# do you think better or worse of people who are religious?



## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

when you learn someone is religious, do you immediately think better of him?

or do you immediately think worse of him?

if so, in what ways?

does your answer depend on the religion he believes in?


note: the poll is multiple choice


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## dulcinea (Aug 22, 2011)

when you learn someone is religious, do you immediately think better of him?
It depends on the religion and how the person manifests in it in their life. People don't realize what a vague term "religious" is. To automatically think worse of someone based on such a broad ideological term is prejudiced and likely indicative of the kind of person who is seeking a reason to feel superior to others. If someone feels that way, they're not something I'm all that interesting in getting to know anyway. 

or do you immediately think worse of him?
same as above.

if so, in what ways?
If religious values benefit a person, even if I don't agree with them fully, that's a good thing isn't it? But if a person uses religion as a crutch to strip them of personal responsibility, then I start to not have much respect for that person.

does your answer change with the religion he believes in?
Definitely. I belong to a religious organization in which there's a high level of solidarity, based on many shared values and experiences. Of course, I'll think better of that person. But, even if it's a different religion, it really depends on what that religion teaches, and how it impacts the people who are members of it.

Also, @ae1905, I really like the message in your signature. That's how i often approach ideologies. sometimes, I don't feel a strong need to prove myself, because if it's really the truth, the truth has a way of always rising to the surface.


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## incision (May 23, 2010)

Neutral, unless they're Fundies, are creationists or attempt to convert me. If so, my opinion crashes to the ground.


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## VinnieBob (Mar 24, 2014)

neutral
why would it make any difference
there is no proof of what caused the universe
they could be right


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## Fimbrethil (Oct 5, 2017)

I generally have a higher opinion of people who I perceive as living for something higher than themselves. Or even just something other than themselves. Who embody something. Even if it's a secret goal to paint all the sidewalks green that assumes a larger than life necessity to them- Hey, at least they have a vision. But I don't think there's a good correlation between that and whether someone self-identifies as religious.


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

I try really hard to let the person, not their beliefs, determine my opinion of them, as much as possible.


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## Westy365 (Jun 21, 2012)

I admire people with good hearts that think for themselves and don't try to force their opinions on others. 

I've known good & bad atheists, good & bad Jews, and good & bad Christians. I've known good Muslims, and while I've never met bad Muslims, I've certainly heard about them on the news. 

The thing to keep in mind is this: Extremism is generally bad. I'm not a fan of anyone who is so extreme in their beliefs that they treat others like crap.


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## Bunniculla (Jul 17, 2017)

It’s not whether I like or don’t like them based on their religion, but rather when I learn someone believes in God, I feel relieved. I feel relieved for them. However, I have plenty of friends who have different religions from me (or sometimes no religion), but we don’t discuss it and we still get along fine as ever. There’s just always a vague, almost subconscious sinking feeling...because I am highly spiritual. I do not judge, I don’t know anything for sure, but faith does play a huge role in my feeling of relief.


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## TallGreen (May 6, 2017)

It matter why they believe or disbelieve. I tend to judge people according to their values. However when I say judge, I mean i want to understand them. Its not really a value judgment.


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## Judson Joist (Oct 25, 2013)

My religion teaches not to judge people (judging behaviors is fair game, though), so it just doesn't occur to me to think any differently of someone for that. Freedom of religion is still a thing. Let's keep it!


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## Handsome Dyke (Oct 4, 2012)

I don't think worse of them (Thinking) so much as I like them less (Feeling) and am much less likely to bother with them socially (which perhaps doesn't mean much since I bother with hardly anyone socially). Religion is way to Feelery for me, and the fact that anyone even feels the need for it to enrich their lives is creepy.

I have this reaction to every religion (that I've ever heard of), but the less supernatural, anti-humanistic, and arbitrary the religion, the less it bothers me.


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## atamagasuita (May 15, 2016)

I respect him/her


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## Grey Wolf (Sep 9, 2017)

As long you don't want me dead or converted, then you're welcome to your religious beliefs.


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## shazam (Oct 18, 2015)

I chose I would think worse.

More importantly, I don't want to hear, speak or know about it.


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## asomeone (Oct 10, 2017)

I think I'd have to hear about their reasoning for their beliefs and if/how their beliefs have made them a kinder/stronger/more self-actualised person in some way.


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## Belzy (Aug 12, 2013)

I find it concerning this is an existing question.

The thought someone either is a better or worse person just because he/she is or isn't religious, is hopefully a thought one does not take very seriously.

I don't judge someone based off their religion, or lack of, at all. That's the perfect way to be proven wrong later, over and over again.


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## Turlowe (Aug 4, 2014)

For the most part I take people as they come and their being religious doesn't effect my opinion of them, this holds true for most religions. I've met good and bad people of many faiths and I think most religions do in their way try to make the world a better place, albeit with mixed results. 

