Ridiculing Religious People, counterproductive?

I was religious (Catholic) and I got ridiculed by atheists for my religious beliefs. I'm now agnostic btw.

3) Many religious people teach that they are to expect mocking and ridicule, so I can see ridicule actually strengthening their resolve.

I agree with you on this bit.

There's a biblical passage about how true believers are on the "narrow path" whereas everyone else is on the "wide path". Obviously, it's an analogy but it basically means that it's hard to be a Christian in modern day society with all the temptations it brings..that people might start off being Christian but then "drop out" so to speak when it gets "too hard".

A lot of Christians will basically feel sorry for atheists-I certainly did when I was Christian. I thought "Oh they're missing out on such peace of mind". I knew people who had mental health disorders and I thought "maybe if they were religious, they wouldn't have those issues"...almost that they were overthinking things really and should just accept things on faith..that it made life easier. I felt that my Christianity gave me mental strength to deal with stress and I thought "this could help everyone!" I think that's why people becoming very religious-because they genuinely see it as a helpful tool that could help other people.

they may say it is evidence their belief is true.

Hmm..I don't agree here. Religion is about faith-you don't question it. It's like you either believe it or you don't.

I believed in those beliefs and that was it. It wasn't about evidence-it was an emotional thing for me, it gave me comfort/solace...that was all I cared about. I felt that atheists' emphasis on evidence and science was very cold-hearted..that what would I comfort myself with? It was like a security blanket that I was not going to be parted with, it helped me and that was the main thing. I rationalized it by thinking "well, what's the harm in being religious? It makes me a better person, more ethical, more considerate, calmer. I try not to harm people and when I do, I make amends". I had a lot of mental restlessness and religion did save me for a time from self-destructive behavior such as binge drinking. I think that's why you see tons of recovering addicts become Christians..they need some comfort/crutch..whatever you want to call it. It's not about evidence-it's about having comfort to be able to get through the day when you find life unbearable, something to give you hope in bad times, something to help you deal with death, tragedy etc. I've also heard religious people say that their faith has helped them cope with relationship break-ups, grief, that it's like stress-relief..that kind of thing.

I genuinely couldn't understand why atheists were giving me a hard time. I just felt like I was being bullied for my religious beliefs and I considered it a form of religious discrimination-that I wasn't discriminating against them so why were they picking on me? I still don't think it's fair to pick on religious people-by all means, making logical arguments about evolution etc but I think it's nasty to sneer at religious people. It's just treating them as a joke.

I would think one would not want to give them anything to run with. It would almost be more difficult for them if someone not in their religion treated them better than anyone in their religion ever did.

No, I disagree here. I always knew that there were a ton of hypocritical Christians, that people could be good without God. I always judged people on their behavior-not on their words.

/r/TrueAtheism Thread