I think it is a polite fiction to suggest that atheists do not think they are morally superior when they teach their children how to REALLY think about the world, compared to bible thumpers or daveners.
I think that any atheists who feel they are morally superior for the reasons you describe are actually feeling morally superior to a straw-man representation of religious people. I know a fair number of religious people, and few of them have many or any of the behaviors that you describe.
I know a fair number of religious people, and few of them have many or any of the behaviors that you describe.
Lets just assume I’m talking about the ones that do teach their children religion and a belief in god, or who send their children to a religious classes to learn this stuff.
Is this what you mean to say very few religious people do? I would submit you an extremely narrow exposure to religious people then. As a catholic boy growing up in New York I was taught that I would spend eternity in hell if I did not love god and even if I didn’t go to church on Sunday, although the second I could negate by going to confession. That is just an example of the casual crap my mind was loaded up with as a child in a not-particularly-observant family. It is essentially an essence of any religions with significant human membership that the story one must believe in is installed in the children of believers.
And I feel superior to EVERYBODY who does that. At least in that particular regard. My children think it is the most natural thing in the world to try to figure out if god exists and if so what she might be like. They are clueless as to what it might be like to be told those answers and suffer threats or punishment or violence if they express doubts.
That it is your obligation to wear certain odd objects in certain ways
Not sure what you meant by this; I am assuming you mean things like some Jews and Muslims believing that men should wear hats under various conditions. I don’t really see a moral issue with that, nor is a hat a particularly odd object, nor is the head a particularly odd place to wear a hat.
to behave in strangely ritualistic ways which differ depending on your genitals
Not sure what you are referring to here either, but I don’t see anything like this from any of my religious acquaintances. I did attend an Iftar with a Muslim friend one time, and the men and women were asked to meet in separate rooms, per Islamic tradition. Is this the sort of thing you mean? If so, I do not see anything particularly immoral or sinister about it.
That you should strive to spend as much time as possible studying the fictitious books that describe all of this, to the exclusion of science or math or art or enterprise
This definitely is not the case with most religious people I know; most of them have good jobs, have good, well-rounded educations, etc. And, as ChristianKl pointed out, many religious people apparently spend less time studying the various holy books than many atheists. I’m a bit surprised to hear an ex-Catholic hold this point of view; it was my understanding that the Catholic church in general was pro-education, pro-science, pro-logic, etc., and that Catholic schools generally impart a good, well-rounded education. Do you have experiences to the contrary?
You also mentioned:
That you can change the world by talking to an invisible powerful being
It is true that some religious people believe in the power of prayer, but not in the rather naive way that you seem to indicate. Few if any religious people claim to be able to predictably and reliably influence events through prayer. Further more, few use prayer as a substitute for personal initiative—e.g. back when I was in high school the football team would pray prior to a game that no one would be hurt and for victory (and this was in a public school), but the players were also required to hone their skills by attending practice every day, and chances of injury were reduced by following the rules of the game, using protective equipment, etc. Similarly most religious parents encourage their kids to do well in school by studying, if the kid wants a car, the parents typically suggest a job rather than prayer, etc. If prayer is used in addition to exerting personal initiative, it does not seem like a moral failing to engage in it, even if one may doubt its efficacy.
And, you mention this point:
teach your children fundamentally incorrect information about how the world works
I wasn’t sure what you meant. Prior to your follow up, I thought you meant something like young-earth creationism which is not really a belief of the majority of Christians (although one does encounter it from time to time). But you clarified it to mean:
Lets just assume I’m talking about the ones that do teach their children religion and a belief in god
Well, yes, I suppose most religious people do this. In fact, it would be rather surprising if they didn’t. I don’t see this as a moral failing, however. Parents are expected to pass on knowledge, values, beliefs, customs, etc. to their children.
It sounds like you may have had a bad experience with religion as a child; sorry to hear that. Like you, I have chosen to bring my children up without religious influence. However, unlike you, I see no reason to look down on the morals of religious people, most of whom are operating rationally and morally given their beliefs.
I think that any atheists who feel they are morally superior for the reasons you describe are actually feeling morally superior to a straw-man representation of religious people. I know a fair number of religious people, and few of them have many or any of the behaviors that you describe.
Lets just assume I’m talking about the ones that do teach their children religion and a belief in god, or who send their children to a religious classes to learn this stuff.
Is this what you mean to say very few religious people do? I would submit you an extremely narrow exposure to religious people then. As a catholic boy growing up in New York I was taught that I would spend eternity in hell if I did not love god and even if I didn’t go to church on Sunday, although the second I could negate by going to confession. That is just an example of the casual crap my mind was loaded up with as a child in a not-particularly-observant family. It is essentially an essence of any religions with significant human membership that the story one must believe in is installed in the children of believers.
And I feel superior to EVERYBODY who does that. At least in that particular regard. My children think it is the most natural thing in the world to try to figure out if god exists and if so what she might be like. They are clueless as to what it might be like to be told those answers and suffer threats or punishment or violence if they express doubts.
You listed several behaviors:
Not sure what you meant by this; I am assuming you mean things like some Jews and Muslims believing that men should wear hats under various conditions. I don’t really see a moral issue with that, nor is a hat a particularly odd object, nor is the head a particularly odd place to wear a hat.
Not sure what you are referring to here either, but I don’t see anything like this from any of my religious acquaintances. I did attend an Iftar with a Muslim friend one time, and the men and women were asked to meet in separate rooms, per Islamic tradition. Is this the sort of thing you mean? If so, I do not see anything particularly immoral or sinister about it.
This definitely is not the case with most religious people I know; most of them have good jobs, have good, well-rounded educations, etc. And, as ChristianKl pointed out, many religious people apparently spend less time studying the various holy books than many atheists. I’m a bit surprised to hear an ex-Catholic hold this point of view; it was my understanding that the Catholic church in general was pro-education, pro-science, pro-logic, etc., and that Catholic schools generally impart a good, well-rounded education. Do you have experiences to the contrary?
You also mentioned:
It is true that some religious people believe in the power of prayer, but not in the rather naive way that you seem to indicate. Few if any religious people claim to be able to predictably and reliably influence events through prayer. Further more, few use prayer as a substitute for personal initiative—e.g. back when I was in high school the football team would pray prior to a game that no one would be hurt and for victory (and this was in a public school), but the players were also required to hone their skills by attending practice every day, and chances of injury were reduced by following the rules of the game, using protective equipment, etc. Similarly most religious parents encourage their kids to do well in school by studying, if the kid wants a car, the parents typically suggest a job rather than prayer, etc. If prayer is used in addition to exerting personal initiative, it does not seem like a moral failing to engage in it, even if one may doubt its efficacy.
And, you mention this point:
I wasn’t sure what you meant. Prior to your follow up, I thought you meant something like young-earth creationism which is not really a belief of the majority of Christians (although one does encounter it from time to time). But you clarified it to mean:
Well, yes, I suppose most religious people do this. In fact, it would be rather surprising if they didn’t. I don’t see this as a moral failing, however. Parents are expected to pass on knowledge, values, beliefs, customs, etc. to their children.
It sounds like you may have had a bad experience with religion as a child; sorry to hear that. Like you, I have chosen to bring my children up without religious influence. However, unlike you, I see no reason to look down on the morals of religious people, most of whom are operating rationally and morally given their beliefs.