No, I'm not about to request suggestions!
As this is a forum full of role players, I thought we might be able to get creative about the question I'm about to ask without getting all touchy and argumentative, and come up with some interesting discussion. So here goes: If you were ever to find religion, or switch religions, which would it be? Or, if you already have, please share! (Let's focus on what you switched to though, rather than what you were previously. Stay positive, and all!)
One of the big 3 westerns?
One of the big easterns?
A non-mainstream religion?
A personal non-organized religion?
Or would you figure that once was enough, and go atheist/agnostic?
"I can't imagine myself ever changing" is not a valid answer.
I'm agnostic myself, or atheist, depending on how many religiously-motivated horror stories I've heard lately. If I were to find religion, it'd either be Buddhism for the community and the message; or it'd be some personalized faith. The thought of some benevolent dude watching us from above is a comforting one, but I'd have to believe that his power in the living world is slim to nil. After this life, though, who knows...
End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass...and then you see it.
...White shores; and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.
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No, I'm not about to request suggestions!
As this is a forum full of role players, I thought we might be able to get creative about the question I'm about to ask without getting all touchy and argumentative.
I wish you luck, What I believe is that you will have much more success in OTD than one of the big three forums and by that I mean advice, rules and suggestions
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Here is the Golarion Union of Murderhoboes for the Betterment of Others, GUMBO's, official response to your question. No further comment.
Sincerely,
~Jaspar "Shank Him Louis" Kahrdboordebachs~
your local GUMBO representative
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I am firmly atheist. I consider religion something that (usually sadly) happens to others. Now, I certainly can't prove God doesn't exist... but I don't need to. Everyone can believe what they want... but as soon as the people who choose to believe in God start telling me what to do, that is far enough. I don't have to believe in their God, any other god, the tooth fairy, or Santa Claus. If they try to shape society to fit them to the detriment of others, they become the enemy, same as everyone else who does the same thing.
No. I don't figure I'll become religious anytime soon. If I were to find a religion that respected the human intellect, freedom as a vital concept in human interrelations, did not try to impose their morality on others, and was okay with not saying lots of humbug every week, I could consider joining it on non-religious grounds. It would be a bit difficult, perhaps, to call it a religion at that point, however.
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Like Sissyl I am atheist. I like to explain why in an example I dubbed: The King of Kamchatka". Goes like this:
Let's say you and I are stuck in a room with no internet access and no cell reception. Basically - we have no way to contact anyone.
Now I ask you, "say, is there a king in Kamchatka?". Since both of us probably know very little of the place, and neither of us know anything about possible kings there, I would accept both "yes" or "no" as an answer (though personally I would have just gone with "I haven't got a clue"). However, an answer that I would find absurd is, "Of course there is! He is 74 years old, sire to 7 children, loves to play basketball and is secretly cultivating an elite army of ninjas to one day take over Russia!". Hopefully everyone agrees that if both of us have no reliable way to know anything about even the existence of the king of Kamchatka, presuming to know details about him is ludicrous.
What does this have to do with organized religion? well, everything, really. The entire human race has no certain way of telling of the creation of the universe had an invisible guiding intelligence or not. Just like in the example we didn't know id Kamchatka has a king. So it's acceptable to think that there is an omnipotent, all powerful magician responsible for the creation of the universe, and it's also reasonable to think that there isn't. But really, both options are guesses and the only entirely accurate thing we can say is that we can't know for sure.
But organized religion? based on some seriously flimsy evidence (and a *lot* of a-priory assumptions), they claim to know so many details about God that I think there's basically a zero chance that they got most of it right, if indeed a god exists. Never mind that even in their holy text there is constant need of updating, debating and shifting interpretations over the years, meaning that even if the holy books somehow are holy texts from a God, we obviously don't know how to interpret them correctly and are basing our traditions on guesswork.
