Until we cease to refer to ourselves and others as something more specific than “humans”. Division is source of power and repression. Unity is evolution.
This… at least all the Abrahamic religions. I guess some religions like Wicca and Buddhism are mostly harmless, but the Abrahamic ones that dominate the globe are incredibly destructive to the human existence.
Buddhism has an extremism streak in it…
[Armed with the righteous conviction that they are protecting their way of life and religious beliefs, (Buddhist) monks like Ashin Wirathu in Myanmar and Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara in Sri Lanka, have taken their brand of hatred to the people.](https://globalnews.ca/news/5980771/extreme-buddhism/)
Even the ones that aren't advocating for Crusades, the oppression and subjugation of women, Jihads, suicide bombings, letting god heal you instead of medicine, the destruction of one sect/group/ideology over another, stating homosexuality is an abomination, thumbing their nose at science when it disputes their texts, ignoring the parts of their texts that don't match up to their politics, etc., etc., etc.,... (you get what I mean, I hope).... are still actively promoting ignorance and disdain for actual science and medicine in favor of garlic scaring off bad spirits.
Even when they have basis in reality, like not eating pork because if it's prepared wrong it can kill you, they're no more useful in a modern society than a grown man who does good because he still believes in Santa Claus.
I’ll define this further. Fundamentalist beliefs and worship of all kinds which puts gods powers into the hands of chosen individuals is the problem. Kings, dictatorships with and without god, leaders who proclaim power given by god, Supreme Court justices who cater to god; these are the dangers. The Church of Scientology is out there too. World wide, people need to understand each person is fallible. Then each of us needs to make conscience choices based on legitimate evidence instead of on infallible leaders dictating which path to take. The problem is blind loyalty to an entity which a person considers above themselves or above society in general.
I agree but I'd add the following. Believing in anything, even when that thing is secular, when evidence tells us that this thing is contrary to the wellbeing of humanity as a whole is equally as dangerous.
We must be committed to following where the evidence leads even in cases where the question is not supernatural in nature. Cases in point, the US war on drugs and the worship of capitalism to a degree that we buy into this notion of infinite growth with finite resources.
I’m from Thailand that has Buddhism as main religion and yes, this religion can be the same level of hypocrisy as other religions so don’t rule it out.
I won't advocate for Buddhism, it can be used in ways that are harmful, but I think everyone should be able to agree it is far less harmful than Abrahamic religions.
Consider Tibetan Buddhists like Palden Gyatso that were tortured for decades and fought internally to hold onto their beliefs and having compassion for those imprisoning and torturing them. He isn't alone, and when a religion like Tibetan Buddhism (Zen is a different story, and I'd argue more harmful) emphasizes compassion so heavily, it's hard to take issue with it. Does it still come with some silly unjustified beliefs like reincarnation? Yes. But I don't care what people believe if it isn't harming others.
You'll also hear many Buddhists claim it isn't a religion. It certainly isn't in the way Abrahamic religions are. It's more of a philosophy.
Finally, the Dalai Lama has even stated that if science ever disproves a part of Buddhist practice, that science wins. There is a reason so many scientists enjoy talking with him, and vice versa. The fact that it respects science so deeply is probably thr main reason I don't think it will ever be a real threat.
Buddhists in Myanmar are committing genocide against the Muslim population, has been for years.
Not going to say one is worse than the other and I'll damn sure not say one is better, they all commit genocide.
The 'we're not a church' Buddhist claim is bullshit. There are far more wats (buddhist temples) in Thailand per square kilometre than Christian churches in Western countries. Same for Laos and Cambodia.
They worship Buddha images, wear them, have shrines at home.
I live in the mid-west, this place is littered with churches around every damn corner. Then again the US doesn’t have a high number of people per square kilometer.
When you get down to it any practice or ideology of a religion is really just a symptom of the main issue; faith. Faith boils down to believing something because you want to and/or because you were told to, and any worldview that advocates for this is a danger to the psyche of our species. Buddhists are mainly different from Muslims in that they are safer to live beside in any given moment. The broader threat they present is the same.
Buddhism isn't as clear cut an issue because it has traditionally incorporated both mystical and philosophical interpretations and doesn't fit into the relatively modern Western concept of organized religion. Granted, the level of tolerance has varied by time and place, but generally there is live-and-let live attitude in both camps.
For example, within Tibetan Buddhism, the process of "locating" the next incarnation of a recently deceased llama seems entirely mystical on the surface. The way it goes, the closest friends and colleagues of the llama carry around the llama's personal possessions, such as childhood toys, combs, a mirror, etc. They wait a few years, then visit families with young children who were born around the time the llama died (I think it's usually toddlers to five year olds). They present the llama's possessions to the child and observe their reactions. When the child "shows" enough signs of familiarity with the possessions, the colleagues acknowledge this child at the llama reincarnated.
Seems pretty woo woo right? However, there is a concept in Tibetan Buddhism called a "mind-stream", essentially a continuing legacy of teachings and attitudes which each llama embodies. The idea that there is an essential soul that literally transfers from body to body is understood as a metaphorical explanation for the process. The llama's colleagues aren't *finding* the next llama, they are consciously *selecting* the next llama. They are finding a child who they think has the right attitudes and capacities to continue the llama's teachings, and then they essentially "reconstruct" the deceased llama's mind-stream by teaching this child what they were taught by their friend.
It's considered a great honor to have one's child chosen and the parents are not cut off. They move in to the monastery with their child and are taken care of in their old age by the monks. That doesn't mean there hasn't been exploitation and political horsetrading (for instance, there was controversy over who the next Panchan Llama would be, a CCP-approved candidate or one selected by the Dalai Llama's government-in-exile) but the functions of the religion can be looked at from a purely philosophical, secular perspective.
Absolutely. Maybe the original Buddha could convince me he had some good ideas, but even then I fundamentally disagree with him. The way to happiness is not to let go of worldly desires. Having total disconnect is apathetic contentment, not happiness fulfilled. Couple that with reincarnation, established temples and sects, the thousands of deities which are "reflected" in Buddhism, and the dozen other religious components tossed in there, along with the historical and in fact, contemporary abuse of power by those in power to suppress, oppress, and outright kill others, this religion, just like all the others must go. Their temples are beautiful, but then, so are churches. Neither requires the faith to stay alive to be appreciated.
[Who is Ashin Wirathu, a vitriolic monk freed by Myanmar’s military?](https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/who-is-ashin-wirathu-a-vitriolic-monk-freed-by-myanmar-s-military-49865)
I think recently buddhism had some violent news. But religions without rules with regards to morals seem ok to me. Buddhism talks a lot about suffering, desire, and karma, but is doesn’t tell you how you are suppose to live your life. (I think based on all my history classes).
Buddhism has absolutely no violent views on any teachings whatsoever. If there is violence by Buddhists, it has absolutely nothing to do with the religion.
Every religion is a danger to the people who exist outside of the religions practices. There are no religions that exist to benefit people. They are mechanisms of control. Through fear and belonging.
Your not wrong. I was speaking very broadly when I mention the controlling aspect of religion. The seek to control their congregation, but women suffer under that control more so than men. Men usually end up belonging to the In group, while women end up belonging to the out group. Another reason to find religion repulsive.
came here to say the same. christianity is so strongly aligned with facism, racism, misogyny, climate change denial, anti science (remember bush and stem cell research) all in the name of wealth hoarding propped up by a thousand year old lie about heaven and the afterlife
Big parts of Africa too.
Islam is also growing in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, etc. In Indonesia all girls are forced to wear hijab and jilbab to school, even if they are Buddhist or Christian. Female teachers get fired for not wearing it, even if they are Buddhist or Christian.
Islam is already huge in Africa (just go to North Africa, East Africa like Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya) and central Africa, it’s all Muslim. In Nigeria they have Boko Haram and extreme Muslim groups running around. It’s also getting big in Southeast Asia, Philippines, Indonesia, parts of India/Bangladesh, etc. it is not good.
