Making religious comments without thinking

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The absence of an established state religion does not mean that a country is secular.

It does mean the country is secular. Maybe you're thinking of the people living in the country.

NP. The original poster said "secular nation," which can definitely mean "the people" not merely the state. PP also followed that up with:

"The majority of those who live in this country are, and have always been, religious.

Many Americans practice Christianity, their individual beliefs have influenced society"

The meaning was very clear that most Americans are Christians and thus Christian belief underlies a lot of Americans culture.

I don't believe this is true anymore -- maybe not since the 70s. American culture is driven by more by our belief in the "American way" and by consumerism. Christianity is way down the list, and with the younger people it's falling farther behind all the time.

The Christian Right has gained more influence since the 70's, but I hope you're correct about Christianity falling behind among young people. I think that goes for religion overall, in part because more kids these days are being raised without religion.

On a completely different note, I’m fascinated by the atheist who jumps on every single thread to inform us that Christianity is dying. Even Pew doesn’t say it’s away by 2070.

Wishful thinking? It does seem like some sorry of pathetic wishful thinking, as if repeating it on every single thread might make it zero out, which it won’t. Or maybe it’s unattractive gloating?

Lol. Yeah those pesky facts and that inconvenient data... truly baffling how people could find that germane to discussions here.

And you are right, that data has been posted in every single thread here in the religion forum! If, by "every single thread" you mean exactly one of the ones currently on the first page.

How can you be so dishonest?

No, “the decline and fall of Christianity” has been posted on lots of threads, including “I feel cut off from God” for sure and others I don’t have time to ferret out.

Who’s dishonest?

I don’t care, really. Just expressing astonishment that some atheist feels a need to keep posting it, or thinks it does any good.

They ignore the data that shows Christianity is growing worldwide. They ignore the data that says atheism is projected to decrease worldwide, as well.

Christianity is exploding in Africa and Asia.

Atheists are white males who don’t like kids, so of course it’s not a segment of society that will ever have a robust population.

Also- atheists get light headed and upset when they sneeze and someone politely says “bless you.” Not the most hardy people, it’s no surprise they are not growing and thriving in the world.

That has to be due to missionaries. I mean, it's not endemic to that area.
I will say that in some places like the Philippines, if you're born - you're a Catholic. So as the population grows the number of Catholics grows.

Christianity and Islam are proselytizing religions. It makes sense they'd be the fastest growing. The busy-bodies should mind their own business. And maybe it's growing rapidly in Asia and Africa because Western Europe and the U.S. are seeing less and less need for it.

Catholicism is expressly anti-proselytizing. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/pope-francis-on-proselytism

Guess you aren’t familiar with the SCOTUS.

Look, I despise Kavanaugh and Barrett and I'm not Catholic, but you need to go back to school and understand the difference between constitutional interpretation, which is biased towards Catholicism to be sure, and proselytizing.

I consider forcefully pushing your beliefs on others as proselytizing.

No it isn't. I have to agree with the prior pp, that term doesn't really apply here. They aren't missionaries trying to get converts to join their Church.

Using their power to push their beliefs on others against their will. There are parallels.

well the losing side in a Supreme Court decision will always say that - but they have that power. It's in the Constitution.

This particular SCOTUS only has that power through lying and cheating. A fringe group of extremists are abusing their power to forcing their beliefs on the entire country against their will. Our system is broken. It wasn’t designed to protect against so much depravity.

ok, settle down. We were talking about proselytizing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The absence of an established state religion does not mean that a country is secular.

It does mean the country is secular. Maybe you're thinking of the people living in the country.

NP. The original poster said "secular nation," which can definitely mean "the people" not merely the state. PP also followed that up with:

"The majority of those who live in this country are, and have always been, religious.

Many Americans practice Christianity, their individual beliefs have influenced society"

The meaning was very clear that most Americans are Christians and thus Christian belief underlies a lot of Americans culture.

I don't believe this is true anymore -- maybe not since the 70s. American culture is driven by more by our belief in the "American way" and by consumerism. Christianity is way down the list, and with the younger people it's falling farther behind all the time.

The Christian Right has gained more influence since the 70's, but I hope you're correct about Christianity falling behind among young people. I think that goes for religion overall, in part because more kids these days are being raised without religion.

