So to explain to the crowd that follow me here:
Atheism is the belief that there is no deity. This is a belief. The presence or absence of a deity is literally unproveable, and if you can’t prove it, then your opinion on the matter one way or the other is a belief. The only non-belief about a deity is Agnosticism.
Science is the process of gathering information about the natural world based on observations and hypothesis testing. If you can’t test it, then it can’t be proven, and it is - thus - a belief (to go back to atheism being a belief system)
Religions are systems of ritual, belief, eschatology, ethics, and culture that unify a group of people. These systems are often used to enforce power structures or expand power, and in these cases religions can often be bad. But religions are also often a means of generating cultural unity, familial ties, and survival amongst minority groups. In these cases, religions can often be good. Both sides of the coin (proselytizing religion versus non-proselytizing religion) have exceptions to the trend of goodness versus badness, but religion is not inherently good or evil.
Religion and Science are not in opposition except for when science disproves a belief held by a particular religion, and that religion is unable to adapt in response to this disproving. But religion and science seek to do very different things, and answer very different questions.
Religions are also not inherently based upon belief. Some emphasize belief more than others. Christianity is a very belief based religion. Some religions emphasize ritual more than others. Judaism is a very ritual based religion. It has very few universal beliefs, and, thus, science and Judaism very rarely conflict (mostly in the more isolated communities of our people).
You cannot - cannot - use your knowledge of Christianity and the functions of Christianity to generalize other religions, especially those that are not proselytizing religions like Christianity is.
Religions that seek converts (proselytizing religions) inherently wish to control the actions and beliefs of others. The reasons vary, but those religions that try to get others to convert have a different outlook and different consequences than those that do not. Judaism does not seek converts. Judaism has very few set beliefs. Judaism is, oftentimes, defined literally as “the opposite of Christianity”, as the major structure of Rabbinic Judaism was formed after Christianity was crystallizing as the power-driving religion of the Roman Empire.
Most people who follow this blog come from societies that are primarily Christian. This usually means that the religion of your ancestors is Christianity. You might also be Christian yourself, or areligious (agnostic), or atheist, or some other religion. But you come from a culturally Christian background, and unless you actively join another religion that has cultural immersion as a part of the program, you can’t actually escape that. People from Christian backgrounds who are atheistic or agnostic have very different views on religion, culture, and society than those who aren’t. They are still culturally Christian.
This is a very long-winded story to say that those who are culturally Christian do not understand the scope of religions, especially those that are not belief-based or proselytizing, and thus making broad, sweeping generalizations about “religion” when you are culturally Christian is not a good idea in any sense of the word - especially since, odds are, the people you’re most hurting are oppressed minorities in your society.
So, you know, remember the word is complicated. As per usual.
A Paleontologist who is going to become a Rabbi
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