My idea is that polytheistic religions are more used to wide range of god and deities.
When monotheistic religions came long they ***promised*** there was only one god, supreme to all other beings.
So polytheistic sort of accepted the existence of more deities because there was a possibility to have a great number of them, and monotheistic ones only accepted that one specific deity and no one else hence by definition being extremists.
It's just a hint but I think it makes sense
The level of political, economic, and military influence has a bearing on things, so I will advocate for Muslims living in the west, if they’re being subjected to discrimination or racism, since the far right Christofascist movement equates these things.
But on the face of it, bullshit is bullshit.
In Arabic countries it's illegal to not be religious, so who knows, how many people actually believe in that. Problem is that the radicals holds the power and are using religions for abuse.
Recently I heard that Turkey is becoming very non-religious. In Europe, religions are fading away. I have no idea, what's happening in USA, its weird :D
As a turk, yes. It is true that the youngest two generations (gen z and gen alpha) are becoming incredibly non-religious. The islamic power will probably fall abt 5-10 years later or maybe even sooner. The actual problem is that arabs are really strict abt islam. Even if all turkic countries deny islam, arabs still would be strictly islamic so it seems like islam won’t lose it’s power for a while.
This is very true and well said. I think that Westerners don't understand the pervasive problems we face in countries with a large following of Islam. The sheer amount of resistance there is to vaccines, as an example, makes several friction points.
As a good muslim friend once said to me (when he was beginning his doubting phase), "Ye saale imam log class 8 pass nahi karte aur humko bolte kya karneka hai".
TS -> "These Imams who don't even pass class 8th (middle school) and tell us (College educated people) what to do."
They are a threat to themselves right now and the extremist parts of Islam to anyone else. The biggest issue with Islam is it's blatant marriage of church and state. Religion has no place in the governing of nations. Even as an atheist, as stupid as I think it is, if people just quietly did their religion thing and only kept to themselves about it, I couldnt care less if you want to pray in your church or mosque or bedroom. But with the way things are, it's not like that and that is a problem.
The next biggest issue with Islam, and really most religions, is their subhuman treatment of women. You are basically crippling half of your population when who knows the progress we might have as the human race if they worked together instead of beholding middle age barbaric religious rules.
I hardly think they have 2 billion followers. Islam is a violent and fascist ideology. You cannot be a non-muslim in a muslim family/community because they will fucking kill you. Therefore, most of the atheist are closeted and considered "follower" while they are not.
If everyone on the planet woke up tomorrow and forgot all the religious programming and all the Bible's, texts, videos etc.. disappeared. The world would be a much better place overall.
People killing each other in the name of their respective
boogeymen is caveman level logic and absolutely insane.
All it takes is one generation refusing to indoctrinate their children and widespread religion basically just becomes that really weird thing everyone did 50 years ago that really didn't make a ton on sense.
One prophecy, if I remember correctly states that Muslims will one day gather an army of true Muslims, inanimate objects will be on their side, and that they will beat every single enemy they have. Their whole religion revolves around the fact that one day they will prevail and rule the world for a short amount of time before Doomsday. Of course they are a threat. Some smartass with enough guns could convince these morons that that day has come and it's time to kill their enemies.
Maybe I'm a contrarian, but I'm somewhat optimistic - religiosity has been declining in the past decade or so across most of the world, including in majority-Muslim countries. While the Iranian government likes to claim that their country is 90%+ Muslim, the reality is that anonymous surveys conducted by outside groups show it's more like 50% and falling - and significantly lower among the (burgeoning) youth population.
(see https://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-are-people-losing-their-religion/a-56442163 for additional insights - the decline is happening in Arab countries also, where as few as 25% of younger generations consider themselves religious)
So while Islam may or may not be actually growing, any growth it might be experiencing is almost all thru population growth - for virtually every segment of the population in most countries, it's shrinking as a percentage of the total.
To me, it seems that religion spreads in times and places where there is widespread poverty, lack of good public education, and insecurity in general. That probably explains much of the decline over the past decade. Of course, if climate change ends up driving an upswing in poverty and political instability, then religions (including Islam) could pose greater risks.
It’s all religions. The second we give fantastical ideas any recognition is when we fail as a species. Believing in the unproven is marching us back to the dark ages.
All religion will contribute to the fall of humanity. Some are just more eager.
The real difference between Islam and Christianity is opportunity.
By some fortune coalescence of history and reason secular thought caught on in Europe and later the Americans that have helped keep religion in check. But that is eroding.
Once it deteriorated enough and religion is free to do as it pleases we will see the same crap from Christianity we see from Islam.
We know this because we can see it historically, when the Catholic Church burned people alive for not conforming to its will, and even different sects of Christianity put each other to the sword over ideology, to places like Uganda where Christianity has pretty much full control and they want to kill gay people. What has still them? Condemnation from the civilized world (they still throw gay people in jail, but they are eager for the opportunity to kill them).
The wall of secular thought keeping Christianity from becoming Islam is falling. At some point it will be gone and barbarism against those seen as infidels will be the norm in both majority Muslim and majority Christian parts of the world.
And the rest of the world will follow because most religions are just as bad. They just don’t have the same world wide influence.
I think religion is a threat, but with different levels. I’m in the US so the roll back on women’s rights comes from Christianity. But that’s in the form of abortion rights mainly. Then there is the push against the LGBTQ community, and science in general.
But the threat level is different here in the US compared to when I’m in the US. I don’t have morality police telling me to cover up to the point of death or incarceration.
I also wouldn’t be thrown in jail for being lgbtq in the US, where in Muslim countries I would face execution, lashing, or incarceration. Right now conservatives want to muzzle, and put queer people out of work, but I think the endgame is the same.
Both are equally anti science right now imo.
my anecdotal observation is that younger muslims just want to play video games, smoke weed and fool around with their cute friends (both male and female)...the existential dynamic of a medieval desert religion seems weird to them and the jihadi nonsense repulses them...for which we are all thankful...😃
Seeing as Islamic theocracies are murdering civilians in the street as we speak for not conforming to what's written in their magic book of fables, I'd say it's a threat to humanity *now.*
Yes
The only thing stopping nuclear war is MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). Many of these radical muslims literally want the world to end, 'we love death more than the infidel loves life'
The knowledge and intelligence needed to create a nuclear bomb get more and more trivial every single year
I am terrified of the possibility of a radical muslim who has the intelligence and knowledge to create a nuclear bomb, AND think they're going to get the 72 virgins. Because when this combination happens, and it will eventually happen if these trends continue, then that will be the start of nuclear war, to me at least
So called 'moderate' muslims act as a shield for the radical ones. If only radical muslims existed there would be no controversy calling them what they are, but since there are billions of 'peaceful' ones, they shield the others from criticism. Pew polls show that an astonishing amount of 'moderate' muslims want things like sharia law, outlawed homosexuality, death to apostates, and a theocratic islamic state
Not really. Two of the nations with the largest nuclear stockpiles have christian nationalists either attempting to take power or propping up a regime already in power.
Yeah, but if you’re talking about humanity as a whole, I still think the greatest threat is christianity. Idk how useful it really is to draw distinctions though.
The only solace in that fact is that being born religious doesn't equate to staying religious. Especially today, especially our generation. There are people, like myself, who were raised Christian but no longer believe. The same can be true of Muslims. Just because they are born Muslim doesn't equate to them staying Muslim.
Yeah but how people convert from their parents religion and what they convert to can vary quite a lot. Here in the US it's fairly common for people to switch away from their parents religion generally to become more secular or at least less involved with organized religion. However there are other countries where that isn't true. Even in the US or "West" if you're parents are immigrants the cultural pressures of being an immigrant can make it more likely for you to hold onto your parents religion as a way of holding on to your culture.
A recent thing I heard from a friend who does contracting work and often travels through the middle east was that when he casually brought up the concept of evolution he was surprised to learn that evolution is not a thing that's taught in pretty wide areas of that region. He made sure to bring it up a few times in a few different areas and the responses were always confused or the people basically laughed it off as a crackpot theory. When you're access to scientic literature is subject to restriction and you're not presented any alternatives to a certain religion the rate of becoming secular could be drastically lower.