On a completely different note, I’m fascinated by the atheist who jumps on every single thread to inform us that Christianity is dying. Even Pew doesn’t say it’s away by 2070.

Wishful thinking? It does seem like some sorry of pathetic wishful thinking, as if repeating it on every single thread might make it zero out, which it won’t. Or maybe it’s unattractive gloating?

Lol. Yeah those pesky facts and that inconvenient data... truly baffling how people could find that germane to discussions here.

And you are right, that data has been posted in every single thread here in the religion forum! If, by "every single thread" you mean exactly one of the ones currently on the first page.

How can you be so dishonest?

No, “the decline and fall of Christianity” has been posted on lots of threads, including “I feel cut off from God” for sure and others I don’t have time to ferret out.

Who’s dishonest?

I don’t care, really. Just expressing astonishment that some atheist feels a need to keep posting it, or thinks it does any good.

They ignore the data that shows Christianity is growing worldwide. They ignore the data that says atheism is projected to decrease worldwide, as well.

Christianity is exploding in Africa and Asia.

Atheists are white males who don’t like kids, so of course it’s not a segment of society that will ever have a robust population.

Also- atheists get light headed and upset when they sneeze and someone politely says “bless you.” Not the most hardy people, it’s no surprise they are not growing and thriving in the world.

That has to be due to missionaries. I mean, it's not endemic to that area.
I will say that in some places like the Philippines, if you're born - you're a Catholic. So as the population grows the number of Catholics grows.

Christianity and Islam are proselytizing religions. It makes sense they'd be the fastest growing. The busy-bodies should mind their own business. And maybe it's growing rapidly in Asia and Africa because Western Europe and the U.S. are seeing less and less need for it.

Catholicism is expressly anti-proselytizing. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/pope-francis-on-proselytism

Guess you aren’t familiar with the SCOTUS.

Look, I despise Kavanaugh and Barrett and I'm not Catholic, but you need to go back to school and understand the difference between constitutional interpretation, which is biased towards Catholicism to be sure, and proselytizing.

I consider forcefully pushing your beliefs on others as proselytizing.

No it isn't. I have to agree with the prior pp, that term doesn't really apply here. They aren't missionaries trying to get converts to join their Church.

Using their power to push their beliefs on others against their will. There are parallels.

well the losing side in a Supreme Court decision will always say that - but they have that power. It's in the Constitution.

This particular SCOTUS only has that power through lying and cheating. A fringe group of extremists are abusing their power to forcing their beliefs on the entire country against their will. Our system is broken. It wasn’t designed to protect against so much depravity.

ok, settle down. We were talking about proselytizing

Right. And a few Catholics on the SCOTUS are proselytizing in their own way. Maybe they should consult with the pope next time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The absence of an established state religion does not mean that a country is secular.

It does mean the country is secular. Maybe you're thinking of the people living in the country.

NP. The original poster said "secular nation," which can definitely mean "the people" not merely the state. PP also followed that up with:

"The majority of those who live in this country are, and have always been, religious.

Many Americans practice Christianity, their individual beliefs have influenced society"

The meaning was very clear that most Americans are Christians and thus Christian belief underlies a lot of Americans culture.

I don't believe this is true anymore -- maybe not since the 70s. American culture is driven by more by our belief in the "American way" and by consumerism. Christianity is way down the list, and with the younger people it's falling farther behind all the time.

The Christian Right has gained more influence since the 70's, but I hope you're correct about Christianity falling behind among young people. I think that goes for religion overall, in part because more kids these days are being raised without religion.

On a completely different note, I’m fascinated by the atheist who jumps on every single thread to inform us that Christianity is dying. Even Pew doesn’t say it’s away by 2070.

Wishful thinking? It does seem like some sorry of pathetic wishful thinking, as if repeating it on every single thread might make it zero out, which it won’t. Or maybe it’s unattractive gloating?

Lol. Yeah those pesky facts and that inconvenient data... truly baffling how people could find that germane to discussions here.

And you are right, that data has been posted in every single thread here in the religion forum! If, by "every single thread" you mean exactly one of the ones currently on the first page.

How can you be so dishonest?

No, “the decline and fall of Christianity” has been posted on lots of threads, including “I feel cut off from God” for sure and others I don’t have time to ferret out.

Who’s dishonest?

I don’t care, really. Just expressing astonishment that some atheist feels a need to keep posting it, or thinks it does any good.

