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Religion

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trotsky

(49,533 posts)
Fri May 15, 2015, 04:40 PM May 2015

Reza Aslan Made the Worst Case For Religion On The Daily Show [View all]

http://thedailybanter.com/2015/05/reza-aslan-made-the-worst-case-for-religion-on-the-daily-show/

On Wednesday’s edition of The Daily Show, “religions scholar” Reza Aslan continued his audacious attempt to fundamentally change how religion has been understood from time immemorial. For Aslan, religion isn’t so much a system of belief in the supernatural, but instead a sort of cultural identity that’s extremely pliant depending on the personal and cultural whims of believers. To wit,

“The thing about religion that people have to understand is that it’s far more a matter of identity than it is just a matter of beliefs and practices. I mean, those things are important, but when you say, ‘I’m a Jew,’ ‘I’m a Muslim,’ ‘I’m a Christian,’ you’re making an identity statement far more so than a statement of the things that you believe.”


This assertion is not even wrong. It’s gibberish masquerading as profundity. Are not “the things that you believe” very much part of one’s identity, be they religious, political, or cultural in nature? When one speaks of “Muslim identity,” for example, does that not entail an identity that involves believing in Allah and that Muhammad is his prophet?

...

By shifting focus away from belief to some vague “identity” as a measure of religion, Aslan is engaged in a supreme act of obfuscation, and in the process has made himself a walking contradiction.


Reza Aslan: the Deepak Chopra of Islam?
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It's the best part of religious privilege... MellowDem May 2015 #1
+1 n/t trotsky May 2015 #2
Quite a lot of posters here skepticscott May 2015 #4
Believe it or not, this got alerted on skepticscott May 2015 #12
That someone alerted is one thing edhopper May 2015 #16
I noticed that too skepticscott May 2015 #17
One of the Clan was definitely there. rug May 2015 #18
A bit of a tacky alert there, don't you think? mr blur May 2015 #19
no such thing as alert-stalking in Religion... Yorktown May 2015 #40
I love this part: beam me up scottie May 2015 #3
That sounds so very familiar. Lordquinton May 2015 #6
Equating criticism of religion with bigotry is common on both the left and right. beam me up scottie May 2015 #7
Critics of Nazism were bigots. Yorktown May 2015 #41
religion is learned cultural behavior. believers go along with their culture even tho they may msongs May 2015 #5
Isn't he they guy who claimed to be a religious scholar, but it turns out he lied about it? Lordquinton May 2015 #8
A "religious scholar"? rug May 2015 #9
This is what I was looking for Lordquinton May 2015 #13
That hardly makes him a fraud. rug May 2015 #15
There are countless anti-atheists around, your Pope, for starters Lordquinton May 2015 #22
Actually, to your chagrin, he is not an "anti-atheist". rug May 2015 #23
No, because I am adamantly against Pedophilla Lordquinton May 2015 #25
Who isn't? Do you want a medal? rug May 2015 #32
You just compared Richard Dawkins to Pedophilia Lordquinton May 2015 #34
Lol, no I compared your lame caricature to one that is significantly more accurate. rug May 2015 #35
You seem confused Lordquinton May 2015 #36
Except the only one who mentioned Dawkins was you. rug May 2015 #37
You're still confused Lordquinton May 2015 #38
Doesn't mention Dawkins. Does that description remind you of him? rug May 2015 #39
your post was very unclear Lordquinton May 2015 #44
Projection tends to cloud understanding. rug May 2015 #45
Your posts aren't making any sense. Lordquinton May 2015 #49
In a nutshell, I think you're making too many assumptions. rug May 2015 #54
I still can't figure out what you mean, please clarify Lordquinton May 2015 #71
Somebody hit somebody's nerve. rug May 2015 #10
Yeah, no tkmorris May 2015 #11
QED. rug May 2015 #14
Yes, the fact that I think his argument is ridiculous tkmorris May 2015 #24
QED squared. rug May 2015 #33
what you actually meant is "case in point". Warren Stupidity May 2015 #65
No, Warren, what I actually meant was what I actuallly typed. rug May 2015 #66
Well I tried to help you out, but keep misusing QED. It is amusing. Warren Stupidity May 2015 #67
To be precise, it was QED squared. rug May 2015 #69
which is of course meaningless if you had been using QED correctly to begin with, Warren Stupidity May 2015 #70
Warren, do you really think you're in a position to lecture anyone on the proper use of words? rug May 2015 #72
Yes. Warren Stupidity May 2015 #74
Ok. Explain your credentials then. rug May 2015 #75
Wait. You are demanding "credentials" for responses on an internet message board? Warren Stupidity May 2015 #76
In your case, yeah. rug May 2015 #77
project much? Warren Stupidity May 2015 #79
I never project. rug May 2015 #82
Agreed. I like what he said about giving credit to religion when it does good. hrmjustin May 2015 #21
Reza Aslan: the Deepak Chopra of Islam? Yorktown May 2015 #20
Score: Aslan-1 Daily Banter - 0 doxyluv13 May 2015 #26
No kidding. Erich Bloodaxe BSN May 2015 #29
Reza... deathrind May 2015 #27
A rather peculiar article, and thread. LTX May 2015 #28
Do folks deride cafeteria Christians? Erich Bloodaxe BSN May 2015 #30
I don't deride them, but the term itself is usually deployed derisively. LTX May 2015 #31
Indeed nil desperandum May 2015 #42
Setting aside your non sequitur, LTX May 2015 #51
It's not that Reza is wrong. gcomeau May 2015 #47
First, why would a declaration that religion is irrelevant be a problem? LTX May 2015 #52
Perhaps nil desperandum May 2015 #53
It's a problem... gcomeau May 2015 #59
So I'll just ask you for your considered opinion: LTX May 2015 #60
Lots of factors.. gcomeau May 2015 #62
Thanks. A relatively thoughtful answer. LTX May 2015 #63
That's a honest answer, but you concede irrationality Yorktown May 2015 #64
I was taught religion by non-believing parents and Catholic school. hrmjustin May 2015 #43
Actually... he's not entirely wrong. gcomeau May 2015 #46
That is a very good point. trotsky May 2015 #48
Reducing religions to mere labels with no necessary beliefs behind them renders... Humanist_Activist May 2015 #50
You Don't Believe That Cultural Identity Exists? On the Road May 2015 #55
See the post right above from Humanist_Activist. trotsky May 2015 #56
Still Don't Get the Objection On the Road May 2015 #57
Probably because there is no "objection" - it's funny that in his desperation to absolve religion... trotsky May 2015 #58
I missed that part. What did he say that led you to understand that LTX May 2015 #61
Hint: Google "Reza Aslan" trotsky May 2015 #68
I'm familiar with Aslan. I think he's generally rather superficial in his analyses. LTX May 2015 #73
Superficial, yes. Which he has to be in order to pull off stuff like this: trotsky May 2015 #80
Isn't that precisely the point made atheists and critics of religion? LTX May 2015 #81
Nope, completely the opposite. trotsky May 2015 #83
Ok, this is getting kind of odd. LTX May 2015 #84
Its not an objection, but an observation, if belief is no longer necessary for... Humanist_Activist May 2015 #78
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