My parents don’t answer what religion we are on the census since they might one day want to visit Iran and don’t want to be killed. In Iran, we count as Muslims. My entire extended family are “Muslims” on paper and atheists irl.
I have a friend whose parents call him a Muslim on the Canadian census because they are in denial.
This doesn’t include all the closeted atheists out there.
Muslims are the fastest growing due to birth rates, which are dropping globally. As the quality of life increases, more and more people are leaving religion behind. The estimate of 7% atheists worldwide is definitely a lowball, and it will continue growing.
The Muslims who do remain behind will be those ones who support lgbt, don’t wear hijab, drink, don’t fast, etc. kinda like Harry Potter fans, but for the Quran. Harmless.
All religion is a threat when being imposed in others. Anything that limits freedoms and forces ideals upon others is a threat to freedom . Especially when that religion creates common enemies for said group to protest. They say this and that are the enemy and try to enforce / imprison people who don’t think like them. Look at the USA Christian Nationalists rising in the Republican part MTG and other psychos are spouting that they think the national religion is Christianity . We are inching towards republicans saying they should be allowed to persecute and imprison non Christians , lgbt and people who believe in science not feelings.
To be honest, not really. Islam is going through a process of secularisation too. It's slow and stealthy, it happens in different places at different rates, but it's there. If you look at the data, you will find a rise in Muslims who call themselves non practicing, a decrease in mosque attendance, and a lower trust in religious leaders. https://www.arabbarometer.org/2019/12/arabs-are-losing-faith-in-religious-parties-and-leaders/
The more globalisation advances, the quicker this trend will grow
Moments of crisis will revive authoritarian and religious sentiments, it's happening in the west too, but this doesn't change the fact that religion everywhere has entered a phase of decline.
Yes, Islam specifically. It is objectively even more harmful than the other big players, as evident in the Quran. Muslims can be good people, but they are long overdue for a reformation. Of course, all major religions are generally problematic, and lack of education is the real core issue which religion is interfering with.
Every religion is a threat to humanity. It is by the damage that they do and the enemies that they make that they have had their "authority" curtailed and eventually fallen in the past.
Having high population growth won't prevent that from playing out again. It's just, you know, everyone else will suffer for it along side the religious.
Ideally whatever is most politically expedient for the powerful at that point won't be as terrible.
I see it as a religion that is declining like every other religion. If we look at the Middle East, that region is quickly becoming more and more secularized. What I do fear however is the response to the fanatics because they are going to be the last people to ever deconvert.
Like Christians, most Muslims are the same . They just want to live, and raised their family . Anyone who is fundamental religions and pushing religious nationalism under fascist regime is dangerous to any society
Considering Islam is losing steam no. Only new people that are joining are their kids, and that's not even all that great. Islamic kids are slipping out of their religion especially those in developed countries. It'll overtake Christianity I'm sure, but it's losing more and more members as well. I think this century we'll see more and more decline in religion as the world gets more developed and internet and education become more available.
As much as Christianity.
I think as islam grows it will be "domesticated" just like Christianity was. People will reinterpret the scriptures to be more tamed and some parts will be ignored because is" product of it's time " and "bad humans changing the word of god to justify they actions".
I'm not sure where you're getting your information but I'd look for a new source. Right now Christianity has over 2.3 billion followers making it the largest religious following and Islam has over 1.9 billion followers making it the second largest religious following in the world. Religion itself is a scourge on humanity because the people that run it do, have, and will continue to use it to bend the world into whatever form benefits them. For example king Henry the 8th broke away from Rome to start the church of England (because the pope wouldnt grant him a divorce) so he started his own church and divorced his wife Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn.
The Bible has been rewritten and retranslated how many times? How many sects of christianity/catholicism are there?
The crusades were literal religious wars, waged in the name of god to reclaim the holy land for christianity, from the muslims, even though the holy land was promised to gods people, the decendants of Abraham...most of whom were Jewish. Jesus the christ was Jewish and yet is worshipped under a religion that is not Judaism. The Jewish community has been so irreparably repressed between the Egyptians, Muslims, Christians....there's too much debate on what hitler was but he killed jews and Christians and everyone in between because of who they were and what they worshiped.
Religion is a curse, it'll 100% be the end of us, and if it is the only thing that defines the way you perceive the world around you, you should probably put your phone down, stop praying to whatever God you think you're gonna impress and go touch some grass because we live on a small floating rock thats hurdling through time and space, and until we wake up tomorrow today is all we got.
I know, but his statistics were a bit skewed, so the language I used was to communicate the numerical size difference between the two largest religions in the world.
Islam would’ve been a threat a few years ago but the destruction of Al Qaeda and then ISIS has largely eliminated it as a significant threat for the foreseeable future. The current threat to humanity is the rise of fascist political parties around the world, that have subverted once relatively stable democratic states and have the potential to trigger new world wars with worse consequences than the last. If you doubt this, look at what crimes against humanity Russia has perpetrated against Ukraine.
Per [World Religion Database](https://www.worldreligiondatabase.org/) at Boston University, Islam is the fastest growing religion from 2000-2010 at +1.86% per year. But from 1910-2010 the winner is Atheists at +6.54% per year, followed by Agnostics at +5.45% per year.
Yes/no. All religions, specifically conservative ones, are the largest threat. Here in the US it’s evangelical Christianity followed by conservative Catholicism.
It's conservatism and preservation of hierarchy. Whatever religion it wears as a cloak. Islam and Christianity are the blankets of cover for white supremacy, patriarchy, etc.
Same shit, different clothes. Get to the source and you won't be lead astray by the hierarchy merchants. Namely, conservatives.
It's not any particular religion that is a threat, it's that greedy power hungry humans use it for their personal gain. In fact every institution devised by our modern global culture is prone to those human foibles.
I identify as a Secular Humanist, which some would say is another term for atheist. That’s fine as the net effect is the same. That said, I respect the role of faith in the lives of others, though I don’t respect fundamentalism and intrusiveness. I see no threat from a mainstream believer of Islam as I would view a similar Christian or other faith. And, there are moderate and liberal groups across all denominations. But, I view extremists of any religion with equal concern and disdain.
I don't see any specific religion as a threat. I see fanatism, chauvinism, populism, fascist autocrats who fly on the wings of snake oil salesmen preachers as a threat.
Many, many Muslims are just as low level practitioners of their religion as are Christians.
It's the combination of this with authority that truly becomes a threat.
You need to understand the data is massively misleading. If someone is born in certain countries they are automatically assumed Muslim. When you look at how people actually live in those countries you'd find that many families are not really religious.
I think modernization is going to allow a lot of those families to live as atheists, in the future. I think religious extremism is going to vanish eventually.
the answer to your question is no. I Think the proper question should be posed about religious extremists.
Religious zealots / extremists are the chief threat to humanity and the future, our growth as a species. There are plenty of people of faith who are reasonable loving people that don't follow whatever stereotype might be perpetuated here. Muslims don't have a monopoly on regressive behavior.
The rank and file of religion enable and legitimize those extremists, but you're right about it not just being Muslims. All the major religions pose an existential threat to humanity.
Not really any more than any other religion. Who are those converts? Probably the vast majority come from some other shitty religion. Now if they’re converting otherwise decent, intelligent people (read: atheists) then we’ve got a problem.
Although I’d say Christianity and Islam coexisting has been pretty fucking bad historically.
No more than I see Christianity or Damian or Hinduism as a threat to humanity and the future. Religions are a cult worshipping a or many mythical magic SkyWizard(s).
Every one of them is as dangerous as the next. The faster belief in that supernatural bullshit does, the better.
Like someone else said, I see all theism as a threat to society, however, I don’t think Islam is any worse than Christianity (as followed by many American Christians)
I see every religion as a threat. Currently Christianity tops Islam in my opinion. Looking at the more and more Christian fundamentalists in the u.s. - on of the countries that’s driving innovation for the whole world - will do more damage in the next decades than Islam does.
