Why do you allow people to attack and ridicule Christianity?

[Singersong]

Time and time again I see people taking the absolute piss out of Christianity. Calling people delusional and saying it's made up bullshit etc. why do you allow this? I don't see this about any other religion.

It goes far beyond atheism and you claim to be against hate speech.

I agree, I think people attack Christian beliefs in a way they wouldn't dare other religions.

On MN people fall overthemsleves to be super inclusive of all other cultures, but that's it, when people talk about Muslims and Jews, they're really talking about the culture/traditions not the beliefs.

What has someone's colour got to do with Islam? And why do you assume everyone who is brown are Muslims?

Absolutely. It’s all just all a different version of the same fairytale.

I have also seen this especially around Easter/Christmas. There is lots of scoffing, some of it quite offensive, around the religious beliefs behind those celebrations which is not quite so much in evidence around the festivals of other religions.

I was brought up Christian.

Then I realised that there are lots of other religions too. And everyone believes they are right which means MOST of them are wrong! And, given the number of religions, it's statistically very likely that it is your religion that is wrong (because if there's say 15 religions then there's only a 1 in 15 chance you are right) This massively changed my views.

I think all religions take criticism though. I don't think it's specific to one.

@Rainydayinlondon "I have also seen this especially around Easter/Christmas. There is lots of scoffing, some of it quite offensive, around the religious beliefs behind those celebrations which is not quite so much in evidence around the festivals of other religions."

That is presumably because in the UK Christmas and Easter are for very many, perhaps a majority of people secular celebrations with Christian roots. (Please nobody go on about them being originally Pagan, which is true but tedious). I know that many culturally Jewish people regard their festivals similarly. I don't know whether there are Muslims that feel the same way. The point is that neither Jewish or Muslim festivals are part of majority UK society. Christmas and Easter are.

@labtest57 She expressed her anger and annoyance via that opinion, and those who talk about sky fairies do the same. You cannot and should not police people expressing their ideas. You don’t have to like it.

People generally view all relgions equally if they have a logical mind. You're probably just sensitive to Christianity being mentioned if you believe in it.
To try and understand why, imagine how you'd feel about an adult believing in santa still. It's hard to fathom how it's even possible to believe.

What do you mean? Easter and Christmas ARE the festivals of other religions, they didn't even bother to change the name of Easter!

Christians are always quick to say 'well I bet you celebrate Easter/Christmas' like most of the traditions at that time of the year are ANYTHING to do with Christianity. No wonder we scoff.

Direct those questions to the people that make the comments. I’m not the one making those assumptions 🙄

There was a post a while back about someone who was a professed Christian and because of their colour (brown!) and ethnicity people were still saying they must have converted.

Maybe OP should read other people’s experiences and stop being ignorant to them of course this (wrongly) happens to all religions.

Im sorry to read all the above, some people are just awful!

It's absolutely fine to say that the Torah and Quran are fictional and that you think the belief system is misguided and deeply problematic. All three Abrahamic religions have deep roots in misogyny which deserve to be called out wherever they are perpetuated, for one. There are also mad inconsistencies within each holy text and it's fine to point that out. Some people will take offence, sure, but it's entirely reasonable to examine and question belief systems.

Where it's not ok is to say that Jews control the media, or that Muslims are terrorist rapists, or that Catholics endorse paedophilia. Some people do say those things, those people are bigoted arses.

It gets muddier, of course, that as well as Judaism being a religion, being Jewish is a recognised ethnicity, just as in the U.K. being Muslim is heavily associated with certain ethnicities, tying up religion with race in a way that isn't true for Christianity.

The success of Christianity being so heavily tied to colonialism and European expansion is that there is no real racial or ethnic correlation with Christianity, because of its broad geographical base.

The first part of your post re Schools and Religion

Way back in the early 80s I was at a Catholic Secondary and (I think in the 4th Year, now Year 10) we started to learn of other religions and their Religious Holidays and Festivals etc
I found it really interesting and, to my complete shock, got a Grade 1 in CSE Religion

Can we please give this "the UK is a Christian country" stuff a rest?

It is not.

Christianity is the single largest religion, but it's barely 50% of the population claiming to actually be Christians, the State is secular for the most part, and being the single largest religion does not grant Christians any right whatsoever to claim hegemony over the entirety of the UK. The Monarch is no longer "defender of the faith", singular, so even the Crown has woken up to the fact the UK is not "a Christian country".

And Christians wonder why they continuously get on everyone else's nerves and then go bleating about being told to take a hike?

There is no longer any such offence in Scotland.

We are a Christian country though. We have a state religion, the Church of England, the monarch is head. Only about 25% of countries in the world have a state religion and we unfortunately are one of them hence the indoctrination in schools and other areas of life where Christianity should have no business.

I believe that culturally is is - mainly.

We celebrate Christmas and Easter.

We are a Christian country, no matter how many follow that Religion. Our Monarch is the head of the Church of England and by law that makes the UK a Christian country.

You left out 'sky fairy'. My absolute number 1 hated phrase where religion is concerned. So bloody goady.

@Singersong "How is it you think that they shouldn't do a nativity play"

I have no problem with nativity plays. Does anyone?

I am not Christian but I think considering our entire cultural, social, legal and political history and more is deeply embedded and intertwined within Christianity it's really silly to be so disparaging of it. It's worthy of respect whatever your views.

Why though? Respect in what sense? If you think gods are made up, it would seem odd to be a fan of your laws and society having been based on them. I find religions fascinating from a cultural and psychological perspective, and I understand and appreciate why humans created then and why many still follow them, and I don't hate religious people ir think they must be stupid, but I don't have any respect for the religions or beliefs themselves.

My children attend a multi denomination school.

Over 16 years in total of school winter plays we have managed to have a wonderful winter themed play without a nativity.Amazingly no one fainted at them.

Every year there is usually a parent in junior infants who arrives and is shocked that their precious child won't get to do a nativity.

Completely ignorant it is a multidenominational school that usually 70,% of the children are not Catholic.🤦‍♀️ No other religion represented have ever asked for anything, only the Catholic cohort, who have a choice of 90% Catholic schools.

Really? Thanks for the correction. Some progress at least.

That's going to be fascinating hearing for the majority of the countries with the most Christians.

At any rate, misrepresentation isn't a great look. I didn't say that mocking Islam made a person racist - I simply pointed out that in the UK, Islam is heavily associated with certain ethnicities. You might want to have a read of the first paragraphs of my post where I draw a distinction between being critical of religions and being offensive about followers of those religions.