So if I ever find faith there's no way in hack it's going to be through any of the established religions. Personally though... the existence of a god seems too much like a human's fancy. I reckon if there was a supreme intelligence, by this point we would have seen some telltale marks of it. I mean, if there is a God, wouldn't we have seen, just *once* in the past few hundred very well recorded years of history, some sort of *actual* evidence of it's existence? just one, single, undisputed sign is really all it would have taken, and yet none occurred. In that breadth of time we figured out ways to fly and communicate and calculate with instant speeds. We sent probes outside of our solar system and landed humans on our moons. We reached the bottom of the sea and cataloged most of the living species not only in our time but in the entire billions of years that life existed on our earth. We founded nations and built amazingly huge structures and composed music and wrote books and figured out how sub atomic particles work... and during all that length of time (and not for lack of trying!) we found nothing. We are able to observe the smallest particles in the universe exploding against each other, but we couldn't find a single piece of evidence that there's a god. I don't know. That causes some serious doubts as far as I'm concerned. I don't believe in Bigfoot, dragons, or that aliens aided the ancient Egyptians to build their fancy triangles. I can't see how believing in an established god is all that different, except maybe that it's a far more popular belief.
That's my outlook, anyway. As I said, I can't fault people for choosing to believe otherwise since the choice is mostly arbitrary.
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I'm completely the opposite of the two posters above - staunchly religious. Christian to be precise, and not of the liberal variety.
If something drastic enough were to happen to cause me to change my beliefs, I'd either drop them completely or go for something like Discordianism where what you do really doesn't matter. (And Discordianism is funny, what can I say.)
However, I can't see that happening.
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My atheist Arab terrorist friend once told me that of all the world's religions, only Buddhism started out with something that is true: All life is suffering. He further went on to say that Buddhism quickly degenerated truth-wise after that first statement, but it was a start.
All religions sound good in the elevator pitch.
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If I were to convert to a religion (I'm atheist, by the way), I'd choose Buddhism; I'd be the kind of Buddhist I've routinely met over my lifetime, philosophical about the whole thing.
I thought it might be helpful to list some concerns, with regard to religion. These are things that would keep me away:
-Believers are so fanatical they are willing to murder a person for disagreeing or not believing.
::By this I mean that a faith's followers are so indoctrinated that they are certain all others not of their faith are literally not worthy of living; that they are literally to be murdered, or at least that murdering them is in accordance with the belief system, and so even if not required such an action is perfectly laudable.
-Religious beliefs are key in developing laws, which are strictly subjectively moral in nature rather than communally necessary for the maintenance of good order.
::For example, I would steer away from a religion that disallowed scientific research into the nature of the universe. That's broad, I know, so let's be very precise--I'd steer away from a religion that ascribed such worth to human remains as to make illegal scientific and medical research of stem cells.
A couple of concerns I have with regard to the complex of religion:
-Followers actual espoused beliefs are not in-line with the religion's specific doctrine.
::For example, the average Christian on the street in the USA, when asked to describe Heaven, unfolds a picture of absolute earthly beauty and magnificence. They will describe streets of gold, mansions for everyone, eternal sunshine, perfect weather, all the food and drink anyone could ever want, and, of course, reunion with loved ones. In fact, the Bible very specifically disabuses this when Christ describes Heaven--it is simply existing in the presence of God; there are no manifestations or phantasms of the material world, and you will not, per se, meet your loved ones; you will not recognize your loved ones and they will not recognize you. Furthermore, the Bible tells the reader that only a handful of humans have immediately ascended to Heaven upon death, most of them the Patrons and prophets; so little Susan, who tragically died at the age of 9, according to Scripture, is not in heaven with the angels. Rather, she's buried in the ground and awaiting the return of Christ, whereupon she will be risen from the dead to fight the 'Final Battle of Heaven', etc. etc.
-Religion provides strictures for the conduct of ones life, wherein such rules are not logical for the reasonable conduct of ones life.
::For example, men may not shave, or women must cover their heads, or you can't eat bacon on Thursday, or wear cotton and wool at the same time.
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My atheist Arab terrorist friend once told me that of all the world's religions, only Buddhism started out with something that is true: All life is suffering. He further went on to say that Buddhism quickly degenerated truth-wise after that first statement, but it was a start.
I heard it once, but could never find the source to reference it properly, but there is a story about the Buddha that I like a lot. Originally he had his enlightenment, his epiphany of how to improve the human condition. He went out and tried to teach it to people, but no one believed him. So he added this amazing story of his background and the hordes of demons trying to tempt him during his meditation under the tree. Then he was able to gather quite a few students.
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I am with Andrew above, I like a lot of the Philosophy in Buddhism, I would if I could head towards the Ancient Greek schools of Philosophy, a lot of them have ideas I like as well.