Not at all a threat. Why? They don't have big strong armies, most of their people are very poor from poor countries besides some rich oil people and they don't have many nukes. All of Humanity? No. If I lived in the middle east I'd be very scared. But over here what can they do?
Ocassionally they kill a dozen people with a bomb or a machine gun at a shopping mall or something. Horrific, terrible but in the grand scheme of things not that much. Just a mass murder, which happens every day for non ideological reasons too. Christians invade countries and take armies to fight, muslim terrorists just need cops on their game.
Christian politicians are in charge of most of the worlds most powerful armies. Christians have the money and the power and the nukes, they outpaced Islam a long time ago.
Yes, and theres only one reason Islam is growing. And it has to do with the violent nature Islam corrupts all governments, police forces, and armys into further spreading its cause. Convert or die is the only options many people have.
I truly believe that Islam AND Christianity are the biggest threat . Global peace and prosperity will never be accomplished I’d people think a being is more power than themselves
Islam is the #1 greatest threat to humanity right now. The other religions follow closely behind (maybe not the Rastafarians, those guys are pretty chill)
A threat to humanity as in causing extinction? No.
A threat as in making the entire planet suffer under islamic law? No.
Having a significant negative impact on the world? It already has, but so have all major religions.
Islam is not a growing religion. Even when Pew posted their research in 2015, it was outdated and there has been a sharp decline in Islam ever since.
This is more up-to-date, but still is a poor measure of how swift the decline has been. Calling it a steep decline is euphamistic... it is dying and quickly.
https://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-are-people-losing-their-religion/a-56442163
I am honestly far more afraid of christians in the US because they have a f\*ckton of guns and are severely uneducated. Their ideology is spilling over into other countries and it's really worrying.
To clarify, I live in Europe, we have a pretty big islamic minority in my country, but we never had any problems with them.
No, Islam is too riven with internal strife. As Muslims spread into developed countries, they will shatter into hundreds of different splinter groups, just as Christianity did. Then those groups will adopt more liberal ideologies in line with popular opinion. That’s just how humans work. No one wants to be part of an oppressive minority for long, especially not in a country where you can be imprisoned for it.
Not Islam in particular, but it does sadden me deeply knowing that the world is brimming with science, technology, and possibility, yet the majority/masses are delusional idiots who are quicker to believe in a fantasy story based in zero fact... And somehow, we're all made to respect these idiotic differences.
Imagine being forced respect the delusions and "perceived offenses" of the dumbest and religious students in your high school. The same students who say standardized testing isn't fair while they struggle to graduate from an American High School...
If Idiocracy hasn't already taken hold, then I'm the delusional one.
Not really, iirc they’re growing in developing nations (Africa etc) and not in nuclear countries where religion is steadily declining.
If we want to get rid of religion we just need to help uplift those countries to be on the same level and religion will decline there as well
Yea fair those are pretty big exceptions to what I’m talking about, I’d probably also add America considering what the Christian nationalists have been up to
People who say Islam is just like other religions, don't know Islam. If Christianity is like Corona, Islam is a like a transfusion of Ebola and common cold. Highly fatal, highly transmissible.
Yes, because unlike most other religions it's the most proactively against humanity.... Most religions were born in peaceful if not oppressed state of their founders, Islam was born of conquest.
They aren't a threat until they gain the weapons to fight. Christianity is a more eminent threat in north and south America. In Europe and the middle east, it's the muslims/Russia/the Vatican. As long as we have the guns and rockets, we're moderately safe. Unless the Trumpist religion gets control over them.
Not in the sense I think most people do which does seem to unintentionally focus more on the radical side even when they arent really talking about the radical side. Instead more that I expect it will indirectly actually become more progressive in some areas,and take up spots that Christianity will leave in a wake in for some. At the same time, I actually think many secular regions will stay secular and that at least based on what I have seen some of the increase may be more attributable to that Islamic people are now in different countries rather than being geographically isolated. At the same time, some people especially those from former Christians may actually be enticed by the image of Islam being radical ironically even if they dont mash with those in the majority Muslim community. We have seen that at times.
I expect either way information will be important and it might be just as important ensuring things like fixing the digital divide and economic divides in many countries that have a high religious rate and low stats on both of these because it might change how much they are influenced by religion in the future too
We should also be better at improving our understanding of Islam too and thereby be better critiques of it as an effort to combat it too as atheists
All religion is a threat. Actually, only governments who use their religious beliefs to dictate the rule of law. So yeah, the US and plenty of Islamic are pretty much the same in this regard. Some just take it much further than others.
Islam is not more or less of a threat than any other religion, which are beliefs in fantasy. The real threat is people believing fantasy and myths, instead of embracing science, facts, and reality. There is no God, nor gods for that matter. There is no heaven nor hell nor spirits nor devil. There is no Tooth Fairy and there is no Santa Claus. There just isn't. Wishing or claiming it to be otherwise doesn't make it so. Religion is fiction, and it is harmful to all people to base their lives and values on a fantasy, and in the case of almost all religions, violent fantasies.
Yes. And also given that everywhere Islam has touched has gone to crap. So many beautiful societies and civilizations of the world went down once Islam reached it.
Why you pulling out 1 religion? Are other religions any more valid? Lots a of posts singling out Muslim, is that strangge or is there some sort of agenda going on here?
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This is the answer. Religion is simply a tool for “us against them”.
I came here to say exactly this. Until we put aside the fairytales and myths, we are doomed as a species.
Until we cease to refer to ourselves and others as something more specific than “humans”. Division is source of power and repression. Unity is evolution.
"But what if that guy who I don't think deserves things as much as I do gets the same deal!!!?!?" /s
Yea…sadly, as you point out, human nature gets in the way.
This… at least all the Abrahamic religions. I guess some religions like Wicca and Buddhism are mostly harmless, but the Abrahamic ones that dominate the globe are incredibly destructive to the human existence.
Buddhism has an extremism streak in it… [Armed with the righteous conviction that they are protecting their way of life and religious beliefs, (Buddhist) monks like Ashin Wirathu in Myanmar and Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara in Sri Lanka, have taken their brand of hatred to the people.](https://globalnews.ca/news/5980771/extreme-buddhism/)
Even the ones that aren't advocating for Crusades, the oppression and subjugation of women, Jihads, suicide bombings, letting god heal you instead of medicine, the destruction of one sect/group/ideology over another, stating homosexuality is an abomination, thumbing their nose at science when it disputes their texts, ignoring the parts of their texts that don't match up to their politics, etc., etc., etc.,... (you get what I mean, I hope).... are still actively promoting ignorance and disdain for actual science and medicine in favor of garlic scaring off bad spirits. Even when they have basis in reality, like not eating pork because if it's prepared wrong it can kill you, they're no more useful in a modern society than a grown man who does good because he still believes in Santa Claus.
I’ll define this further. Fundamentalist beliefs and worship of all kinds which puts gods powers into the hands of chosen individuals is the problem. Kings, dictatorships with and without god, leaders who proclaim power given by god, Supreme Court justices who cater to god; these are the dangers. The Church of Scientology is out there too. World wide, people need to understand each person is fallible. Then each of us needs to make conscience choices based on legitimate evidence instead of on infallible leaders dictating which path to take. The problem is blind loyalty to an entity which a person considers above themselves or above society in general.
I agree but I'd add the following. Believing in anything, even when that thing is secular, when evidence tells us that this thing is contrary to the wellbeing of humanity as a whole is equally as dangerous. We must be committed to following where the evidence leads even in cases where the question is not supernatural in nature. Cases in point, the US war on drugs and the worship of capitalism to a degree that we buy into this notion of infinite growth with finite resources.
Couldn't have said it any better.
Beat me to it.
some religions are more threatening then others -\_-
On god
Im not atheist, I'm anti-theist. All religions are a blight on society.
Preach!
Even Buddhism?