They ignore the data that shows Christianity is growing worldwide. They ignore the data that says atheism is projected to decrease worldwide, as well.

Christianity is exploding in Africa and Asia.

Atheists are white males who don’t like kids, so of course it’s not a segment of society that will ever have a robust population.

Also- atheists get light headed and upset when they sneeze and someone politely says “bless you.” Not the most hardy people, it’s no surprise they are not growing and thriving in the world.

That has to be due to missionaries. I mean, it's not endemic to that area.
I will say that in some places like the Philippines, if you're born - you're a Catholic. So as the population grows the number of Catholics grows.

Christianity and Islam are proselytizing religions. It makes sense they'd be the fastest growing. The busy-bodies should mind their own business. And maybe it's growing rapidly in Asia and Africa because Western Europe and the U.S. are seeing less and less need for it.

Catholicism is expressly anti-proselytizing. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/pope-francis-on-proselytism

Guess you aren’t familiar with the SCOTUS.

Look, I despise Kavanaugh and Barrett and I'm not Catholic, but you need to go back to school and understand the difference between constitutional interpretation, which is biased towards Catholicism to be sure, and proselytizing.

I consider forcefully pushing your beliefs on others as proselytizing.

No it isn't. I have to agree with the prior pp, that term doesn't really apply here. They aren't missionaries trying to get converts to join their Church.

Using their power to push their beliefs on others against their will. There are parallels.

well the losing side in a Supreme Court decision will always say that - but they have that power. It's in the Constitution.

This particular SCOTUS only has that power through lying and cheating. A fringe group of extremists are abusing their power to forcing their beliefs on the entire country against their will. Our system is broken. It wasn’t designed to protect against so much depravity.

ok, settle down. We were talking about proselytizing

Right. And a few Catholics on the SCOTUS are proselytizing in their own way. Maybe they should consult with the pope next time.

DP and religious. You need to learn the difference between (1) imposing your belief system on others via the legal system and (2) inducing or converting someone to a new faith.

The second definition is from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proselytize

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The absence of an established state religion does not mean that a country is secular.

It does mean the country is secular. Maybe you're thinking of the people living in the country.

NP. The original poster said "secular nation," which can definitely mean "the people" not merely the state. PP also followed that up with:

"The majority of those who live in this country are, and have always been, religious.

Many Americans practice Christianity, their individual beliefs have influenced society"

The meaning was very clear that most Americans are Christians and thus Christian belief underlies a lot of Americans culture.

I don't believe this is true anymore -- maybe not since the 70s. American culture is driven by more by our belief in the "American way" and by consumerism. Christianity is way down the list, and with the younger people it's falling farther behind all the time.

The Christian Right has gained more influence since the 70's, but I hope you're correct about Christianity falling behind among young people. I think that goes for religion overall, in part because more kids these days are being raised without religion.

On a completely different note, I’m fascinated by the atheist who jumps on every single thread to inform us that Christianity is dying. Even Pew doesn’t say it’s away by 2070.

Wishful thinking? It does seem like some sorry of pathetic wishful thinking, as if repeating it on every single thread might make it zero out, which it won’t. Or maybe it’s unattractive gloating?

Lol. Yeah those pesky facts and that inconvenient data... truly baffling how people could find that germane to discussions here.

And you are right, that data has been posted in every single thread here in the religion forum! If, by "every single thread" you mean exactly one of the ones currently on the first page.

How can you be so dishonest?

No, “the decline and fall of Christianity” has been posted on lots of threads, including “I feel cut off from God” for sure and others I don’t have time to ferret out.

Who’s dishonest?

I don’t care, really. Just expressing astonishment that some atheist feels a need to keep posting it, or thinks it does any good.

They ignore the data that shows Christianity is growing worldwide. They ignore the data that says atheism is projected to decrease worldwide, as well.

Christianity is exploding in Africa and Asia.

Atheists are white males who don’t like kids, so of course it’s not a segment of society that will ever have a robust population.

Also- atheists get light headed and upset when they sneeze and someone politely says “bless you.” Not the most hardy people, it’s no surprise they are not growing and thriving in the world.

That has to be due to missionaries. I mean, it's not endemic to that area.
I will say that in some places like the Philippines, if you're born - you're a Catholic. So as the population grows the number of Catholics grows.

