(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Addressing the Controversy over Beliefs, Religion, and Atheism on DKos [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-18 The freedom to make what you want of it without being told what to believe by others is a distinctly modern democratic freedom. For some weeks various diaries have appeared criticizing Religion, claiming that Religious beliefs are false, calling out those diaries for criticizing religion — or expressing love for all beliefs. Although it is distressing to see these diaries on Daily Kos, I think we all know why this has become such a big issue right now — with a Supreme court and many conservative politicians acting on the basis of religious beliefs to change laws in ways that harm the rest of us religion has become a political issue. These diaries are generating more diaries. Some of the diaries posted here over the last several days: I decided to write this diary because I believe there is a fundamental misconception involved that is leading many members of the DKos community, whose diaries I have been reading and respecting for many years, into a quagmire. We cannot solve this problem by writing more diaries about religion, or about loving all religion and atheism. We need to get to the root of the problem — which is that DKos is not a place to discuss belief. I would submit that the series of diaries and their comment threads stands as evidence of this. The problem is not belief, or whether belief is true or false, or whether belief is religious. No beliefs as beliefs are true. That is why they are called beliefs. Neither is the problem having beliefs. Beliefs are necessary. The problem is what people do on the basis of their beliefs. When they are motivated by beliefs to interfere in the lives of others — or to tell others what to think. When a persons’ beliefs motivate them to criticize the beliefs of others that is a problem — and that is what is happening on Daily Kos. The elements of the problem are 1) The claim that beliefs are either true of false, 2) The claim that beliefs are the problem, 3) The implication that false beliefs are the problem, 4) Overlooking the fact that it is what we do on the basis of beliefs that matters. Beliefs in themselves are neither true or false. That is why they are called beliefs. What a belief is about may be true or false. But beliefs are beliefs. That is why religious leaders talk about faith. To believe is an act of faith precisely because it involves belief in what cannot be known. Having beliefs is not the problem. Having beliefs is necessary. In order to sit in a chair, I must believe that the chair is a physical object that will hold my weight. I must believe in the chair. This is so obvious that most people take it for granted. But we can realize this by noting that we all experience some of what we call “optical illusions”. And, some people have a problem with their brains that makes them sometimes see things that are not there. They must learn when to believe that the chair they see is real and when to realize that it is not. Having false beliefs is not the problem. No beliefs are true. What a belief is about may be true or false. But the point is that we cannot know for sure which it is. Whether a belief is true or false is itself a matter of belief, of faith. The atheist who writes that the beliefs of others are false is expressing a belief. And I would agree with the comment by CameronProf to one of those diaries that it is a belief expressed in a Christian style — which is an interesting complication in its own right. What we do on the basis of beliefs is what matters. Beliefs can be used to unify communities. But, that only works well in communities that are not diverse. When we try to use beliefs to unify any community today (as conservatives are doing) it is inevitable that we alienate much of the community — because beliefs are no longer widely shared. That is why we have agreed as a modern nation of people in the US to leave each other’s beliefs alone. Which is again why the current political situation in which belief is being mixed in with politics is so upsetting. Everyone has the right to believe whatever they choose (not in every country but in the US this is a right). But they do not have a right to urge their beliefs on others. Even seeing so many diaries about belief on DKos is disturbing. I decided to write this diary because the confusion of beliefs with facts and true/false, and of science with beliefs is at the root of many divisions in contemporary politics — and as such it is disturbing to see this division replicating itself on Daily Kos. The belief that other people’s beliefs are false is itself a belief. The person who takes such a position and then declares that beliefs are the problem must accept that their own argument is also the expression of a belief. When we come together on DK to discuss life and politics, we primarily discuss commitments to action not to belief. In service of that action we also share personal experiences, which can include beliefs if they are necessary to tell the story — as I believe the diarist did in “Why I don’t Trust Religion”. But we should also keep in mind that any discussion of beliefs is in principle divisive in a diverse community like ours. We join as a community to express our commitment to making social life better for everyone, and to sharing recipes and stories about how to do that. We come together to listen to what people care about and try to understand and support their needs. It makes me happy to see some of the fundraising we do and how quickly money can be raised. We commit ourselves to expanding Civil Rights for all people and respecting their personhood. It is a mistake to think that this collective is based on shared beliefs. It is based on a shared commitment to democratic action. I must say that I have been confused that some members of the community think that when they share their beliefs here, those beliefs will not be offensive to Others, and, confused again when they are surprised and offended when others are offended by what they have written. Maybe we get along so well that people have begun to assume that we must share beliefs. This is not a belief-based community. We are not conservatives. This is an action-based community. It is a democratic community. Like the ideal of the US as a whole, it is a community that agrees to the principle that we can all have our own beliefs and that they are our own business. Beliefs are not true or false. They are important and personal. They should all be respected. If I choose to believe in the tooth fairy that would be my business. It may even turn out to be true. But the validity of that belief is not the issue. The point is that one person’s beliefs almost always offend the Other. Beliefs are best shared with other believers. That said, when some people put particular beliefs out in diaries, they should not be surprised that others in the community object to seeing those diaries. If an atheist member of the community has been confronted with dozens of diaries about religion, as they have been lately, it is not surprising that they finally post a diary attacking religion. If Jewish, Muslim, or Other religious members of the community are constantly confronted with Christian style diaries it is not surprising that they will begin to feel alienated and possibly “missionized”. It has sometimes felt that way to me. The solution is not to support those who write religious diaries or to attack the atheist. Loving everyone will not solve the problem. If writing an atheist diary is religion shaming, as one diarist whom I very much respect wrote, then writing a religious diary is also Other shaming. The solution is to stop writing diaries about our personal beliefs. We should, however, continue to write diaries about cases where beliefs are interfering with freedom of practice — as in diaries about members of the military being forced to worship in particular ways — or about how beliefs are being used to justify legal and legislative decisions. Those are important diaries about freedom. E pluribus unum. 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