Atheists of reddit, what is one thing you admire about religion? Religious people of reddit, what is one thing you admire about atheism?

Atheist here (raised originally as a homeschooled, conservative, Young earth creationist, Pentecostal evangelical)!

1. Emphasis on community – Just like how empathy evolved to become a psychological tentpole through natural selection, the most resilient group systems are those that put a strong orientation around on things like family, service to others, and networked lifestyles.

2. Emphasis on self-discipline – This tends to be either ignored or over-inflated by doctrine, but the idea of being in control of your thoughts and actions and impulses is inherently positive. Imagine if everyone treated their natural desire for sugar and fat the way many religions treat our natural desire for sex!

3. Universal jargon – I will always argue that this is a net negative and is bad for society, but I admire nonetheless how deeply ingrained each religion’s in-group patois can be. Say something like “Only by the grace of the blood of the lamb are we permitted to enter the Kingdom of the Father’s passion” in any Christian congregation and it will mean roughly the same thing to everyone. Religions have been employing memes of language long before the internet.

/r/AskReddit Thread