Anti-Religious Trolling On Mumsnet

[DioneTheDiabolist]

I get that not everyone is religious and that some people are very anti-religious (some with good reasons).

But some MNetters are religious, others are simply curious. So how come so many threads are allowed to be derailed by anti-religious trolls? Today a thread about Good Friday was deleted because a troll came on. FFS, it's Easter! Threads about Islam are regularly derailed by Islamophobes. On a thread seeking information on Judaism in the Philosophy & Religion topic, a troll has posted LMFAO. Ok, serious question, why does the Jewish God make all men wear a funny beards? She continues venting for a few posts before eventually exiting the thread saying that she is on drugs because It's Easter, party time.

She is a MN regular, like most of the anti-religious trolls here. I have reported her posts but they still stand.

Trolls are not interested in knowing what other people think or believe. They have no desire to discuss the point of actual threads and rarely start threads of their own regarding their issues with religion or belief. They just derail threads in the hope of driving all talk of religion and different beliefs off MN. And they are succeeding.

Why are MNHQ allowing this to happen? Deleting threads instead of dealing with posters? Allowing blatant anti-religious trolling to derail threads that people may find supportive or informative? Is MN a religion free zone? Because if it is, that's ok. I just think that religious posters should be told. Then they can go elsewhere if they wish to discuss their beliefs.

[Badoodle]

I do agree with that, Bo, actually.

I'm just an atheist because I dont believe in God or religion. I've never read Dawkins et al.

[HelpfulChap]

I'm not religious but I would never belittle anyone else's beliefs. In some ways I envy people that have complete belief in their god. It might be quite nice to have an epiphany.

I do have friends that have found god and it has changed their lives around for the better.

[capsium]

How do you all feel about a thread being started specifically to berate a specific poster (ie me)?

Sad, that it should come to this. Embarrassment if it were myself involved. I would have hoped to resolve any issues but it is not always that easy.

[OrlandaFuriosa]

Dione, thanks for this thread which I think is making a general point.

Oh fuck, I know some people believe that illness or disaster is brought on you by lack if faith, and I'm really sorry that you ( and others) underwent this. At a minimum it is insensitive at a bad time.

On the evangelism, I think it's much harder. For several reasons. One is that if you do think that someone is going to go to hell if they don't believe, then you want to give them as many chances as possible. I have friends, Catholic and Muslim and Protestant who are lovingly and truly worried about my lack of state of grace and forgiveness not want to see me burn in eternity, or whatever.

But actually, I don't like prosetalising in any form. And I object to it in politics as much as religion. Do you object to getting political tracts - for so they be- as much as religious ones?

And I too found some of your statements offensive.

So we just need to be sensitive to our use of language.

[lottielou7]

The OP is absolutely right - these posters have an agenda to shut down conversations about belief and religion by ruining the threads repeatedly so that people don't feel like starting them any more. And it's working and it should not be allowed to happen.

[7Days]

No, people having conversations that dont concern you is part of life. Thats what needs to be sucked up.
People making remarks about personal tragedies, or larger conversations about secularism is of course different.
Does that really need to be said?

[capsium]

I was talking generally, Ohfuckaducky, that wasn't meant to refer to you. Just to clarify, generally, that I don't believe everything I'm told but that I can believe someone is telling me the truth, as they see it, that is they are not deliberately lying to me, even if their account is fantastical.

[SagaAndMartinsLiftConvos]

But I have still been told that, as I said, I must have no sense of wonder, not impulse to charity and no moral compass

Yes, well, this is so patently silly as to be laughable. This atheist has spent a decent chunk of her adult life looking around at the world and the universe and the nobility and savagery of us humans and wondering just what the fuck it's all about

I dunno, I think when I see it espoused that religion is a prerequisite for metaphysical or moral ponderings I find it more of a bizarre idea than an offensive one!

[SurferJet]

Me too helpfulchap, I have friends whose lives have literally been saved by religion ( addict friend who was put in touch with Church of England & has now fully recovered ) there are amazing people doing amazing work within our churches.

[7Days]

No its because you were rude and offensive.

[7Days]

Its not 'ok' but that is the reason

[lottielou7]

You're not a troll if you don't have faith.

You ARE a troll if you post on a thread in a disingenuous manner when your aim is to vandalise and derail the thread, dressed up as 'concern' for others.

[capsium]

^and generally some people do deliberately lie (even from their own understanding). Again not in particular reference to you Ohfuckaducky.

[VulcanWoman]

You will have to learn to suck it up fucky without throwing your rattle out of the pram. That works both ways.

[BertrandRussell]

"But actually, I don't like prosetalising in any form. And I object to it in politics as much as religion. Do you object to getting political tracts - for so they be- as much as religious ones? "

Completely different. If I am going to vote for someone who will form part of the government of the country I need to know what they stand for and what they will do if elected.

[OrlandaFuriosa]

Not different if they insist on coming to talk to you, won't take no for an answer , behave as though you have no ethical standards/ no morality if you don't agree with them.

If they just dump things through the door, I have no problem.

If they go further, along the lines above, I have a serious problem.


I get it from both right and left.

[DawnMumsnet]

Morning all, morning Dione, many thanks for starting this thread.

We really don't want this to turn into a thread about other specific threads, so if we can just get a couple of issues out of the way, we can return to the OP's points.

Firstly, we've dealt with the troll posts on the Judaism thread and escorted that poster from the site. We're sorry if anyone (hmcAsWas , we think it was you who said you're waiting for a reply) hasn't heard back from us. Some of you may be aware that we're having a bit of trouble with our Reports system these past few days, and some reports just aren't making it into our in-tray. It's hugely frustrating for everyone - our Tech team are on the case, but in the meantime we're really sorry if anyone hasn't heard back from us.

Secondly, with regards the thread started in Chat yesterday ('Do you do anything special at 3 today') - we did ask if the OP wanted to change the thread title, and offered to move it to our Philosophy/Religion topic, but in the end we felt that because it had gone so far off the tracks, it was probably better all round for us to delete it so that the OP could start a new thread. The OP agreed with this course of action and a new thread got started (by another poster) which has run smoothly.

[SleepyForest]

I think calling people who disagree with you "trolls" is a cheap way to silence a debate.

I would like more free speech , not less. I am very worried about the urge to protect religion from ridicule. Faith needs ridicule to prevent extremists.

[SurferJet]

Would this be allowed on a thread about feminism though? A thread gets started & I crash in saying feminism is a load of rubbish, & anyone who believes in it deserves all the ridicule they get ( & I post & post & post - repeating the same thing over & over again ) would that be ok?