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I was raised Roman Catholic but as I grew older I have developed my own personalized non-organized religion veiw. I generally respect other religions and firmly believe that ones religion is a personal matter.
Since my religion is personalized and adaptable to my mistakes I really don't see it changing.
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For me it was a combination of Zen Buddhism (more ideas and writings, not the meditation) and Douglas Adams that formed my atheism. Finding the absurd within reality and digging deeper to find the essence and truth of a thing became important concepts for me.
A zen mondo to illustrate:
Pai-chang wished to send a monk to open a new monastery. He told his pupils that whoever answered a question most ably would be appointed. Placing a water jug on the ground, he asked, "Who can say what this is without calling its name?"
The head Monk said, "No one can call it a wooden sandal."
Kuei-shan, the cooking monk, tipped over the jug with his foot and went out. Pai-chang laughed and said: "The head monk loses." And Kuei-shan became the head Master of the new monastery.
A zen mondo to illustrate:
Pai-chang wished to send a monk to open a new monastery. He told his pupils that whoever answered a question most ably would be appointed. Placing a water jug on the ground, he asked, "Who can say what this is without calling its name?"
The head Monk said, "No one can call it a wooden sandal."
Kuei-shan, the cooking monk, tipped over the jug with his foot and went out. Pai-chang laughed and said: "The head monk loses." And Kuei-shan became the head Master of the new monastery.
This sounds like a story from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, a very not-children's book that I grew up with. Like the one about making the sound of one hand clapping -- I still don't really understand that one, but great stuff!
No. I don't figure I'll become religious anytime soon. If I were to find a religion that respected the human intellect, freedom as a vital concept in human interrelations, did not try to impose their morality on others, and was okay with not saying lots of humbug every week, I could consider joining it on non-religious grounds. It would be a bit difficult, perhaps, to call it a religion at that point, however.
There are people who are part of religious communities, without really troubling with the other stuff, so for the purpose of this thread I'd say we can call your hypothetical thing a religion. :) Besides, even the theologians have a hard time agreeing on what exactly religion means.
If something drastic enough were to happen to cause me to change my beliefs, I'd either drop them completely or go for something like Discordianism where what you do really doesn't matter. (And Discordianism is funny, what can I say.)
Wow, it's all or nothing for Orthos!
...Not a criticism, by the way; you're getting into your character. ;)
I am with Andrew above, I like a lot of the Philosophy in Buddhism, I would if I could head towards the Ancient Greek schools of Philosophy, a lot of them have ideas I like as well.
...Party hearty? ;)
I was raised Roman Catholic but as I grew older I have developed my own personalized non-organized religion veiw.
Mind giving us the highlights?
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I'm a Roman Apostolic Catholic, and I think you could classify me as staunchly religious; my faith has had its ups and downs (including a very critical period during my early 20's, when I was essentially an agnostic), but after every crisis of faith I've had, I've ended up even more intertwined with it.
I find solace in my faith, I find illumination, I find a sense of awe, I find intellectual stimulation and, more than anything, I find trust, hope, and this odd, often indescribable sensation I can only describe as joy.
I also have great appreciation for the mundane, non-transcendental aspects of my Catholic faith. The endlessness of its complex structure and tradition, its monumental history and culture, its darks and its lights. There is so much depth and meaning in every ritual and concept, there is such a magnificent work of theology and thought, and there is such an immense ocean of both diversity and unity, that I know I will never get to know everything about it. The mysteries of Holy Mother Church never cease to amaze me.
Now, if you ask me now, I think I would have to say I will be a Catholic forever. But I can't see the future, so I can't speak for the future me nor for his faith. If for some reason I am no longer a Catholic in the future, where I'd end up would depend on why I stopped being a Catholic in the first place; if it was because of mundane differences, then I would likely end in another Christian denomination of Chalcedonian-Dyophysite persuasion. If the differences were of a transcendental nature, I would either end up in a Gnostic branch of Christianity or as a non-denominational gnostic.
While there is always the possibility of the future me losing all faith in the divine and transcendental, I think I'm simply too inclined to dwell in the spiritual and see far too much value in religion to permanently change into a full-fledged atheist. Buddhism is also a bit too far off from my mental structure to be a viable option, I think (not to say I don't agree with several of its points, though. In general, I find great value and wisdom in essentially every religion I've been able to study in depth).