Christianity and Islam are proselytizing religions. It makes sense they'd be the fastest growing. The busy-bodies should mind their own business. And maybe it's growing rapidly in Asia and Africa because Western Europe and the U.S. are seeing less and less need for it.

Catholicism is expressly anti-proselytizing. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/pope-francis-on-proselytism

Guess you aren’t familiar with the SCOTUS.

Look, I despise Kavanaugh and Barrett and I'm not Catholic, but you need to go back to school and understand the difference between constitutional interpretation, which is biased towards Catholicism to be sure, and proselytizing.

I consider forcefully pushing your beliefs on others as proselytizing.

No it isn't. I have to agree with the prior pp, that term doesn't really apply here. They aren't missionaries trying to get converts to join their Church.

Using their power to push their beliefs on others against their will. There are parallels.

well the losing side in a Supreme Court decision will always say that - but they have that power. It's in the Constitution.

This particular SCOTUS only has that power through lying and cheating. A fringe group of extremists are abusing their power to forcing their beliefs on the entire country against their will. Our system is broken. It wasn’t designed to protect against so much depravity.

ok, settle down. We were talking about proselytizing

Right. And a few Catholics on the SCOTUS are proselytizing in their own way. Maybe they should consult with the pope next time.

DP and religious. You need to learn the difference between (1) imposing your belief system on others via the legal system and (2) inducing or converting someone to a new faith.

The second definition is from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proselytize

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/proselytize
“proselytize
verb [ I ] disapproving formal (UK usually proselytise)
UK /ˈprɒs.əl.ɪ.taɪz/ US /ˈprɑː.sə.lɪ.taɪz/
(US also proselyte)

to try to persuade someone to change their religious or political beliefs or way of living to your own”

They are forcefully attempting to convert people to comply with their religious beliefs and way of living.

Kinda like missionaries.

[Anonymous]

From the Catholic link.
“ This is something I’ve written about before. In a relatively recent sense of the term, “proselytization” refers to using inappropriate tactics to get someone to convert, rather than allowing them to make a free choice for Christ.

The inappropriate tactics can take a number of forms, including deception, coercion, emotional manipulation, threats, and even bribery.

An explanation of this usage is found in the 2007 document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith titled Instruction on Some Aspects of Evangelization. According to that document:

The term proselytism originated in the context of Judaism, in which the term proselyte referred to someone who, coming from the gentiles, had passed into the Chosen People.

So too, in the Christian context, the term proselytism was often used as a synonym for missionary activity.

More recently, however, the term has taken on a negative connotation, to mean the promotion of a religion by using means, and for motives, contrary to the spirit of the Gospel; that is, which do not safeguard the freedom and dignity of the human person.

So that’s what Pope Francis means when he says that the Church grows by our witness, in words and deeds—rather than through proselytization.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The absence of an established state religion does not mean that a country is secular.

It does mean the country is secular. Maybe you're thinking of the people living in the country.

NP. The original poster said "secular nation," which can definitely mean "the people" not merely the state. PP also followed that up with:

"The majority of those who live in this country are, and have always been, religious.

Many Americans practice Christianity, their individual beliefs have influenced society"

The meaning was very clear that most Americans are Christians and thus Christian belief underlies a lot of Americans culture.

I don't believe this is true anymore -- maybe not since the 70s. American culture is driven by more by our belief in the "American way" and by consumerism. Christianity is way down the list, and with the younger people it's falling farther behind all the time.

The Christian Right has gained more influence since the 70's, but I hope you're correct about Christianity falling behind among young people. I think that goes for religion overall, in part because more kids these days are being raised without religion.

On a completely different note, I’m fascinated by the atheist who jumps on every single thread to inform us that Christianity is dying. Even Pew doesn’t say it’s away by 2070.

Wishful thinking? It does seem like some sorry of pathetic wishful thinking, as if repeating it on every single thread might make it zero out, which it won’t. Or maybe it’s unattractive gloating?

Lol. Yeah those pesky facts and that inconvenient data... truly baffling how people could find that germane to discussions here.

And you are right, that data has been posted in every single thread here in the religion forum! If, by "every single thread" you mean exactly one of the ones currently on the first page.

How can you be so dishonest?

No, “the decline and fall of Christianity” has been posted on lots of threads, including “I feel cut off from God” for sure and others I don’t have time to ferret out.

Who’s dishonest?

