It depends what context we’re sampling from. I was thinking of discussion in the media, and/or politics in general, where religion’s main contribution seems to be as I described it: demands that the speaker’s particular beliefs be given precedence because they come “from God”—a club for bashing people into line.
Yes, the 99% figure was overprecise; I probably should have said “the overwhelming majority of the time”. It would be an interesting study to actually count the number of “bashing people into line” usages versus all other political uses of religion; perhaps religion-based pleas for charity and mercy don’t get counted because they seem sane—something anyone reasonable would say—so my unconscious reference-counter doesn’t add them to religion’s score.
In any case, your definition-swapping with the word “club” completely misses my point. To whatever extent MrHen uses God as a club-for-joining (what I called a “social label”), I have no objection.
It is the other sort of club I want MrHen either to specifically reject or defend: does he accept such usage of “belief in God” (if someone says God said it, it must be true), or do reason and critical thinking prevail if someone tries to persuade him that he must do X because of his belief?
It depends what context we’re sampling from. I was thinking of discussion in the media, and/or politics in general, where religion’s main contribution seems to be as I described it: demands that the speaker’s particular beliefs be given precedence because they come “from God”—a club for bashing people into line.
Yes, the 99% figure was overprecise; I probably should have said “the overwhelming majority of the time”. It would be an interesting study to actually count the number of “bashing people into line” usages versus all other political uses of religion; perhaps religion-based pleas for charity and mercy don’t get counted because they seem sane—something anyone reasonable would say—so my unconscious reference-counter doesn’t add them to religion’s score.
In any case, your definition-swapping with the word “club” completely misses my point. To whatever extent MrHen uses God as a club-for-joining (what I called a “social label”), I have no objection.
It is the other sort of club I want MrHen either to specifically reject or defend: does he accept such usage of “belief in God” (if someone says God said it, it must be true), or do reason and critical thinking prevail if someone tries to persuade him that he must do X because of his belief?