This sounds like a story from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, a very not-children's book that I grew up with. Like the one about making the sound of one hand clapping -- I still don't really understand that one, but great stuff!A zen mondo to illustrate:
Pai-chang wished to send a monk to open a new monastery. He told his pupils that whoever answered a question most ably would be appointed. Placing a water jug on the ground, he asked, "Who can say what this is without calling its name?"
The head Monk said, "No one can call it a wooden sandal."
Kuei-shan, the cooking monk, tipped over the jug with his foot and went out. Pai-chang laughed and said: "The head monk loses." And Kuei-shan became the head Master of the new monastery.
There are lots of books with this and other old zen sayings. Mine was The Little Zen Companion, given to me in my teenage years, I kept it with me while I was in the Navy but lost it at some point during many, many moves. It basically became my own personal bible... along with H2G2 (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).
The trick to Zen isn't about finding the solution, it's letting it change how you think about the problem.
I'm considering Haruhiism. :P
Actually, I went on a search to find the religion that was right for me, in my early teens. Started reading up on every religion I could find, and talking to people when possible. I've long since called off the search, but I continue to enjoy learning about various faiths, and I enjoy speaking with the faithful even more now. Although now my purpose isn't to find out what they believe, but rather why they believe.
I'm always intensely curious if others have put any questioning or thought into their beliefs. Even if I don't agree with the conclusions they reached, I respect someone who can think critically about such a personal and potentially significant thing.
Like others have posted, I don't foresee myself switching (to) religion anytime soon, and I am a fairly staunch atheist.
I do find, from a "Religion viewed as literature" perspective, certain aspects of certain faiths interesting.
I quite enjoy the Christian story of the Fall, and the cosmology around the Garden, Angels, etc.
I think Buddhist/Hindu concepts of reincarnation are interesting.
Ragnarok is pretty badass as far as apocalyptic myths go.
and the fallible and morally dubious nature of Greek Gods is also interesting.
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You should worship me. It's OJ/Vodka screw-drivers for everyone and the Las Vegas life-style.
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I'm considering Haruhiism. :P
Actually, I went on a search to find the religion that was right for me, in my early teens. Started reading up on every religion I could find, and talking to people when possible. I've long since called off the search, but I continue to enjoy learning about various faiths, and I enjoy speaking with the faithful even more now. Although now my purpose isn't to find out what they believe, but rather why they believe.
I'm always intensely curious if others have put any questioning or thought into their beliefs. Even if I don't agree with the conclusions they reached, I respect someone who can think critically about such a personal and potentially significant thing.
I try not to question if anyone is of the right religion but i do always wonder how many reach those beliefs through a personal journey and how many just do what mommy did.
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I try not to question if anyone is of the right religion but i do always wonder how many reach those beliefs through a personal journey and how many just do what mommy did.
By far the greatest indicator of religiosity is the religiosity of one's parents. A huge majority just do what their parents did. I used to have some hard numbers on this, but I have lost them. :-(
Even without numbers, it is easy to figure out just from observation. Christians account for 32% of the global population, Muslims 23%, and Hindus 15%, but there aren't major changes within populations toward these numbers each generation. Children raised in Muslim countries tend toward Islam and children raised in Christian nations tend to Christianity.
I was raised Roman Catholic but as I grew older I have developed my own personalized non-organized religion veiw.Mind giving us the highlights?
Sorry been busy I will when I get a chance during the week.
Not really religious or spiritual. Though I've shied away from atheism, since the majority of the atheists I know are becoming the very "in-your-face, militant" type of people that caused me to leave Catholicism in the first place. If I had to choose a religion, it'd probably be Buddhism or LaVeyan Satanism.
Generally though, I have a bleak world-view that either pushes me to optimism or pessimism.
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Militant is what atheists who don't accept the rightness of religious people not to have religion criticized get called. Forgive me if I don't take that seriously.
There's a difference between criticizing and being a jerk. I'm all for pointing out the flaws in a system to make things better. But when people go out of their way to belittle those that do have faith that have done no wrong, that's when I cringe. And unfortunately, the majority of my atheist acquaintances fit into that category. So I've since disassociated with the movement and just give the people around me respect, religious or not.
If I really had a religion or belief, it'd be summed up in four short words; "Don't be a dick."
