Would you like to make this site your homepage? It's fast and easy...
Yes, Please make this my home page!
Question 90
Do you think it is valuable for atheists to engage in 'interfaith' dialogue with religious groups?
- I suppose it would depend on what the panel was discussing, but I
guess it would make sense to include an atheist in a discussion that is meant to cross denominational lines.
Isn't the point of an interfaith discussion supposed to be that all
members of the community have a stake, and their voice should be
heard? By just having religious leaders, it sends the message that non-religious people aren't part of the overall community. (Carl Funk #1229)
- Interfaith discussions, by their very name, are discussions by those who choose to delude themselves with "faith" in a god. An atheist
joining any such discussion with theists invites attack by those whose "faiths" are threatened by free thinking. However, such discussions
are usually brought up to address a problem in the community, such as
youth violence, drugs, or changes in the laws governing religious organizations. IMHO, atheists should be invited to speak and participate
in any group or gathering making laws or recommendations for laws which affect them. The big problem here is that by definition atheists are an exclusion, a lack of "faith"- and there are few organized groups- by contrast, count the churches, synagogues and temples in a typical
community and you see what I mean.
Something should be done about this. (dwise #1579)
Click here to return to master question page.
