how to respond to a religious fanatic

Theres nothing wrong with sitting quietly sometimes, and it never hurts to listen to others talk about what they believe. You can ask, however, how their religion reconciles evil acts done under the guise of the faith. Enjoy! Aw, thats no fun, he said. How Religious Ideologies Spread Similar to how organisms and their genes compete for survival in the environment and gene pool, ideas compete for survival inside brains, and in the pool of ideas . People like that owe you nothing. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. How to deal with Religious Fanatics : by Outer_Real: Mon Oct 13 2003 at 9:39:44: A Cut-Out-and-Keep Ministry of Information Guide . Especially if you are very unfamiliar with the persons religion, search online, read articles, consult books, and consider taking a look at the faiths sacred text(s). The struggle can be a struggle of implementing the Islamic values in daily activities, a struggle with others to counter arguments against Islam, or self-defense when physically attacked because of belief in Islam. If you find it fun to discuss or debate religious beliefs, and can do so respectfully, then have at it. You know that God loves you no matter what youve done, right? I asked. 6 yr. ago You could just say your beliefs are personal, you don't feel comfortable talking about them, and change this subject back to whatever you were there for. In the race for Alabama governor, an advertisement bankrolled by the state teachers' union attacked candidate Bradley Byrne because he supposedly supported teaching evolution. His eyes sparkled, he flashed a wide grin, and when I finished, he broke into a wheezy smokers laugh and said, Youre a good boy, Josh-ah., In the following years, I managed to alienate a handful of my coworkers I told one guy that his main problem was that he was evil; I strongly insinuated to a couple of others that they were going to hell; and I often yammered on about my faith with little regard for whether my coworkers were even listening. And if we dont, well, then they wont regard us as serious atheists. All content copyright original author unless stated otherwise. Not only does 'jihad' not endorse acts of military aggression, but 'jihad' is invoked in Qur'anic passages to indicate how uses of force are always subject to restraint and qualification". What I do is, I tell them that people believe different things, and that I wouldn't try to force my believes on them, and ask them to respect me as I respect them. Looking back, I suppose the most remarkable thing about those conversations was how little I talked about Jesus not because I was avoiding the topic, but because for once in my young adult life, I was listening. If you are resentful towards religion, consider that much of your resentment probably stems from people attempting to force their beliefs on you. If the person shows up at your door, dont just slam it in their face. Making our society less materialistic, reducing poverty and the commercialisation of sex, would give fanatics less of a reason to hate the West, as well as being very desirable policies for their own sake. If people were free to blow themselves up all over the place, society just . This will help to diffuse a potentially bad situation. Be self-effacing. Consequently, I had trouble making friends outside the most sympathetic circle of gracious believers at my church. Fear is a lack of faith. [18] The Qutbist ideology has been influential on jihadist movements and Islamic terrorists that seek to overthrow secular governments, most notably Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri of al-Qaeda,[14][15][16] as well as the Salafi-jihadi terrorist group ISIL/ISIS/IS/Daesh. She completed a Post-Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at The University of Hawaii at Manoa. How To Respond To A Religious Fanatic Jerry A. Coyne is a professor of Ecology and Evolution at The University of Chicago. Religious fanaticism, or religious extremism, is a pejorative designation used to indicate uncritical zeal or obsessive enthusiasm which is related to one's own, or one's group's, devotion to a religion a form of human fanaticism which could otherwise be expressed in one's other involvements and participation, including employment, role, and partisan affinities. Remember, everyone, regardless of their beliefs, assumes they are right. Fanatics drive through life like alcoholics driving under the influence. But bad things arent going to keep us out of Heaven, and good things wont get us in. It makes them feel good. For example, refrain from saying something like, What makes you think your religion is so much better than others? Instead, try asking, What aspects of your religion set it apart from others? This is a nicer way of asking the same question. Don't blame yourself. Then set the X number kind of high. They may have local get-togethers or events. Okay, so youve been disrespected, condescended to, verbally attacked or even threatened. You must understand the cause, and expose the effect.". Unless you can deliver to them the contact with the Holy Spirit/Great Life Force/Power of Almighty God that they so desire, against their will (for they will deny their isolation from it), you will not be able to convince them. I just wanted to continue about my business for the day). The virtue of the fanatic as an agitator is largely due to the emotional response which his appeal finds in the Oh me too, Uncle John, I said. Many disagreements and arguments can be avoided through tact, patience, and common sense. You may want to say, Im looking forward to talking with you about atheism. He asks me why and I say that it's just what I believe(I wasn't looking to get ino a discussion about it. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. [11] From their essentially political position, the Kharijites developed extreme doctrines that set them apart from both mainstream Sunn and Sha Muslims. Tell him you won't discuss it and you're atheist. On their way to conquering the Holy Land from the Muslims by force of arms, the crusaders destroyed dozens of Jewish communities and killed thousands because the Jews would not accept the Christian faith. Fanatics, ideologues, and absolutists are humanitys greatest scourge. % of people told us that this article helped them. Otherwise, youll come across as aggressive, which will likely lead to conflict. Selengut, Charles. References. ), By my shamelessly crude guesstimate, assuming no more than half the world is religious to start with, we only have to deal with, at most, three-hundred-and-twenty-five-million hardcore psychopaths prone to bomb-planting and plane hijacking, spread across the whole world. "What part of Fuck You! The best way to deal with religious people as an atheist is to avoid the subject of religion, so try not to bring it up whenever possible. Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Naw, Josh-ah. Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. And as I listened, I gradually learned that Uncle John was a man of many sorrows, one with a broken life history, a man who was afraid God could never forgive him for all the ways he had failed. "I never mix business and religion. I used to do this when I travelled long distances with my toddler. They fear their thoughts, their doubts, and above all they fear they have been rejected by both society and God. 1) Never, never, never, never, never, argue in an attempt to disprove Give a measured, calm response, or none at all if you so choose. In the meantime, the governments of the world are absolutely right to respond to fanatics who turn to terrorism with all necessary force. The most obvious might be the feared Al-Qaida terrorists and Taliban militiamen tramping around Central Asia. RTS symptoms can negatively affect cognitive ability, emotional development, socialization, and culture. And deep inside, I was relieved to know that I actually believed it too. Luckily for me this is only a "once on a great while" occurrence. If someone happens to complain that you arent bowing your head during the prayer or showing the proper reverence in some other setting, calmly offer to discuss the topic privately later. If he/she started an argument about that, just pull yourself out and say you won't argue about faith choices. This is where the reality of what they seek comes in, and the unconventional means of tackling the worlds problems. It will almost never change minds. Deeper Division of the classes. Although fanatic jihadists have committed many terroristic acts throughout the world, perhaps the best known is the September 11 attacks. Dont bother trying to reason with them. Answer Fanaticism is typically defined as "excessive, irrational zeal." Fanaticism can develop within a variety of different traditions, but this does not mean these traditions are in their very nature fanatical. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/8\/88\/Deal-with-Religious-People-if-You-Are-an-Atheist-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Deal-with-Religious-People-if-You-Are-an-Atheist-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/8\/88\/Deal-with-Religious-People-if-You-Are-an-Atheist-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/aid84557-v4-728px-Deal-with-Religious-People-if-You-Are-an-Atheist-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"