On respect [View All]

(Reposted as an OP by DUer request)
You ask for respect, and I would give it, but we have a differing view on what constitutes respect.

Atheists and believers have a very difficult time on agreeing to just what exactly constitutes "respect."

I respect you as a human being.
I respect that you have made a choice.

That, with few exceptions, is where my default state of respect ends. I do not respect your particular beliefs. I do not afford them any more weight or import than the beliefs of anyone else, past, present, or future.

I genuinely and truthfully see no difference between today's worship of a single deity called God and the ancient worship of a pantheon of deities that are no longer believed in. Yet, when I make statements like this, I am labeled as "disrespectful," because I dare to compare religious thoughts and practices of today to mythology or fantasy. It's not that I or any other atheists who do this are trying to be flippant or assholish, it's just that we genuinely don't see a difference, and your particular flavor of mythology has earned no more or less respect than any other idea on the planet.

Just because it's something that's important to you or others does not mean that people should respect it. Sharia law is an important and closely held belief of Muslims, and it requires that women adhere to laws that essentially turn them into nothing more than property. Should we respect those laws or the beliefs that led to their creation and enforcement any more than we respected segregation laws in our own country decades ago?

Respect is a funny thing. It comes in different levels. Basic respect for someone as a human being should be given by default, but respect for just about anything else, including ideas (whether they are closely held or not) is earned.