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In very related news, Ireland passed laws some time ago that made it illegal, punishable by fines up to 150.000 euros (I think), to publish anything that was blasphemous.
Yeah. I would say some sort of counter-force is excessively necessary today. And every faithful believes they did nothing wrong - all they did was in accordance with God's wishes.
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Ah, I had a thought some time back about founding a religion. It would be sharply designed to take as much space as possible from others interacting with the faithful. Particularly, it would require dozens of different adaptations in the workplace, set up a chaotic schedule for them, and so on - leaving them free to sue for harassment on religious grounds if the environment did not adapt. It would, of course, eventually end up with a decision that either it's not a real religion - and could be stripped of that status, opening for the same for other religions, or that adaptation to people's religion is not a necessity.
I was thinking that obstructionism would be a good name for it. I eventually decided that it was too much work to make a point that is plain for everyone to see already.
I try not to question if anyone is of the right religion but i do always wonder how many reach those beliefs through a personal journey and how many just do what mommy did.I'm considering Haruhiism. :P
Actually, I went on a search to find the religion that was right for me, in my early teens. Started reading up on every religion I could find, and talking to people when possible. I've long since called off the search, but I continue to enjoy learning about various faiths, and I enjoy speaking with the faithful even more now. Although now my purpose isn't to find out what they believe, but rather why they believe.
I'm always intensely curious if others have put any questioning or thought into their beliefs. Even if I don't agree with the conclusions they reached, I respect someone who can think critically about such a personal and potentially significant thing.
I'm always disappointed when I find that to be the case. Are beliefs truly yours if you accept them wholesale from another without question?
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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I'm Protestant (Presbyterian). I'd be a Jew if Jesus wasn't so compelling. There are a lot of things to appreciate about Judaism. There's a very existential strain in, say, Ecclesiastes that really strikes a chord with me.
On the other hand, there's also something very compelling about classical paganism. If I gave into my baser desires, I might wind up as something very similar to the narrator in Swinburne's "Dolores," a kind of hedonistic, nihilistic Aphrodite-worshipper. Not sure if that's the kind of religion one professes; seems rather more of a practical matter that you hope no one finds out about.
I get the impression that some people kinda regard a religion like a fashion accessory. "People will think I'm a jerk if I profess this, people will think I'm deep if I profess that."
Maybe in the future religious hipsterism will be the vogue. "I was an Aghori before it went mainstream, but now I'm really into Neoplatonism."
I dunno if Aphrodite-worshiping and nihilist are really compatible, to be honest...
I'm with Sissyl and Lord Snow.
Atheism is just the conclusion to me. Before i ask "Which god?" i have to ask "god?" and the answer to that is "no". Or rather "no, why are you even asking?"
In my eyes the only reason any religious mythos sounds any more reasonable to modern ears than, say invisible, intangible purple gremlins sitting on everyones heads making fun of them all the time, is that the former has been around for so long and is so ingrained in human culture that people think it has any merit as a documentation of anything even remotely true. But the advancement of science has proven most of it wrong to a point where there is no reason to honestly believe in the few remains that have not yet been proven wrong.
The problem i have with atheism is that there is a word for it. It makes people think that atheism is some sort of organization, when really all it means is "doesn't believe in god(s)".
Odraude is a great example, people don't want to call themselves atheists because they think that associates them somehow with a group of people they don't want to belong to, when there isn't actually a group.
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I consider all organized religion no different than political parties. Men with power coercing their followers to gather greater power to them.
A relationship with God is personal and not at all dependent on the trappings others have built around theirs. I walked from my confirmation at 16 and haven't been back since. If I were to go back it would be for the community and relationships that can be forged there, not for the worship.
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Yeah. I would say some sort of counter-force is excessively necessary today. And every faithful believes they did nothing wrong - all they did was in accordance with God's wishes.
Except that being a jerk and actively mocking a person for their beliefs is not a counter force to anything. It's just being a jerk.
While I am quite the staunch non believer, and think most of the religious mindset is based on not thinking too seriously on what you are saying/doing, I am fully capable of judging each person on their own merit, regardless of their faith.
A real counter force to the close mindedness of religion would be to *always* be willing to talk rationally, and explain why us atheists think as we do. Of course this comes from a an idealistic idea that I have, that most people can, given the chance, be persuaded to think for themselves. This might be wrong.