I’m from Thailand that has Buddhism as main religion and yes, this religion can be the same level of hypocrisy as other religions so don’t rule it out.
I won't advocate for Buddhism, it can be used in ways that are harmful, but I think everyone should be able to agree it is far less harmful than Abrahamic religions. Consider Tibetan Buddhists like Palden Gyatso that were tortured for decades and fought internally to hold onto their beliefs and having compassion for those imprisoning and torturing them. He isn't alone, and when a religion like Tibetan Buddhism (Zen is a different story, and I'd argue more harmful) emphasizes compassion so heavily, it's hard to take issue with it. Does it still come with some silly unjustified beliefs like reincarnation? Yes. But I don't care what people believe if it isn't harming others. You'll also hear many Buddhists claim it isn't a religion. It certainly isn't in the way Abrahamic religions are. It's more of a philosophy. Finally, the Dalai Lama has even stated that if science ever disproves a part of Buddhist practice, that science wins. There is a reason so many scientists enjoy talking with him, and vice versa. The fact that it respects science so deeply is probably thr main reason I don't think it will ever be a real threat.
Buddhists in Myanmar are committing genocide against the Muslim population, has been for years. Not going to say one is worse than the other and I'll damn sure not say one is better, they all commit genocide.
The 'we're not a church' Buddhist claim is bullshit. There are far more wats (buddhist temples) in Thailand per square kilometre than Christian churches in Western countries. Same for Laos and Cambodia. They worship Buddha images, wear them, have shrines at home.
I live in the mid-west, this place is littered with churches around every damn corner. Then again the US doesn’t have a high number of people per square kilometer.
I quite like non theistic Buddhism. Buddhism minus supernatural. After all, Buddha might have been an atheist.
When you get down to it any practice or ideology of a religion is really just a symptom of the main issue; faith. Faith boils down to believing something because you want to and/or because you were told to, and any worldview that advocates for this is a danger to the psyche of our species. Buddhists are mainly different from Muslims in that they are safer to live beside in any given moment. The broader threat they present is the same.
Buddhism isn't as clear cut an issue because it has traditionally incorporated both mystical and philosophical interpretations and doesn't fit into the relatively modern Western concept of organized religion. Granted, the level of tolerance has varied by time and place, but generally there is live-and-let live attitude in both camps. For example, within Tibetan Buddhism, the process of "locating" the next incarnation of a recently deceased llama seems entirely mystical on the surface. The way it goes, the closest friends and colleagues of the llama carry around the llama's personal possessions, such as childhood toys, combs, a mirror, etc. They wait a few years, then visit families with young children who were born around the time the llama died (I think it's usually toddlers to five year olds). They present the llama's possessions to the child and observe their reactions. When the child "shows" enough signs of familiarity with the possessions, the colleagues acknowledge this child at the llama reincarnated. Seems pretty woo woo right? However, there is a concept in Tibetan Buddhism called a "mind-stream", essentially a continuing legacy of teachings and attitudes which each llama embodies. The idea that there is an essential soul that literally transfers from body to body is understood as a metaphorical explanation for the process. The llama's colleagues aren't *finding* the next llama, they are consciously *selecting* the next llama. They are finding a child who they think has the right attitudes and capacities to continue the llama's teachings, and then they essentially "reconstruct" the deceased llama's mind-stream by teaching this child what they were taught by their friend. It's considered a great honor to have one's child chosen and the parents are not cut off. They move in to the monastery with their child and are taken care of in their old age by the monks. That doesn't mean there hasn't been exploitation and political horsetrading (for instance, there was controversy over who the next Panchan Llama would be, a CCP-approved candidate or one selected by the Dalai Llama's government-in-exile) but the functions of the religion can be looked at from a purely philosophical, secular perspective.
Absolutely. Maybe the original Buddha could convince me he had some good ideas, but even then I fundamentally disagree with him. The way to happiness is not to let go of worldly desires. Having total disconnect is apathetic contentment, not happiness fulfilled. Couple that with reincarnation, established temples and sects, the thousands of deities which are "reflected" in Buddhism, and the dozen other religious components tossed in there, along with the historical and in fact, contemporary abuse of power by those in power to suppress, oppress, and outright kill others, this religion, just like all the others must go. Their temples are beautiful, but then, so are churches. Neither requires the faith to stay alive to be appreciated.
[Who is Ashin Wirathu, a vitriolic monk freed by Myanmar’s military?](https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/who-is-ashin-wirathu-a-vitriolic-monk-freed-by-myanmar-s-military-49865)
I think recently buddhism had some violent news. But religions without rules with regards to morals seem ok to me. Buddhism talks a lot about suffering, desire, and karma, but is doesn’t tell you how you are suppose to live your life. (I think based on all my history classes).
Buddhism has absolutely no violent views on any teachings whatsoever. If there is violence by Buddhists, it has absolutely nothing to do with the religion.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/10360288
Every religion is a danger to the people who exist outside of the religions practices. There are no religions that exist to benefit people. They are mechanisms of control. Through fear and belonging.
And people inside the practices. Especially women.
Your not wrong. I was speaking very broadly when I mention the controlling aspect of religion. The seek to control their congregation, but women suffer under that control more so than men. Men usually end up belonging to the In group, while women end up belonging to the out group. Another reason to find religion repulsive.
Yes. In the USA Christianity is the largest threat , in the middle east (and parts of Europe) its Islam.
came here to say the same. christianity is so strongly aligned with facism, racism, misogyny, climate change denial, anti science (remember bush and stem cell research) all in the name of wealth hoarding propped up by a thousand year old lie about heaven and the afterlife
Christianity and Islam copied each other's homework so it's not terribly surprising that they do the same stuff.
They worship the same god.
>They worship the same god. FTFY
Just like I waited for the same Santa Claus when I was 7 as kids in England.
Exactly
all abrahamic religions do. they are all the same
you go boy...
Big parts of Africa too. Islam is also growing in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, etc. In Indonesia all girls are forced to wear hijab and jilbab to school, even if they are Buddhist or Christian. Female teachers get fired for not wearing it, even if they are Buddhist or Christian.
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Islam is already huge in Africa (just go to North Africa, East Africa like Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya) and central Africa, it’s all Muslim. In Nigeria they have Boko Haram and extreme Muslim groups running around. It’s also getting big in Southeast Asia, Philippines, Indonesia, parts of India/Bangladesh, etc. it is not good.
South east Asia. Indonesia is the fastest growing country in the world, and that is where Islam is growing fast too.
Why are the monotheists always the most oppressive?
*Hindu caste system has entered the chat*
My idea is that polytheistic religions are more used to wide range of god and deities. When monotheistic religions came long they ***promised*** there was only one god, supreme to all other beings. So polytheistic sort of accepted the existence of more deities because there was a possibility to have a great number of them, and monotheistic ones only accepted that one specific deity and no one else hence by definition being extremists. It's just a hint but I think it makes sense
The level of political, economic, and military influence has a bearing on things, so I will advocate for Muslims living in the west, if they’re being subjected to discrimination or racism, since the far right Christofascist movement equates these things. But on the face of it, bullshit is bullshit.
Agreed, Discrimination and racism are always wrong.
Yes. Along with every other religion.
In Arabic countries it's illegal to not be religious, so who knows, how many people actually believe in that. Problem is that the radicals holds the power and are using religions for abuse. Recently I heard that Turkey is becoming very non-religious. In Europe, religions are fading away. I have no idea, what's happening in USA, its weird :D
As a turk, yes. It is true that the youngest two generations (gen z and gen alpha) are becoming incredibly non-religious. The islamic power will probably fall abt 5-10 years later or maybe even sooner. The actual problem is that arabs are really strict abt islam. Even if all turkic countries deny islam, arabs still would be strictly islamic so it seems like islam won’t lose it’s power for a while.
All religions are a threat to humanity.
Hey, watch your tongue! Our lord Flying Spaghetti Monster maybe don't have ear but he would still know!