There are a few faiths I can't really deal with though, for instance when I find out someone is a Scientologist it tends to discredit anything else they say. It seems to me that anyone who buys that it far to credulous to take seriously. They may be perfectly nice people, but I have a hard time crediting them with intelligence or critical thinking skills, especially in light of the many well documented stories of abuse within that organization. Then there's Satanism, while I reject the entire premise of Satan I have zero interest in dealing with members of a faith which fetishizes selfishness.

I fully admit that I don't know the secrets of the universe, so maybe those of faith are right, but if Scientology is the truth then the universe is one colossal bad joke. That's my opinion in any case.


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## Snowflake Minuet (Feb 20, 2016)

I try not to let it cloud my judgment, but I know that at least on some subconscious level I tend to have a poorer opinion of strongly religious people. I don't actively mean it, but that and really any form of following somewhat blindly anything like that automatically crosses my own logic. The same goes with people who are very determinedly a given political party or very patriotic, etc.. I think that too much "blind" group mentality can lead to a lot of unintelligent, immoral, and painful outcomes, because some form of logic-free faith is in charge rather than pure and objective reason.


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## Dissenter (Jul 31, 2017)

Worse, I'm afraid. And I refuse to apologise for it, for I have seen religion cause too much death and suffering. I cannot possibly imagine forming any sort of relations with them. There are, of course, exceptions to this. I know a few genuinely intellectual and decent theists who do not let their scripture impede or corrupt them or those in their charge. Also, they do not take the scripture literally, but rather allegorically. To these people, religion is somewhat a tradition more than it is faith. However, these people are a small minority.


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## Eren Jaegerbomb (Nov 13, 2015)

Turlowe said:


> For the most part I take people as they come and their being religious doesn't effect my opinion of them, this holds true for most religions. I've met good and bad people of many faiths and I think most religions do in their way try to make the world a better place, albeit with mixed results.
> 
> There are a few faiths I can't really deal with though, for instance when I find out someone is a Scientologist it tends to discredit anything else they say. It seems to me that anyone who buys that it far to credulous to take seriously. They may be perfectly nice people, but I have a hard time crediting them with intelligence or critical thinking skills, especially in light of the many well documented stories of abuse within that organization. Then there's Satanism, while I reject the entire premise of Satan I have zero interest in dealing with members of a faith which fetishizes selfishness.
> 
> I fully admit that I don't know the secrets of the universe, so maybe those of faith are right, but if Scientology is the truth then the universe is one colossal bad joke. That's my opinion in any case.


My opinion is basically the same as this.
For Satanism and Scientology, yeah I can't deal with that. I mean what they promote...
Freemasonry is not a religion, its monetary, but I can't deal with them either. They might as well be Satanists though. There are some well meaning one's, but you get the point.


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## Jaune (Jul 11, 2013)

Honestly, I find it hard not to feel at least a bit of disappointment when finding out someone is religious, even if I try not to. But unless they make a big deal of their religion, I quickly forget about it and it doesn't really change my opinion of them.


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## Cal (Sep 29, 2017)

I don't really think being religious has anything to do with how I feel about others.
I have met religious people who I think better of, and religious people who I think worse of.
Same thing with non religious people.

It's not about whether or not the person is religious-it's about whether or not they are a dick about it(same goes with atheists too!).


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## ponpiri (Apr 30, 2017)

neutral unless they start proselytizing


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## shameless (Apr 21, 2014)

It may make me more hesitant to see what's coming next.

I have really met some extremely extremely kind well intended wonderful people who were religious. Even if they did not directly agree with me or lifestyle differences existed these people were very tolerable and nice. So there for I was receptive to them because they were kind.

I have also came across some very harsh, judgemental persons who either picked apart or alienated those who were not in the same beliefs.

I think apart of me gets nervous waiting to see which direction they appear to be.


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## smallhead (Mar 21, 2017)

I chose _think worse_ but it's only partially true. By _think worse_ I mean that I will entertain the possibility that they will frustrate me if we speak about anything of depth. I grew up religious so I know what it's like to talk to a bunch of thick-brained climate-change skeptics who use G-d as their excuse for intellectual and moral laziness. On the other hand certain religions are really pretty hard-core and we all know what it's like when a religious person gets real with themselves (s/o MLK). If I hear that you're religious I'm going to hope that you're swimming in the deep-end trying to merge the impossible with the possible like a mad-scientist trying to prove that what _could be_ is far more interesting than what we've got now. For a religious person, the _could be_ is often found in the re-experiencing of the present situation. Thus a really hype religious mind and body can be super-engaged with their environment in a way that so subtly yet intensely moves from participation in to transformation of that environment. If you're actually doing the religious thing in the utmost way I'm going to be way more attracted to you than if you had no skin in the game of co-creating collective meaning.


