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@jeffowski

I'm not an atheist, but if "god" is telling me to do something that inflicts harm and pain on others...I've come to believe that's NOT God as I understand the concept. It's quite antithetical, as a matter of fact.

Edit to add: If I hear any booming, incorporeal voices I'm heading to a neurologist, not church. And I'm definitely not doing whatever it tells me to do.

@IntentionallyBLANK @jeffowski I grew up conservative Christian. I can tell you this question wouldn't have made most people I know "uncomfortable." They would have just said "Yes, I'd kill you" (or waffled if they felt it was socially too awkward to say). In many religions, morality is fully outsourced to God, and most people don't see this as bad or inconsistent with having personal morality. They are taught that their job as a human is to learn to understand God's morality and make it theirs.

And yes, that's how things like suicide bombers happen.

@jeffowski @IntentionallyBLANK Sure, and I agree. However, I was personally never taught to prefer one group over another (though my church had hella official racism very shortly before my time). I was just taught that you do what God says, no matter what, because he's smarter than you.

It's not necessarily about bigotry, though I agree it very frequently goes there.

@guyjantic @IntentionallyBLANK --
I think you misunderstand...
It all falls together under authoritarianism and a prevention or prohibition of critical thought.
Just as Racism is an acceptance of that bigotry based on authority and not on your independent thought, Religion is precisely the same thing.

@jeffowski @IntentionallyBLANK I think we're categorizing differently. For you it's all one ball of wax. For me it's different things, though connected. I can see the view that religion = all bad things together, but I don't share it.

@guyjantic @IntentionallyBLANK -- I'm viewing this as a philosopher. In philosophy, how you get to a conclusion is as important as the conclusion.
When you dissect the thought processes (or lack of thought and a jump to acceptance), they are all interconnected in that specific way.
It supports psychological studies where the use of bad thought processes and the acceptance of bad thought processes allow OTHER bad ideas to be accepted using those same thought processes.
---> MORE

@guyjantic @IntentionallyBLANK -- So Religious Indoctrination of children and their lack of ability to fight back against the indoctrination is a foundation for OTHER bad ideas, such as racism and fascism to form using the same thought processes.

@jeffowski @guyjantic
It's a mixed bag. If you have a shitty mean parent they will be shitty and mean without supernatural assistance. I say this as someone who got Nietzsche as bedtime stories and was told "all men are created equal is just legal jargon" and that "some people are inherently superior." Eugenics is a helluva drug. (Other side it was "We will read devotionals until 3am because you're not faithful enough"...blech)

Anyway, the main thing kids need to learn is to be kind and that other people, their thoughts, and feelings matter, too. And feel loved and safe. Whatever gets that across is good. If the message is God made you better than XYZ people or your genetic makeup makes you better than XYZ people... doesn't make a difference. Bigotry and cruelty don't have to be religious. It certainly can be, but there are plenty of other ways to be awful.