I have nothing against people who don't believe in spirituality, but people who proselytize non- [View all]

[highplainsdem]

belief can be every bit as tiring as religious fundamentalists proselytizing their belief systems.

Both IMO tend to seem insecure in their beliefs, apparently uncomfortable unless they can convert others to their belief systems, or at the very least try to beat them into the ground with ridicule, all the while warning anyone else who will listen about the alleged dangers of the belief system they're railing against. Both fundamentalist believers and fundamentalist non-believers tend to focus on everything bad they can pin on the belief system they oppose, and to ignore anything good that apparently came out of that belief, or non-belief.

It's been pointed out here, and elsewhere, that religion is basically a form of tribalism, and all kinds of beliefs including rigid non-belief can become forms of tribalism.

And it's the tribalism itself that defines and encourages conflicts.

If you look at the world's religions and spiritual belief systems and all you can see are the bad things that were done, then you're blinding yourself to way too much.

Likewise, you're blinding yourself if you look at people without any religious beliefs and choose to focus only on anything they do that you consider wrong, and blame it on their "godlessness."

Actions are more important then belief systems, let alone words and labels.

Actions that are helpful tend to spring from an empathy with others that is deeper than formal religious rules of conduct, deeper than coldly logical arguments about ethical behavior for non-believers.

You can argue all you want about whether the source of that empathy is something nebulous and beyond individuals, or strictly biological. But I think it's important to note that almost everyone would agree there's something very WRONG with any individual lacking in empathy, whether we define that person as "evil" or as "psychopathic."

And it's just an important to notice when tribalistic tendences get in the way of our own ability to empathize with others. Including those with different belief systems.