I'm kinda ashamed it took me so long to remember this Musical Interlude
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It might be. Religion is a powerful force in the lives of the faithful, often the most central piece of their identity and sense of self-worth. I agree that people should not be mocked. Actions, organizations, tenets, and so on, however, are fair game. Such as young Earth creationism, intelligent design, every kind of hypocrisy, power hunger of various churches, punishments for wearing clothes of different materials, and so on. I am quite willing to respect a person to the degree they show themselves worthy of respect. Their views, religion or other memes have no such protection. And while anyone can hold any views, they should never get a free pass on getting judged for expressing them just because those views happen to be religiously motivated. That way lies theocracy. If someone thinks women are inferior and says so, I DO NOT CARE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM if they think so because their religion says so.
"If you were ever to find religion...which would it be?"
As an atheist (or an agnostic if one is pedantic), I find that question rather odd. If I come to believe in a religion, it will be because evidence leads me there. Knowing in advance whether I will ever encounter that sort of evidence would require precognition. :)
That said, I find Buddhism to be the least objectionable.
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If I were to have some crisis of faith and convert to another mystic religion, it would probably be Zoroastrian. The Ahura Mazda good vs evil narrative meshes well with my worldview; although I'm not a theologian enough to be intimately familiar with the surviving practices to know too much about the day to day tenants of a follower.
Though in a way, I already have pretty well shifted my belief set from a very conservative Missionary Baptist set to a sort of secular spiritual broad Christian belief set with tinges of polytheism during a reflective period of about six years in my late teens and early twenties. Many *many* things that I personally believe are in stark contrast with the monotheistic doomsday cult that is Evangelical Christianity (from whence I originated), to the point that my individual beliefs would definitely have been heresy in the Inquisition era.
Going through that transition in itself took a long time, especially for me to get comfortable enough to talk about my vastly different beliefs with my spouse (which I rarely do, because it is still an awkward conversation). Being in the "Bible Belt", my non-Evangelical beliefs have a pretty negative connotation associated with them. Non-traditional beliefs (traditional being Protestant, Catholic, Jew, etc) have a harder time getting accepted, and as much as it sounds goofy, my discomfort publicizing my awkward beliefs stems from the fact that it would get me more scrutiny than if I were atheist (or agnostic, which 90% of the people I know really are*).
In summary, my spiritual view is similar to what TOZ mentioned above about the personal relationship with the Divine.
*In my experience, the vast majority of people I know or have associated with in my life in Arkansas, USA are somewhere between agnostic and a general theist, who 'grew up' under X religion, but either don't practice regularly enough for me to consider them pious, or don't practice whatsoever. They still identify X Christian, but they're not really, at least IMO.
Greco-Buddhism proves that God exists, and He's a fan fiction writer.
On aesthetic grounds that one wins for me. Zen close second.
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Not really religious or spiritual. Though I've shied away from atheism, since the majority of the atheists I know are becoming the very "in-your-face, militant" type of people that caused me to leave Catholicism in the first place. If I had to choose a religion, it'd probably be Buddhism or LaVeyan Satanism.
Generally though, I have a bleak world-view that either pushes me to optimism or pessimism.
I sometimes identify as a militant atheist, for one particular reason, it ends the conversation.
Occasionally, when asked about religion I'll say atheist and people say "don't you mean agnostic?" and proceed to tell me how I most likely believe in the existence of some sort of god. If I say militant atheist though, that second part of the conversation doesn't happen.
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It might be. Religion is a powerful force in the lives of the faithful, often the most central piece of their identity and sense of self-worth. I agree that people should not be mocked. Actions, organizations, tenets, and so on, however, are fair game. Such as young Earth creationism, intelligent design, every kind of hypocrisy, power hunger of various churches, punishments for wearing clothes of different materials, and so on. I am quite willing to respect a person to the degree they show themselves worthy of respect. Their views, religion or other memes have no such protection. And while anyone can hold any views, they should never get a free pass on getting judged for expressing them just because those views happen to be religiously motivated. That way lies theocracy. If someone thinks women are inferior and says so, I DO NOT CARE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM if they think so because their religion says so.
Having now understood your intentions better, I agree 100%.
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Old man and young kid having a conversation about reincarnation. Young kid says to the old guy "Yeah..I didn't believe in it either when I was your age..."