I don’t care, really. Just expressing astonishment that some atheist feels a need to keep posting it, or thinks it does any good.

They ignore the data that shows Christianity is growing worldwide. They ignore the data that says atheism is projected to decrease worldwide, as well.

Christianity is exploding in Africa and Asia.

Atheists are white males who don’t like kids, so of course it’s not a segment of society that will ever have a robust population.

Also- atheists get light headed and upset when they sneeze and someone politely says “bless you.” Not the most hardy people, it’s no surprise they are not growing and thriving in the world.

That has to be due to missionaries. I mean, it's not endemic to that area.
I will say that in some places like the Philippines, if you're born - you're a Catholic. So as the population grows the number of Catholics grows.

Christianity and Islam are proselytizing religions. It makes sense they'd be the fastest growing. The busy-bodies should mind their own business. And maybe it's growing rapidly in Asia and Africa because Western Europe and the U.S. are seeing less and less need for it.

Catholicism is expressly anti-proselytizing. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/pope-francis-on-proselytism

Guess you aren’t familiar with the SCOTUS.

Look, I despise Kavanaugh and Barrett and I'm not Catholic, but you need to go back to school and understand the difference between constitutional interpretation, which is biased towards Catholicism to be sure, and proselytizing.

I consider forcefully pushing your beliefs on others as proselytizing.

No it isn't. I have to agree with the prior pp, that term doesn't really apply here. They aren't missionaries trying to get converts to join their Church.

Using their power to push their beliefs on others against their will. There are parallels.

well the losing side in a Supreme Court decision will always say that - but they have that power. It's in the Constitution.

This particular SCOTUS only has that power through lying and cheating. A fringe group of extremists are abusing their power to forcing their beliefs on the entire country against their will. Our system is broken. It wasn’t designed to protect against so much depravity.

ok, settle down. We were talking about proselytizing

Right. And a few Catholics on the SCOTUS are proselytizing in their own way. Maybe they should consult with the pope next time.

DP and religious. You need to learn the difference between (1) imposing your belief system on others via the legal system and (2) inducing or converting someone to a new faith.

The second definition is from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proselytize

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/proselytize
“proselytize
verb [ I ] disapproving formal (UK usually proselytise)
UK /ˈprɒs.əl.ɪ.taɪz/ US /ˈprɑː.sə.lɪ.taɪz/
(US also proselyte)

to try to persuade someone to change their religious or political beliefs or way of living to your own”

They are forcefully attempting to convert people to comply with their religious beliefs and way of living.

Kinda like missionaries.

Again, they're not forcing you to become Catholic. That's the big difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The absence of an established state religion does not mean that a country is secular.

It does mean the country is secular. Maybe you're thinking of the people living in the country.

NP. The original poster said "secular nation," which can definitely mean "the people" not merely the state. PP also followed that up with:

"The majority of those who live in this country are, and have always been, religious.

Many Americans practice Christianity, their individual beliefs have influenced society"

The meaning was very clear that most Americans are Christians and thus Christian belief underlies a lot of Americans culture.

I don't believe this is true anymore -- maybe not since the 70s. American culture is driven by more by our belief in the "American way" and by consumerism. Christianity is way down the list, and with the younger people it's falling farther behind all the time.

The Christian Right has gained more influence since the 70's, but I hope you're correct about Christianity falling behind among young people. I think that goes for religion overall, in part because more kids these days are being raised without religion.

On a completely different note, I’m fascinated by the atheist who jumps on every single thread to inform us that Christianity is dying. Even Pew doesn’t say it’s away by 2070.

Wishful thinking? It does seem like some sorry of pathetic wishful thinking, as if repeating it on every single thread might make it zero out, which it won’t. Or maybe it’s unattractive gloating?

Lol. Yeah those pesky facts and that inconvenient data... truly baffling how people could find that germane to discussions here.

And you are right, that data has been posted in every single thread here in the religion forum! If, by "every single thread" you mean exactly one of the ones currently on the first page.

How can you be so dishonest?

No, “the decline and fall of Christianity” has been posted on lots of threads, including “I feel cut off from God” for sure and others I don’t have time to ferret out.

Who’s dishonest?

I don’t care, really. Just expressing astonishment that some atheist feels a need to keep posting it, or thinks it does any good.

They ignore the data that shows Christianity is growing worldwide. They ignore the data that says atheism is projected to decrease worldwide, as well.

