Post by Aj_June on Apr 11, 2017 15:51:35 GMT
"Can theists and atheists live together in any sort of mutual respect? That is far more than an academic debating point. Throughout history, theocrats have punished dissidents who reject the state religion. In the 20th century, atheist regimes subjected religion to bloody repression, and a few, like North Korea, still do. And in recent years, especially in the Islamic world, thee has been a resurgence in the persecution of those who reject the prevailing form of religion, or all religion.
The rise in religious oppression is one of the factors that galvanized "new atheists" like the late Christopher Hitchens, who thought "religion poisons everything" .... but there is another form of cerebral atheism. John Gray ... is a strong advocate of the view that theism and atheism can coexist in freedom and a sort of amity."
It can be handy to read U.S. Religious Landscape Study by Pew forum. Many theists and atheists already live with mutual respect for each other. The trend has been increasing in last few decades. One can hope that the trend will continue in the future too. If you do like I can come up with responses of certain questions that indicate why there are many theists who already live in mutual respect with atheists and vice versa. On message boards such as these, usually unrepresentative people of any group show up frequently. But with increased multiculturalism and better access to education there is a great chance that relationships between theists and atheists will continue to improve.