Musings on Religion

It seems to be a general consensus among the online communities I observe or take part in that religions are very unpopular and you are more likely to avoid conflict if you're an atheist. When I first started playing games online, I was around 11 years old and had never encountered anyone really being aggressive about their beliefs.  I wasn't forced to go to church, but I considered myself Christian at the time. No one had ever tried to tell me that Christianity was the only good religion, or in reverse that it was terrible.

When I started playing online, though, I noticed a difference.  It wasn't too often that I told people over the internet about my religion, of course, but making friends online occasionally leads to curious questioning, and I saw no reason to lie about it. I was surprised to see how hated Christianity was amongst most people I talked to at the time. Nearly every person I met while playing Warcraft III claimed to be atheist, and several of them found the need to insult me after asking if I believed in a god. 

I maintained my religious stance, however, and many of the people who I talked to online seemed surprised that I didn't care if someone had a different belief.  I remember one kid specifically saying he thought I was the only Christian he'd ever get along with. I really didn't understand why it was such a big deal since I had never met the people who go around trying to force their religion on you. Even now, I can only say I've encountered a small handful of people who act like that, whereas I've encountered many times more who blindly attack religion. [The popular argument that you have to be stupid to believe in some invisible deity watching over everything remains.]

Religion has been a big conflict starter throughout history, certainly, but it baffles me to see how so many people freak out over the issue still, whether in support of a certain belief or against one. Since I've pretty much been living socially online for a long time now, I've heard a lot of different viewpoints from a lot of different people.  My views have changed somewhat over the years. With something like religion, it's really impossible to prove your point to anyone else.  The primary basis of most religions is FAITH, and that's something that's impossible to give to someone.  [Because of this, I think organized religion is a bit silly.  It limits a person's exposure and often encourages false faith.] Still, I believe there's a god but I'm not going to claim to know anything about him, nor am I going to ask others to believe as I do.

It still bothers me a bit to see people attacking religion so harshly online, if only because they either think that they're better for not believing in anything or they think they've been wronged and deserve to be hostile to others because of it.

"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe. Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide, either way, one's a fool."  -Flemeth, Dragon Age: Origins