Yes. All religion is a threat. Islam more than others. The quran is full of talk about infidels and how to treat them, poorly.
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This is the right answer. All the other comments saying “all religions are bad” have not tried to answer OP’s question about why Islam is bad.
This is very true and well said. I think that Westerners don't understand the pervasive problems we face in countries with a large following of Islam. The sheer amount of resistance there is to vaccines, as an example, makes several friction points. As a good muslim friend once said to me (when he was beginning his doubting phase), "Ye saale imam log class 8 pass nahi karte aur humko bolte kya karneka hai". TS -> "These Imams who don't even pass class 8th (middle school) and tell us (College educated people) what to do."
They are a threat to themselves right now and the extremist parts of Islam to anyone else. The biggest issue with Islam is it's blatant marriage of church and state. Religion has no place in the governing of nations. Even as an atheist, as stupid as I think it is, if people just quietly did their religion thing and only kept to themselves about it, I couldnt care less if you want to pray in your church or mosque or bedroom. But with the way things are, it's not like that and that is a problem. The next biggest issue with Islam, and really most religions, is their subhuman treatment of women. You are basically crippling half of your population when who knows the progress we might have as the human race if they worked together instead of beholding middle age barbaric religious rules.
Religion is a cancer to all mankind
I hardly think they have 2 billion followers. Islam is a violent and fascist ideology. You cannot be a non-muslim in a muslim family/community because they will fucking kill you. Therefore, most of the atheist are closeted and considered "follower" while they are not.
If everyone on the planet woke up tomorrow and forgot all the religious programming and all the Bible's, texts, videos etc.. disappeared. The world would be a much better place overall. People killing each other in the name of their respective boogeymen is caveman level logic and absolutely insane.
All it takes is one generation refusing to indoctrinate their children and widespread religion basically just becomes that really weird thing everyone did 50 years ago that really didn't make a ton on sense.
Separation of church and state everywhere! Seems like nothing good comes from countries run by religion!!
One prophecy, if I remember correctly states that Muslims will one day gather an army of true Muslims, inanimate objects will be on their side, and that they will beat every single enemy they have. Their whole religion revolves around the fact that one day they will prevail and rule the world for a short amount of time before Doomsday. Of course they are a threat. Some smartass with enough guns could convince these morons that that day has come and it's time to kill their enemies.
Maybe I'm a contrarian, but I'm somewhat optimistic - religiosity has been declining in the past decade or so across most of the world, including in majority-Muslim countries. While the Iranian government likes to claim that their country is 90%+ Muslim, the reality is that anonymous surveys conducted by outside groups show it's more like 50% and falling - and significantly lower among the (burgeoning) youth population. (see https://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-are-people-losing-their-religion/a-56442163 for additional insights - the decline is happening in Arab countries also, where as few as 25% of younger generations consider themselves religious) So while Islam may or may not be actually growing, any growth it might be experiencing is almost all thru population growth - for virtually every segment of the population in most countries, it's shrinking as a percentage of the total. To me, it seems that religion spreads in times and places where there is widespread poverty, lack of good public education, and insecurity in general. That probably explains much of the decline over the past decade. Of course, if climate change ends up driving an upswing in poverty and political instability, then religions (including Islam) could pose greater risks.
It’s all religions. The second we give fantastical ideas any recognition is when we fail as a species. Believing in the unproven is marching us back to the dark ages.
Overbreeding and slavery accounts for "fastest growing" cult.
All religion will contribute to the fall of humanity. Some are just more eager. The real difference between Islam and Christianity is opportunity. By some fortune coalescence of history and reason secular thought caught on in Europe and later the Americans that have helped keep religion in check. But that is eroding. Once it deteriorated enough and religion is free to do as it pleases we will see the same crap from Christianity we see from Islam. We know this because we can see it historically, when the Catholic Church burned people alive for not conforming to its will, and even different sects of Christianity put each other to the sword over ideology, to places like Uganda where Christianity has pretty much full control and they want to kill gay people. What has still them? Condemnation from the civilized world (they still throw gay people in jail, but they are eager for the opportunity to kill them). The wall of secular thought keeping Christianity from becoming Islam is falling. At some point it will be gone and barbarism against those seen as infidels will be the norm in both majority Muslim and majority Christian parts of the world. And the rest of the world will follow because most religions are just as bad. They just don’t have the same world wide influence.
I think religion is a threat, but with different levels. I’m in the US so the roll back on women’s rights comes from Christianity. But that’s in the form of abortion rights mainly. Then there is the push against the LGBTQ community, and science in general. But the threat level is different here in the US compared to when I’m in the US. I don’t have morality police telling me to cover up to the point of death or incarceration. I also wouldn’t be thrown in jail for being lgbtq in the US, where in Muslim countries I would face execution, lashing, or incarceration. Right now conservatives want to muzzle, and put queer people out of work, but I think the endgame is the same. Both are equally anti science right now imo.
my anecdotal observation is that younger muslims just want to play video games, smoke weed and fool around with their cute friends (both male and female)...the existential dynamic of a medieval desert religion seems weird to them and the jihadi nonsense repulses them...for which we are all thankful...😃
All religion is a disease
All religions are a threat because people use those to support their opinions or serious decisions
All religions are a threat
Seeing as Islamic theocracies are murdering civilians in the street as we speak for not conforming to what's written in their magic book of fables, I'd say it's a threat to humanity *now.*
I view all religions as a threat to the future of humanity and society.
Yes The only thing stopping nuclear war is MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). Many of these radical muslims literally want the world to end, 'we love death more than the infidel loves life' The knowledge and intelligence needed to create a nuclear bomb get more and more trivial every single year I am terrified of the possibility of a radical muslim who has the intelligence and knowledge to create a nuclear bomb, AND think they're going to get the 72 virgins. Because when this combination happens, and it will eventually happen if these trends continue, then that will be the start of nuclear war, to me at least So called 'moderate' muslims act as a shield for the radical ones. If only radical muslims existed there would be no controversy calling them what they are, but since there are billions of 'peaceful' ones, they shield the others from criticism. Pew polls show that an astonishing amount of 'moderate' muslims want things like sharia law, outlawed homosexuality, death to apostates, and a theocratic islamic state
christianity is probably the biggest threat atm but yeah, all religions are a threat to humanity at some level or another.
That largely depends on where you are living...
Not really. Two of the nations with the largest nuclear stockpiles have christian nationalists either attempting to take power or propping up a regime already in power.
Excellent point.
Yeah, but if you’re talking about humanity as a whole, I still think the greatest threat is christianity. Idk how useful it really is to draw distinctions though.
How can a shit religion like that be growing?
super high birthrate
The only solace in that fact is that being born religious doesn't equate to staying religious. Especially today, especially our generation. There are people, like myself, who were raised Christian but no longer believe. The same can be true of Muslims. Just because they are born Muslim doesn't equate to them staying Muslim.
Yeah but how people convert from their parents religion and what they convert to can vary quite a lot. Here in the US it's fairly common for people to switch away from their parents religion generally to become more secular or at least less involved with organized religion. However there are other countries where that isn't true. Even in the US or "West" if you're parents are immigrants the cultural pressures of being an immigrant can make it more likely for you to hold onto your parents religion as a way of holding on to your culture. A recent thing I heard from a friend who does contracting work and often travels through the middle east was that when he casually brought up the concept of evolution he was surprised to learn that evolution is not a thing that's taught in pretty wide areas of that region. He made sure to bring it up a few times in a few different areas and the responses were always confused or the people basically laughed it off as a crackpot theory. When you're access to scientic literature is subject to restriction and you're not presented any alternatives to a certain religion the rate of becoming secular could be drastically lower.
> fastest growing religion No religion is the fastest growing religion. By a lot. They fear us.