Christianity is exploding in Africa and Asia.

Atheists are white males who don’t like kids, so of course it’s not a segment of society that will ever have a robust population.

Also- atheists get light headed and upset when they sneeze and someone politely says “bless you.” Not the most hardy people, it’s no surprise they are not growing and thriving in the world.

That has to be due to missionaries. I mean, it's not endemic to that area.
I will say that in some places like the Philippines, if you're born - you're a Catholic. So as the population grows the number of Catholics grows.

Christianity and Islam are proselytizing religions. It makes sense they'd be the fastest growing. The busy-bodies should mind their own business. And maybe it's growing rapidly in Asia and Africa because Western Europe and the U.S. are seeing less and less need for it.

Catholicism is expressly anti-proselytizing. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/pope-francis-on-proselytism

Guess you aren’t familiar with the SCOTUS.

Look, I despise Kavanaugh and Barrett and I'm not Catholic, but you need to go back to school and understand the difference between constitutional interpretation, which is biased towards Catholicism to be sure, and proselytizing.

I consider forcefully pushing your beliefs on others as proselytizing.

No it isn't. I have to agree with the prior pp, that term doesn't really apply here. They aren't missionaries trying to get converts to join their Church.

Using their power to push their beliefs on others against their will. There are parallels.

well the losing side in a Supreme Court decision will always say that - but they have that power. It's in the Constitution.

This particular SCOTUS only has that power through lying and cheating. A fringe group of extremists are abusing their power to forcing their beliefs on the entire country against their will. Our system is broken. It wasn’t designed to protect against so much depravity.

ok, settle down. We were talking about proselytizing

Right. And a few Catholics on the SCOTUS are proselytizing in their own way. Maybe they should consult with the pope next time.

DP and religious. You need to learn the difference between (1) imposing your belief system on others via the legal system and (2) inducing or converting someone to a new faith.

The second definition is from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proselytize

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/proselytize
“proselytize
verb [ I ] disapproving formal (UK usually proselytise)
UK /ˈprɒs.əl.ɪ.taɪz/ US /ˈprɑː.sə.lɪ.taɪz/
(US also proselyte)

to try to persuade someone to change their religious or political beliefs or way of living to your own”

They are forcefully attempting to convert people to comply with their religious beliefs and way of living.

Kinda like missionaries.

Again, they're not forcing you to become Catholic. That's the big difference.

not to mention millions of Catholics disagree with them, so their positions on the law are not necessarily Catholic anyway.

[Anonymous]

Those particular Catholics have an outsized influence to force others to comply with their beliefs/way of living.

[Anonymous]

How has yet another thread descended into atheists bashing Catholics ?

- not an atheist or a Catholic and despise Kavanaugh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How has yet another thread descended into atheists bashing Catholics ?

- not an atheist or a Catholic and despise Kavanaugh

Some poster claimed that Catholics are “expressly anti-proselytizing”. That isn’t true in my life experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even though we live in a secular democracy, our world is more prone to religious thinking than it is to secular thinking. In real-life small talk and in comments on message boards like this one, people often put things in a religious context, sometimes without realizing or intending it. For people who want to be more sensitive about this when in a non-religious setting, here are some comments to avoid:

- “What church do you go to?”

- “I’ll pray for you.”

And a recent response on this forum to a former Southern Baptist who became an atheist:

- “This is why crap religions piss me off. You shouldn’t be denied a relationship with the eternal energy.”

(pp either doesn’t know or doesn’t care that atheists don’t believe in an eternal energy and thus don’t think in terms of being denied it.)

- “God bless you.”

(Even atheists will say “God bless you” after someone sneezes. It’s automatic! They don’t realize they’ve said it until it’s out. It’s not meant religiously even among religious people. It’s just our way of acknowledging a sneeze. Maybe we could get used to the European focus on health -- “Salud” or “Gesundheit.”)

Any other examples or ideas on how to handle it? Hope to hear from both religious and non-religious people.

I never hear any of this IRL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even though we live in a secular democracy, our world is more prone to religious thinking than it is to secular thinking. In real-life small talk and in comments on message boards like this one, people often put things in a religious context, sometimes without realizing or intending it. For people who want to be more sensitive about this when in a non-religious setting, here are some comments to avoid:

- “What church do you go to?”