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## Davidkal (Jul 19, 2017)

Absolutely worse.


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## dulcinea (Aug 22, 2011)

I think worse of people who automatically think worse of people when they find out they're religious without even considering any of the factors involved in that choice or how it affects them as a person. They're inherent propensity towards such prejudice makes me somewhat dubious of anything they have to say on such a matter.


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## BigApplePi (Dec 1, 2011)

I assume a person is an individual and not their religion. That means whether I respect them or not depends on their attitude. If they are extremely rigid, unbending and self-righteous in front of others how can I be happy with that? Religion is only a system which offers a house for any type of person.

If the person is a good person, positive and helpful to most all because of their religion why wouldn't I be happy with that? If the religion helps them along, well good for that religion. If the religion has some bad parts to it, well who is it that is latching on to the bad parts and interpreting the whole religion that way? That ain't so good.


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## Birbsofafeather (May 18, 2017)

When I discover someone is religious, I feel differently about them. Potentially incredibly different, but more often slightly different. Not in a good way or a bad way in the slightest, just different. I think someone's personal beliefs regarding religion can say a lot about them. 

Are they devoutly religious because they were raised that way? Are they devoutly religious because they have thought about it a lot? Are they slightly religious because they are apathetic? Are they agnostic out of apathy? Are they staunchly athiest, do they identify with a less-common religion or a different religion than they were raised in? This can show a lot about the person's values, perspectives and thought-process, or if it isn't as important to them, it can show less.

None of these are good or bad, and I don't think if them in a better or worse way, I just find it to be telling information about the individual's personality. So yes, my opinion changes about them, but rarely for better or for worse. It isn't something I'll discard or forget, and it is something I use as a potentially very important way of understanding them.


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## angelfish (Feb 17, 2011)

As with encountering any polarized view or interest, learning just that someone is religious doesn't decidedly sway my opinion of them in any direction but it does pique my curiosity into what kind of beliefs they hold and how it influences their judgment. 

In general I think it makes me a bit wary because where I live "religious" usually connotes a particular variety of religious that is fairly negatively judgmental of others. But I actually am quite interested in religions and spirituality and enjoy learning about others' beliefs and cultures.


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## Lakigigar (Jan 4, 2016)

Slightly worse, but more because I know they won't fit with me, and since i'm like: "why would you waste time on a religion". Also recent events also don't speak in favour of religions in general.


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## Belzy (Aug 12, 2013)

Lakighouligar said:


> Slightly worse, but more because I know they won't fit with me, and since i'm like: "why would you waste time on a religion". Also recent events also don't speak in favour of religions in general.


Why it's a waste of time?

- Devil's advocate (but sincere question)


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## martinkunev (Mar 23, 2017)

Depends on how is religion defined. Usually religion includes irrational belief and this means the person lacks critical thinking or is not being objective.


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## Vivid Melody (Apr 25, 2011)

I feel like one of the options should be "it depends on the person." As it is, I didn't vote because I don't feel like any of them apply.


I don't believe being religious and intelligent are mutually exclusive. I think that belief is false and I really hate the stereotype. I believe there are foolish people from all walks of life. C.S. Lewis is a good example of a religious person who obviously was capable of thinking through things logically. Furthermore, there are scientists who are religious. I don't think it has any bearing on someone's intelligence or lack thereof. It is true that some people have a very elementary understanding or version of religion and some of them are seemingly content to stay that way. Same can go for non religious people. There are those who will follow something blindly out of fear or bitterness and then there are those who will actually put some real thought behind their decisions and beliefs, not fear asking themselves the hard questions or questions that challenge their current ways of thinking. I will say I have more respect for those types of people. 


I used to be religious myself. I am no longer but I do consider myself spiritual if you want to put a label to it. I believe pieces of truth can be found in all religions just as truth can be found any where and in anyone. To believe that I have all the answers all on my own is foolish and arrogant. At the end of the day, everyone's perception is limited. 


It's been my oberservation that people who do not define themselves as religious just choose something else to be religious about - whether that be politics, an idea (like the belief in soulmates), sports, a person, the self, a drug, Science. The list goes on. I believe everyone desires some higher power to fill the void inside. What power they choose to rule them is for them to decide.


To answer the question though, it really depends how it manifests in the person as someone already said. If someone is self-righteous about it, that would worsen my opinion of them and obviously make me want to avoid them at all costs. I believe these people often misrepresent what their religion means anyway but that's a whole other can of worms. It's also pretty rude to shove your religion down people's throats. No one appreciates that.


As far as cult-like religions are concerned, if someone grows up in that type of environment, I can hardly blame them for following it. I just feel bad for them. People's values and beliefs evolve over time anyway. Nothing is set in stone. Mine sure have and they will continue to do so as time goes on and I learn more. I don't believe anyone is a static being.


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