Criticizing Religious Leaders and Church Hierarchies is NOT Criticizing Religious Belief

[MineralMan]

It is criticism of individuals and organizations that are religious. When those individuals and organizations commit crimes and cover up crimes as a policy matter, such criticism is not only warranted, it is essential. It is the responsibility of everyone to call out such criminal activity and demand that individuals and organizations face such legal action that others must face.

There is no organized effort by atheists or other non-religlous people to call such behavior out. There is no persecution of religion involved. When crimes occur, people, both religious and non-religious, should and will speak out and insist that something be done about it. Even when the leader of the largest Christian denomination fails to deal effectively with horrible abuses against the defenseless, he is not immune to sharp criticism and calls for justice.

Crimes are crimes, regardless of who commits them. Nobody is allowed to do heinous things, nor to cover up such actions. Nobody. Those who condemn such criminal acts are not wrong to make such condemnations.

People who attempt to quash criticism of organized religion and individuals who hide behind their clerical collars are doing a disservice their own cause. Suppressing such criticism is tantamount to condoning what is being criticized. Such attempts are suspicious at best, and terribly harmful to victims, both past and future, at worst.

[Major Nikon]

1. Criticizing religious belief is NOT criticizing those who may subscribe to those beliefs either

Assuming a free society, if religion is allowed to freely promote religious belief, it must not be free from criticism.

[MineralMan]

2. A Free Society - Something many religious organizations wish would go away.

We must not assume a free society. We must preserve it. Where the religious wish it to disappear, we must fight them.

This is at the core of our own society, which was founded on the concept of freedom of and from religious domination.

Today, forces are at work in an attempt to violate that core concept. It is up to everyone, including people of faith who value freedom, to counter those forces.

Everyone should form his or her own belief system, based on whatever principles suit each person. No organization should do anything to discourage that personal decision. Period.

[Major Nikon]

3. You don't have to go far to find evidence of this

The saving grace is burning heretics at the stake in the town square has been replaced by incessant whining.

[MineralMan]

7. Fortunately, incessant whining is singularly ineffective as a strategy.

As we see.

[trotsky]

4. Yes but it falls under the jurisdiction of the fictional 11th commandment.

If you criticize their leaders, who are religious, then you are posting something negative about a religious believer.

Make no mistake - the purpose of the "11th commandment" meme is simply to try and shame opposing viewpoints into silence.

[Major Nikon]

5. Shame and self-righteousness go together like drunk and disorderly

[MineralMan]

6. The 11th Commandment only exists in the mind of its creator.

It's nonsense, of course. I am not ashamed, nor will I remain silent.

[marylandblue]

8. Watch out, God may burn your pixels into your screen forever

[MineralMan]

9. Well, I need a new monitor soon, anyhow, so...

Still, I doubt that any deities actually monitor the Religion Group, since they don't exist in the first place. So, I'm not that worried...

[marylandblue]

10. His self-appointed agents are always watching though

[MineralMan]

11. Yes. And we're here to explain their folly.

It's important work, almost worth whiling away wasted time on.

[Voltaire2]

12. What is wrong with criticizing religious beliefs?

[uriel1972]

13. Exactly...

I think religious belief allows all sorts of ills to fester and perpetuate.