Religion
In reply to the discussion: Richard Dawkins to atheist rally: 'Show contempt' for faith [View all]skepticscott
(13,029 posts)believed that extraterrestrials were on their way to earth in a giant spaceship, and that when they arrived, all of their devotees would be taken up into the spaceship and carried off to a better world. And suppose that they gathered by the hundreds and thousands every week to sing songs to the aliens (convinced they can hear across the vastness of space) and celebrate that glorious day to come. And suppose this went on for hundreds of years. Is there any doubt that they'd be mocked and regarded with amusement and scorn? Delusional, weirdos, nuts and crackpots would probably be some of the kinder terms (whether spoken out loud or not) that would be applied to them, by just about everyone.
But call those people Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Catholics and the space aliens God and Jesus, and all of a sudden, the same behavior is supposed to be regarded (on DU and everywhere else) not merely as sane and sensible, but wonderful, as something to be praised and immune from criticism. Mainly because of the deferential attitude and special status that organized religion has convinced most people it is entitled to.