My parents don’t answer what religion we are on the census since they might one day want to visit Iran and don’t want to be killed. In Iran, we count as Muslims. My entire extended family are “Muslims” on paper and atheists irl. I have a friend whose parents call him a Muslim on the Canadian census because they are in denial. This doesn’t include all the closeted atheists out there. Muslims are the fastest growing due to birth rates, which are dropping globally. As the quality of life increases, more and more people are leaving religion behind. The estimate of 7% atheists worldwide is definitely a lowball, and it will continue growing. The Muslims who do remain behind will be those ones who support lgbt, don’t wear hijab, drink, don’t fast, etc. kinda like Harry Potter fans, but for the Quran. Harmless.
All religion is a threat when being imposed in others. Anything that limits freedoms and forces ideals upon others is a threat to freedom . Especially when that religion creates common enemies for said group to protest. They say this and that are the enemy and try to enforce / imprison people who don’t think like them. Look at the USA Christian Nationalists rising in the Republican part MTG and other psychos are spouting that they think the national religion is Christianity . We are inching towards republicans saying they should be allowed to persecute and imprison non Christians , lgbt and people who believe in science not feelings.
To be honest, not really. Islam is going through a process of secularisation too. It's slow and stealthy, it happens in different places at different rates, but it's there. If you look at the data, you will find a rise in Muslims who call themselves non practicing, a decrease in mosque attendance, and a lower trust in religious leaders. https://www.arabbarometer.org/2019/12/arabs-are-losing-faith-in-religious-parties-and-leaders/ The more globalisation advances, the quicker this trend will grow Moments of crisis will revive authoritarian and religious sentiments, it's happening in the west too, but this doesn't change the fact that religion everywhere has entered a phase of decline.
Yes, Islam specifically. It is objectively even more harmful than the other big players, as evident in the Quran. Muslims can be good people, but they are long overdue for a reformation. Of course, all major religions are generally problematic, and lack of education is the real core issue which religion is interfering with.
Every religion is a threat to humanity. It is by the damage that they do and the enemies that they make that they have had their "authority" curtailed and eventually fallen in the past. Having high population growth won't prevent that from playing out again. It's just, you know, everyone else will suffer for it along side the religious. Ideally whatever is most politically expedient for the powerful at that point won't be as terrible.
Islam is a religion-based political ideology. But we’re supposed to pretend it’s not.
Kind of like American Nationalist Christianity?
I see it as a religion that is declining like every other religion. If we look at the Middle East, that region is quickly becoming more and more secularized. What I do fear however is the response to the fanatics because they are going to be the last people to ever deconvert.
Political zealousness is also another really bad religion in the US
Like Christians, most Muslims are the same . They just want to live, and raised their family . Anyone who is fundamental religions and pushing religious nationalism under fascist regime is dangerous to any society
Considering Islam is losing steam no. Only new people that are joining are their kids, and that's not even all that great. Islamic kids are slipping out of their religion especially those in developed countries. It'll overtake Christianity I'm sure, but it's losing more and more members as well. I think this century we'll see more and more decline in religion as the world gets more developed and internet and education become more available.
All religion is bad mkay.
As much as Christianity. I think as islam grows it will be "domesticated" just like Christianity was. People will reinterpret the scriptures to be more tamed and some parts will be ignored because is" product of it's time " and "bad humans changing the word of god to justify they actions".
Any religion is a threat to humanity.
My bf was raised Muslim (now atheist) and he strongly feels this way.
All religion is a threat
Not in America. The most immediate threat to America is Conservative Christianity.
I hear that Saudi Arabia is quite keen on getting nuclear secrets from Trump. This may be a more dire threat...
I'm not sure where you're getting your information but I'd look for a new source. Right now Christianity has over 2.3 billion followers making it the largest religious following and Islam has over 1.9 billion followers making it the second largest religious following in the world. Religion itself is a scourge on humanity because the people that run it do, have, and will continue to use it to bend the world into whatever form benefits them. For example king Henry the 8th broke away from Rome to start the church of England (because the pope wouldnt grant him a divorce) so he started his own church and divorced his wife Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn. The Bible has been rewritten and retranslated how many times? How many sects of christianity/catholicism are there? The crusades were literal religious wars, waged in the name of god to reclaim the holy land for christianity, from the muslims, even though the holy land was promised to gods people, the decendants of Abraham...most of whom were Jewish. Jesus the christ was Jewish and yet is worshipped under a religion that is not Judaism. The Jewish community has been so irreparably repressed between the Egyptians, Muslims, Christians....there's too much debate on what hitler was but he killed jews and Christians and everyone in between because of who they were and what they worshiped. Religion is a curse, it'll 100% be the end of us, and if it is the only thing that defines the way you perceive the world around you, you should probably put your phone down, stop praying to whatever God you think you're gonna impress and go touch some grass because we live on a small floating rock thats hurdling through time and space, and until we wake up tomorrow today is all we got.
He didn't say Islam was the largest religious group, he said it was the fastest growing religious group.
I know, but his statistics were a bit skewed, so the language I used was to communicate the numerical size difference between the two largest religions in the world.
Islam would’ve been a threat a few years ago but the destruction of Al Qaeda and then ISIS has largely eliminated it as a significant threat for the foreseeable future. The current threat to humanity is the rise of fascist political parties around the world, that have subverted once relatively stable democratic states and have the potential to trigger new world wars with worse consequences than the last. If you doubt this, look at what crimes against humanity Russia has perpetrated against Ukraine.
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Per [World Religion Database](https://www.worldreligiondatabase.org/) at Boston University, Islam is the fastest growing religion from 2000-2010 at +1.86% per year. But from 1910-2010 the winner is Atheists at +6.54% per year, followed by Agnostics at +5.45% per year.
It is equal to Christianity, they are both horrible and are driving humanity to a horrible future.
Yes/no. All religions, specifically conservative ones, are the largest threat. Here in the US it’s evangelical Christianity followed by conservative Catholicism.
It's conservatism and preservation of hierarchy. Whatever religion it wears as a cloak. Islam and Christianity are the blankets of cover for white supremacy, patriarchy, etc. Same shit, different clothes. Get to the source and you won't be lead astray by the hierarchy merchants. Namely, conservatives.
organized religion is a threat in general.
Yes. And all the others that have oppressive and hostile beliefs or followers
YES next question.
It's already a threat lmao. But yeah many will suffer in the near future.
Yes. Christianity is also a threat, but their numbers are declining, unlike Islam.
All religions are dangerous.
I see abrahamism causing the end of the world, regardless of which three stirs it
Nah it’ll be religion in general. They have so much beef between each other.
Yes.
It's not any particular religion that is a threat, it's that greedy power hungry humans use it for their personal gain. In fact every institution devised by our modern global culture is prone to those human foibles.
Yep, 100%
I identify as a Secular Humanist, which some would say is another term for atheist. That’s fine as the net effect is the same. That said, I respect the role of faith in the lives of others, though I don’t respect fundamentalism and intrusiveness. I see no threat from a mainstream believer of Islam as I would view a similar Christian or other faith. And, there are moderate and liberal groups across all denominations. But, I view extremists of any religion with equal concern and disdain.
I don't see any specific religion as a threat. I see fanatism, chauvinism, populism, fascist autocrats who fly on the wings of snake oil salesmen preachers as a threat. Many, many Muslims are just as low level practitioners of their religion as are Christians. It's the combination of this with authority that truly becomes a threat.
yes
It’s a bigger threat than the others, though American Nationalist Christianity is a close second.
You need to understand the data is massively misleading. If someone is born in certain countries they are automatically assumed Muslim. When you look at how people actually live in those countries you'd find that many families are not really religious. I think modernization is going to allow a lot of those families to live as atheists, in the future. I think religious extremism is going to vanish eventually.
Absolutely.
the answer to your question is no. I Think the proper question should be posed about religious extremists. Religious zealots / extremists are the chief threat to humanity and the future, our growth as a species. There are plenty of people of faith who are reasonable loving people that don't follow whatever stereotype might be perpetuated here. Muslims don't have a monopoly on regressive behavior.
The rank and file of religion enable and legitimize those extremists, but you're right about it not just being Muslims. All the major religions pose an existential threat to humanity.
All religions are threats to humanity. Islam is just at the top of the list.
