities.  A person's beliefs are formed by personal experience and can't be changed at someone else's request or demand.  But how one behaves toward others is subject to judgment and regulation, on the basis of our common humanity.

But how do we determine what is proper behavior?  We don't all want the same things, and somethings I want interfere with what another wants.  We all value freedom, so we usually start from permission, restricting freedom only when we perceive conflict between the freedoms of others.  This is the basis of the "Golden Rule," which turns up in nearly every religious and ethical system.

Keeping the rules non-specific is usually an invitation to abuse and complaint, so chronic, specific examples usually get codified.  Murder, assault, theft, defamation and their various sub-categories get defined pretty quickly in any civilization, even if they aren't perfectly universal.  To promote the survival of the culture, obligations are often also defined, things like taxes, military duty, public meeting rules and such.  Objects and actions that are more often dangerous than not become taboo.  Poisonous plants, wild animals, violent sport, treachery, and things that could reduce the ability of the common workforce to provide for the needs of the culture are ruled illegal.

Not everyone may agree on the "needs" of the culture, so the people in charge need to assert their authority to make decisions for the whole.  If theirs is not enough to maintain order, they appeal to higher authority.  What higher authority could there be than a god?

Now, it may not be necessary to make such an appeal.  People could agree to try new rules out, or take turns directing the public course.  But other people want to be certain that what they are doing is absolutely right.  They need the gods to tell them what to do.

But the will of the gods is often hard to determine.  They don't often speak in human language. So intermediaries arise to translate the wishes of the gods.  In the case of Judaism and Christianity, people prudently wrote down their experiences of their god's interventions and communications.  Not surprisingly, most of God's pronouncements accorded with what people would naturally come up with on their own.

But not all.  At least, that's what the holy men said.  Most of the differences involved the personal behavior of individuals apart from the community, and a lot of them were sexual proscriptions.  Why?  Well, that's the primary difference between religious morality and human ethics.  Human rules need reasons, divine ones don't.

Back in Bible days, life was hard and precarious.  A lot of people died from starvation, or disease, or raids.  A man took two or three wives if he could just so they could produce enough children to keep up with the burn rate.  Crops needed planting, tending and harvesting.  Animals needed husbanding, feeding and slaughtering.  And land needed defending from invaders.  Without enough capable hands, you were sunk.  So any activity that could be perceived as interfering with replacing the dying population (i.e. contraception, birth control) was naturally prohibited.  Furthermore, a man needed to be sure that all that he had was clearly his, so rules about wife, child and slave ownership were clearly defined and strongly enforced.  Infidelity was a capital offense, because it was regarded as a form of theft.  Any man who attempted to steal another man's wife, especially for purposes of generating his own children, was a robber and saboteur.  Any wife who cooperated with such a man was spoiled goods.  The injured party was the man of the house, who committed no sin unless he stole from another householder.

Today, we have other concerns.  The food supply is stable, slavery has been abolished, women emancipated, inheritance laws redesigned, and reproduction gradually separated from s*x.  Unlike the old days, we have more people than we know what to do with, and the population is starting to have an undeniable impact on climate quality.. Yet religious people insist on the exact same rules as thousands of years ago, simply because, "God said so".  Morality, they say, is absolute, even if the reasons no longer exist.

Clearly, things that make human survival more likely are good, and things that diminish survival are bad.  But what if what WAS helpful is now a problem?  Or what if we discover something is good short-term but bad long-term?  Certainty begins to fade away, but not for religious people, because "God said so."

This is the frightening part of religion, people who insist on certain rules of behavior that make no sense, rules that depend on the existence of God for their reality rather than the perceived good of humanity.  Even worse, there are sometimes rules that "protect" God from unbelievers, as if he couldn't take care of himself.  Such rules are literally devoid of reason. They make no sense, and they require belief in something that can't be proven.

There are many social structures and procedures that theists and atheists can agree on, but all of these have reasons for their existence, "whys" that make them rational. It is only the rules that make NO sense, that have no "why", that frighten atheists. Instead of allowing "evil" to exist, some Christians insist on imposing their unverifiable vision on everyone else, regardless of the consequences.

Wasn't there a parable about wheat and weeds?

Answer 23

people refusing to take medicines and instead they go to a church's faith healer.

Answer 24

It's not frightening at all.  I have my email blocked because I know from past experience that my inbox would soon be filled with a mixture of copypasted sermons and offensive diatribes.  

It's interesting that you haven't noticed how Christians scornfully put atheists down.  Just mention a lack of belief in God and the theists get critical and snide.  Why is atheism so frightening and offensive to people?  

Answer 25

Religious people are frightening

Answer 26

Religion is useful in controlling a crowd and making everyone happy, Atheists realize that these people don't actually free-think, they just follow this crowd (Maybe from a parent) and it serves the same as ignorance to them, do you like arrogant people? It's controversy in itself but still.

Im not atheist, though, i still do fight about religion alot.

Answer 27

people should respect the beliefs of others if they dont hurt anyone. they also shouldnt try to force it for one other. it goes for atheists too. I'm atheist and used to try to explain things always but now i think religion is worth existing and supporting

Answer 28

I'm not frightened of religion...It just gets very tiresome and annoying over time...How many times can a person take hearing "you're going to Hellll" unless you believe what I believe without going a little ballistic and going off on some brainwashed poor sap?

Answer 29

just research history.

see how many wrongs are done in the name of religion.

religion threatens the freedom of others.

(ex: g*y marriage, s*x before marriage, abortion, etc)

because YOU believe something, doesnt mean everyone else should.

and religion spawns hate and intolerance. due to christianity being one of the mainstream religions, it is the bigger threat thus getting most attention from non-believers.

*shrug*

Answer 30

It's funny how aggressive atheists get and how upset and emotional they become.

Some are extremely vitriolic and acerbic...it's actually funny to watch such a meltdown...especially in person.

I always get great joy in reminding them that an atheist with truly objective reasoning would not ever deign to become so hateful.  To be truly objective would imply indifference in their responses.  The opposite of love is not hate...it's indifference.  

Great joy it gives to watch true bitterness bubble over...almost so much so that it borders on being able to covert.

What percentage of the respondents are athiests?  That should speak volumes to any actuary or other person with any analytical proclivity!  Wow - breath guys/gals, relax.

Answer 31

Atheists get offended by religious people because of discrimination against us http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discriminat...