Don’t really care about religions that are not actively not being equitable with there people. It’s when it becomes unethical inequitable and non consensual is when I don’t tolerate them. Sadly it feels like 90% of religions out there.
I’ve never met such an atheist, one who simply hates the concept of any type of spiritual belief? Have you?
I think religious or spiritual belief itself is a compromise on your intelligence that social engineers can use to make you do anything they want… Which if you look at American politics is working like a charm for them.
As for “ire” generally my beef is with Christianity and the woo community, both of which promote harmful beliefs over safe practices just to live out a Harry Potter fantasy.
I think religious or spiritual belief itself
Right, but that is my point. So the ones that aren’t about ‘Belief’, what do you think about those?
I’d say this is a fairly good spot to focus an investigation. Buddhism can sometimes be orientalized and idealized by westerners, and it’s not good to let that blind us to when someone like Ashin Wirathu claims it in order to stoke Islamophobia, Imperial Japan used it in nationalist propaganda, or some traditions use it to denigrate women.
Any belief system will likely have some power-hungry bastards try to use it in these kinds of ways, I think.
Personally I do usually see myself as a secular buddhist - I am agnostic on the truth of the longer arcs most schools draw regarding rebirth etc., but I know experiences within a human lifetime include suffering, change, the pain of grasping etc. which the teachings offer some understanding of and tools for dealing with that have helped me. And from the suttas I’ve read, that appears to be the thing the Sakyamuni Buddha returned to a fair bit - the purpose of practice is to reduce suffering, not metaphysical musings.
Personally I consider things like Zen Buddhism to more like a philosophy or a lifestyle than a “religion”. I always assumed it was lumped in with religion because there isn’t really a better term that allows it to fit into most people’s world view
To me “religion” implies a dogmatic system overeen by a fictional all powerful self serving omnipresent deity or deities
Again, these are just my personal views on the matter though
