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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Its perfectly acceptable to be rude to religous people...

999 replies

startrek90 · 20/03/2015 15:32

Definately going to get flamed here but oh well.

I get the feeling that this is perfectly acceptable to be rude about religous people. From reading the threads on this forum, and my experiences in RL, the amount of rudeness and sometimes plain nastiness is awful.

I am religous. I don't care if people are not, if they go to church or how they live their own lives or raise their children. As far as I am concerned as long as you obey the law, do what you want.

So far I have seen people imply that all religous people are closing their childrens mind, are ignorant, bigots.... its horrible!

I don't deny that there are people who are that way and use religion as an excuse.... but quite frankly you can be ignorant and rude without religion.

I am being unreasonable to be offended, but it really bothers me that its culturally acceptable to be rude to and about people of faith. You wouldn't do it to someone from a different culture or race would you? I have never bothered anyone with my faith so please stop taking it as an insult!

(Just venting, been lambasted in RL for daring to buy my son a Noahs ark toy. I thought it was cute with all the animals etc... but apparently I am raising him to be ignorant, bigoted and stupid. He will hate gay people and women and generally be a horrible person.....apparently grrr Angry )

OP posts:
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6
Italiangreyhound · 22/03/2015 00:02

startrek90 sorry you have experienced so much rudeness. I have been lucky, but then I work for a Christian organisation and most of my friends are either vaguely interested in my faith or tolerant of it (if they do not share it).

But we all probably get rude comments sometimes, I used to post a lot more on mumsnet spiritual bit, but stopped because of all the bun throwing!

Pay it back with love, if you can! Or ignore.

Proverbs 25:21

Maybe your 'friend' got a Noah's ark toy when she or he wanted a Barbie!

The bottom line is that IMHO religious and non-religious people can be rude, but it is how we deal with it that will either build us up or tear us down. Do not let them get under your skin. Bless you.

Fanfeckintastic · 22/03/2015 00:11

It's not nice to be rude to the mentally ill, same thing.

GatoradeMeBitch · 22/03/2015 00:50

If people are polite to me, I'm polite back, if they're rude, condescending and overbearing, as far as I'm concerned I have every right to match that behaviour!

And I include as rude the people who bang on my door to ask me if I want to save myself from going to hell. And the American JW's who come over are very bad mannered. Once two of them blocked my path as I was trying to get the pram home in the pouring rain. They had umbrellas and just calmly stood there jabbering away at me and I had to physically go around them onto the wet grass. I hope they heard what I was muttering under my breath but they seemed drugged oblivious.

CheerfulYank · 22/03/2015 04:14

PMSL fan. Aren't you a treat. :o

CheerfulYank · 22/03/2015 04:17

I'm with you, Desperately, and have the same beliefs. :)

needaholidaynow · 22/03/2015 04:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

katese11 · 22/03/2015 07:58

I don't think YABU. There's a type of celebrity atheist that delights in provoking Christians, knowing that our religion tells us not to retaliate (I'm thinking of Gervais here)

Yes, horrific things have been done in the name of God but horrific things have also been done in the name of Britain. That doesn't mean I reject my britishness any more than I reject my Christianity. There are evil people in every country and belief system. It's just that in times and cultures when religiousness is the default then those evil people use religion as their justification.

antumbra · 22/03/2015 08:04

I have no problem being rude to religious people.

THey are usually arrogant, believe they know the truth, think they have a moral high ground. They force their faith to my children in chools,have burned and tortured women in public in my city, I am told I will burn in hell, that my children are sinners.
They peddle misogyny and homophobia, erode ancient cultures and have a suspect interest in sexuality and reproduction.

NYE2015 · 22/03/2015 08:15

Some horrible people will use any old excuse to be rude to others.

You won't ever stop that.

I disagree with atheist being rude to theist, AND vice versa. There's just no need.

We're all human, we all have a life battle, and it doesn't take much effort to disagree nicely.

Anyone who posted its ok to be rude because of different beliefs would soon sing a different tune when faced with a boss of different faith, because they'd want to please the boss.

Likewise, being rude to someone at work just because they have different beliefs would be considered bullying and death with appropriately. So they probably wouldn't do it there either. In fact, it does beg the question of how much cowardice is involved when being unnecessarily rude to others.

You can disagree politely.
You can voice your alternative views politely.
You can grow up and see the 'person' separately to their beliefs, politely.

Being rude is a choice and it is a choice without excuse.

Even a judge when sentencing the most horrific crimes ISN'T RUDE.

NYE2015 · 22/03/2015 08:16

"Considered bullying and DEALT with appropriately" - am sure death would be a bit extreme, Mr Autocorrect! Wink

Unescorted · 22/03/2015 08:41

Beleve what you want to believe, don't ask me to share those beliefs as you may be disapointed that my beliefs don't align with yours.