- “I’ll pray for you.”

And a recent response on this forum to a former Southern Baptist who became an atheist:

- “This is why crap religions piss me off. You shouldn’t be denied a relationship with the eternal energy.”

(pp either doesn’t know or doesn’t care that atheists don’t believe in an eternal energy and thus don’t think in terms of being denied it.)

- “God bless you.”

(Even atheists will say “God bless you” after someone sneezes. It’s automatic! They don’t realize they’ve said it until it’s out. It’s not meant religiously even among religious people. It’s just our way of acknowledging a sneeze. Maybe we could get used to the European focus on health -- “Salud” or “Gesundheit.”)

Any other examples or ideas on how to handle it? Hope to hear from both religious and non-religious people.

I never hear any of this IRL.

You never heard anyone say "God bless you" after a sneeze? hard to believe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even though we live in a secular democracy, our world is more prone to religious thinking than it is to secular thinking. In real-life small talk and in comments on message boards like this one, people often put things in a religious context, sometimes without realizing or intending it. For people who want to be more sensitive about this when in a non-religious setting, here are some comments to avoid:

- “What church do you go to?”

- “I’ll pray for you.”

And a recent response on this forum to a former Southern Baptist who became an atheist:

- “This is why crap religions piss me off. You shouldn’t be denied a relationship with the eternal energy.”

(pp either doesn’t know or doesn’t care that atheists don’t believe in an eternal energy and thus don’t think in terms of being denied it.)

- “God bless you.”

(Even atheists will say “God bless you” after someone sneezes. It’s automatic! They don’t realize they’ve said it until it’s out. It’s not meant religiously even among religious people. It’s just our way of acknowledging a sneeze. Maybe we could get used to the European focus on health -- “Salud” or “Gesundheit.”)

Any other examples or ideas on how to handle it? Hope to hear from both religious and non-religious people.

I never hear any of this IRL.

+1

Me either.

It’s an atheist with an axe to grind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even though we live in a secular democracy, our world is more prone to religious thinking than it is to secular thinking. In real-life small talk and in comments on message boards like this one, people often put things in a religious context, sometimes without realizing or intending it. For people who want to be more sensitive about this when in a non-religious setting, here are some comments to avoid:

- “What church do you go to?”

- “I’ll pray for you.”

And a recent response on this forum to a former Southern Baptist who became an atheist:

- “This is why crap religions piss me off. You shouldn’t be denied a relationship with the eternal energy.”

(pp either doesn’t know or doesn’t care that atheists don’t believe in an eternal energy and thus don’t think in terms of being denied it.)

- “God bless you.”

(Even atheists will say “God bless you” after someone sneezes. It’s automatic! They don’t realize they’ve said it until it’s out. It’s not meant religiously even among religious people. It’s just our way of acknowledging a sneeze. Maybe we could get used to the European focus on health -- “Salud” or “Gesundheit.”)

Any other examples or ideas on how to handle it? Hope to hear from both religious and non-religious people.

I never hear any of this IRL.

+1

Me either.

It’s an atheist with an axe to grind.

+2. when someone sneezes, the only thing I ever hear people say is "Go to Hell!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even though we live in a secular democracy, our world is more prone to religious thinking than it is to secular thinking. In real-life small talk and in comments on message boards like this one, people often put things in a religious context, sometimes without realizing or intending it. For people who want to be more sensitive about this when in a non-religious setting, here are some comments to avoid:

- “What church do you go to?”

- “I’ll pray for you.”

And a recent response on this forum to a former Southern Baptist who became an atheist:

- “This is why crap religions piss me off. You shouldn’t be denied a relationship with the eternal energy.”

(pp either doesn’t know or doesn’t care that atheists don’t believe in an eternal energy and thus don’t think in terms of being denied it.)

- “God bless you.”

(Even atheists will say “God bless you” after someone sneezes. It’s automatic! They don’t realize they’ve said it until it’s out. It’s not meant religiously even among religious people. It’s just our way of acknowledging a sneeze. Maybe we could get used to the European focus on health -- “Salud” or “Gesundheit.”)

Any other examples or ideas on how to handle it? Hope to hear from both religious and non-religious people.

I never hear any of this IRL.

+1

Me either.

It’s an atheist with an axe to grind.

+2. when someone sneezes, the only thing I ever hear people say is "Go to Hell!"

Just kidding