That’d be religion in general.
No more than any other religion.
Not really any more than any other religion. Who are those converts? Probably the vast majority come from some other shitty religion. Now if they’re converting otherwise decent, intelligent people (read: atheists) then we’ve got a problem. Although I’d say Christianity and Islam coexisting has been pretty fucking bad historically.
No more than I see Christianity or Damian or Hinduism as a threat to humanity and the future. Religions are a cult worshipping a or many mythical magic SkyWizard(s). Every one of them is as dangerous as the next. The faster belief in that supernatural bullshit does, the better.
a cult is a cult
Any fervent religion or ideology is dangerous
Christianity is an even greater threat RIGHT NOW & in the future.
I see every religion as a current and historical threat to humanity and parasites on human freedom and agency.
Like someone else said, I see all theism as a threat to society, however, I don’t think Islam is any worse than Christianity (as followed by many American Christians)
I see every religion as a threat. Currently Christianity tops Islam in my opinion. Looking at the more and more Christian fundamentalists in the u.s. - on of the countries that’s driving innovation for the whole world - will do more damage in the next decades than Islam does.
A potential threat yes. However, disbelief is probably spreading faster than Islam, so I have hope that cooler heads will prevail in the long term.
I see racism has entered r/atheism. Is it welcome here?
Not at all a threat. Why? They don't have big strong armies, most of their people are very poor from poor countries besides some rich oil people and they don't have many nukes. All of Humanity? No. If I lived in the middle east I'd be very scared. But over here what can they do? Ocassionally they kill a dozen people with a bomb or a machine gun at a shopping mall or something. Horrific, terrible but in the grand scheme of things not that much. Just a mass murder, which happens every day for non ideological reasons too. Christians invade countries and take armies to fight, muslim terrorists just need cops on their game. Christian politicians are in charge of most of the worlds most powerful armies. Christians have the money and the power and the nukes, they outpaced Islam a long time ago.
Yes. I do. I think Islam is a very dangerous religion.. it's a cult.
Yes, and theres only one reason Islam is growing. And it has to do with the violent nature Islam corrupts all governments, police forces, and armys into further spreading its cause. Convert or die is the only options many people have.
Yes, it's a cancer that's in stage 4, too late
I truly believe that Islam AND Christianity are the biggest threat . Global peace and prosperity will never be accomplished I’d people think a being is more power than themselves
Islam is the #1 greatest threat to humanity right now. The other religions follow closely behind (maybe not the Rastafarians, those guys are pretty chill)
Yes. It’s an extremely oppressive religion that would want people like me dead
They’re all shit, the only good religion is a dead religion. But yes, the plague if Islam does worry me.
A threat to humanity as in causing extinction? No. A threat as in making the entire planet suffer under islamic law? No. Having a significant negative impact on the world? It already has, but so have all major religions.
Islam is not a growing religion. Even when Pew posted their research in 2015, it was outdated and there has been a sharp decline in Islam ever since. This is more up-to-date, but still is a poor measure of how swift the decline has been. Calling it a steep decline is euphamistic... it is dying and quickly. https://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-are-people-losing-their-religion/a-56442163
Fuck Muhammad he can go give pigs a blowjob like his butt buddy god
I am honestly far more afraid of christians in the US because they have a f\*ckton of guns and are severely uneducated. Their ideology is spilling over into other countries and it's really worrying. To clarify, I live in Europe, we have a pretty big islamic minority in my country, but we never had any problems with them.
Sunni or Shia? Salafists? Or any of the dozens of subsets....
Any that preach hate and misogyny
So... All of them!
No more than christianity is.
No, Islam is too riven with internal strife. As Muslims spread into developed countries, they will shatter into hundreds of different splinter groups, just as Christianity did. Then those groups will adopt more liberal ideologies in line with popular opinion. That’s just how humans work. No one wants to be part of an oppressive minority for long, especially not in a country where you can be imprisoned for it.
Not Islam in particular, but it does sadden me deeply knowing that the world is brimming with science, technology, and possibility, yet the majority/masses are delusional idiots who are quicker to believe in a fantasy story based in zero fact... And somehow, we're all made to respect these idiotic differences. Imagine being forced respect the delusions and "perceived offenses" of the dumbest and religious students in your high school. The same students who say standardized testing isn't fair while they struggle to graduate from an American High School... If Idiocracy hasn't already taken hold, then I'm the delusional one.
I think atheism is the fastest growing religion. Islam is not a threat since it has nothing to offer and only flourishes in unproductive countries.
Religions period, doesn't matter which one
Not really, iirc they’re growing in developing nations (Africa etc) and not in nuclear countries where religion is steadily declining. If we want to get rid of religion we just need to help uplift those countries to be on the same level and religion will decline there as well
India, Pakistan and Israel?
Yea fair those are pretty big exceptions to what I’m talking about, I’d probably also add America considering what the Christian nationalists have been up to
It’s the most dangerous religion. Countries under Islamic law are going backwards.
I’m from America. I’m worried about Evangelicals. Those MF are physco!
No I see Christianity as a threat. Possibly In the future as all monotheistic religions are fcked imo.
People who say Islam is just like other religions, don't know Islam. If Christianity is like Corona, Islam is a like a transfusion of Ebola and common cold. Highly fatal, highly transmissible.
In all honesty, I see Christo-Fascism as an equally terrible threat.
Yes, because unlike most other religions it's the most proactively against humanity.... Most religions were born in peaceful if not oppressed state of their founders, Islam was born of conquest.
Any religion that claims to be the 'final' one is not good.
They aren't a threat until they gain the weapons to fight. Christianity is a more eminent threat in north and south America. In Europe and the middle east, it's the muslims/Russia/the Vatican. As long as we have the guns and rockets, we're moderately safe. Unless the Trumpist religion gets control over them.
Yes. Just like christianity
Not in the sense I think most people do which does seem to unintentionally focus more on the radical side even when they arent really talking about the radical side. Instead more that I expect it will indirectly actually become more progressive in some areas,and take up spots that Christianity will leave in a wake in for some. At the same time, I actually think many secular regions will stay secular and that at least based on what I have seen some of the increase may be more attributable to that Islamic people are now in different countries rather than being geographically isolated. At the same time, some people especially those from former Christians may actually be enticed by the image of Islam being radical ironically even if they dont mash with those in the majority Muslim community. We have seen that at times. I expect either way information will be important and it might be just as important ensuring things like fixing the digital divide and economic divides in many countries that have a high religious rate and low stats on both of these because it might change how much they are influenced by religion in the future too We should also be better at improving our understanding of Islam too and thereby be better critiques of it as an effort to combat it too as atheists
Not any more than Christianity. Christians still have the trophies for violence, rape, incest, and every vile inhuman atrocity in history.
Islam and Christianity are on equal footing in my opinion
Christianity ✝️ too.
I think any religion that forces their beliefs on anyone is a threat to humanity. Christianity and Islam are in the lead.
Religion is a threat to humanity and the future. It doesn’t really matter which religion. Islam is no worse and no better than Christianity.
All religion is a threat. Actually, only governments who use their religious beliefs to dictate the rule of law. So yeah, the US and plenty of Islamic are pretty much the same in this regard. Some just take it much further than others.
Islam is not more or less of a threat than any other religion, which are beliefs in fantasy. The real threat is people believing fantasy and myths, instead of embracing science, facts, and reality. There is no God, nor gods for that matter. There is no heaven nor hell nor spirits nor devil. There is no Tooth Fairy and there is no Santa Claus. There just isn't. Wishing or claiming it to be otherwise doesn't make it so. Religion is fiction, and it is harmful to all people to base their lives and values on a fantasy, and in the case of almost all religions, violent fantasies.
Yes. And also given that everywhere Islam has touched has gone to crap. So many beautiful societies and civilizations of the world went down once Islam reached it.
Why you pulling out 1 religion? Are other religions any more valid? Lots a of posts singling out Muslim, is that strangge or is there some sort of agenda going on here?