I do want to be rude to the individuals of the religious group who stand near the heating vent near Piccadilly Station.... the homeless people used to use it to get warm in the morning. By standing there to keep warm while you try to hand out pamphlets to unintrested commuters means that there are vulnerable people who will die in the cold weather. I haven't yet shouted, but on cold mornings I come close.

NYE2015 · 22/03/2015 08:49

Unescorted - couldn't you highlight this without being rude? You could be clear and informative, but keep your integrity at the same time.

If the homeless people aren't there when they show up, then they quite possibly don't even know what you do.

treeshine · 22/03/2015 08:54

I would never openly admit it to a person... but when I find out someone is religious I find it hard to have any respect for them at all. With how widely science information is available these days I struggle to understand how anyone with any grain of intelligence could worship a sky fairy... I mean God. I would never be rude or mention this to any god bothers... but they are not people I would want round my children tbh. IMO religious people are just stupid and deluded.

Unescorted · 22/03/2015 09:01

They do know - I have seen them turn up when there was someone sat on the ledge.

Koalafications · 22/03/2015 09:06

I have no problem being rude to religious people.

THey are usually arrogant, believe they know the truth, think they have a moral high ground. They force their faith to my children in chools,have burned and tortured women in public in my city, I am told I will burn in hell, that my children are sinners.
They peddle misogyny and homophobia, erode ancient cultures and have a suspect interest in sexuality and reproduction.

Where do you live?!

Whoishillgirl · 22/03/2015 09:10

Tree and others It doesn't matter how much you bang on about religious people being stupid the simple undeniable fact is that lots of clever people are religious and believe in God. Whether that fits your hypothesis or not. In fact, you are clearly being delusional if you insist on continuing to state religious people are stupid despite all the evidence to the contrary.

NYE2015 · 22/03/2015 09:11

If one person was sat on the edge, I take it they didn't trample on them as though they weren't there?

OneMagnumisneverenough · 22/03/2015 09:21

Do you have to be religious to buy a Noah 's ark? I'm an atheist and it wouldn't stop me. It's a good story. I wouldn't need to believe that trucks could talk etc to buy Bob the Builder toys.

I believe religion should be removed from schools, but unless they were knocking on my door then I tend to live and let live. Quite a lot of religious people tend to define themselves firstly by their faith and not by the fact that they are a person. Just because you believe in a god it doesn't make you a better person than someone who doesn't.

Hakluyt · 22/03/2015 09:24

"Do you have to be religious to buy a Noah 's ark? I'm an atheist and it wouldn't stop me. It's a good story"

I'm presuming you don't actually know the story?

stripytees · 22/03/2015 09:32

I'm only rude when Christians try to sell their religion to me. There are huge groups of them knocking on doors on my street every week and more at every bloody train station with their pamphlets. If they knock on my door and want to talk about God I will slam the door and tell them to never come back.

I think the problem is that so many religious people don't keep it to themselves but will want to change how other people whether that's on a personal or political level.

OneMagnumisneverenough · 22/03/2015 09:32

Yes I do know the story. I mean the simple sanitised version for kids about all the animals living on a big boat. There are a lot of good stories in the bible. The same as there are in other books that we adapt for children. The fact that it is nonsense and didn't happen is a bit irrelevant. Do you think that religious people concentrate on the wrath of god drowning millions of innocent people and animals when giving their child an Ark?

fredfredgeorgejnr · 22/03/2015 09:44

It's still a good story even with all the death and destruction, stories where everyone wins aren't that interesting. It's also a good story as it's a great place to start discussion about how normal physical events can influence stories. The same flood myth exists in so many religions.

Where religion is a wholly private thing, you have no right to be rude, judge-y or even think about them. Where it's used to judge others, impose will on others, then it is often bad, and like anyone who is being rude to you, it's okay to return the rudeness, but it's better not to.

Hakluyt · 22/03/2015 09:55

"Do you think that religious people concentrate on the wrath of god drowning millions of innocent people and animals when giving their child an Ark?"

No. But I expect them to give God a get out clause- they always do! Frankly if I were a Christian I would be campaigning for Noah's Arks to be banned. Of all the stories it seems to me to be the one most likely to create people who don't believe in God, or who certainly don't believe in a loving, fatherly Christian type God.

Unescorted · 22/03/2015 10:06

No they didn't - just stood right next to him. They probably haven't intentionally moved them on, my point is that they know it is a place where the homeless go to get warm and they continue to use it as a place to hand out leaflets. One of the of the homeless people who bums tabs off me have said they no longer go there and I have never seen anyone else there since the religious group set up shop.

QueenBean · 22/03/2015 10:11

I wouldn't be rude to someone's face about religion and would be respectful of their beliefs but as we are on an anonymous forum....

It's all such a load of crap isn't it. So many problems and troubles come out of religion for what is basically a load of made-up stuff for gods which don't exist. I genuinly can't understand how people believe in god and think that not working on the sabbath / fasting / not eating pork is going to make any difference

Just forget about this nonsense and get on with it