Just spent a week in Salt Lake City. The community is at least 50% mormon. It occurred to me to wonder if people choose a religion based upon their own innate biases, or if they become more biased as a result of the religion they choose.

For instance, on the issue of gays/lesbians. It seems like Christian fundies and Islamics tend to be pretty biased against gays/lesbians, and view being gay or lesbian as a moral failing. Do you think that people start out with these perspectives, and choose a religion that fits their own worldview? Or, do you think religion actually influences what people believe about these types of subjects.

Just curious.

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Catz Meow
Badly behaved.
Hedonistic Lemming.

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JW Frogen, my new favorite noob poster:

If you are such a weak jellyfish you can be bullied on a forum where you can ignore any poster you do not want to read than I suggest you move to Tibet, convert to Buddhism, protest the Chinese occupation, be killed as you will by the Chinese and hope you come back with some form of backbone.

Interesting question. Hard to say really.

Isn't it in human nature to gravitate towards that which is familiar and like us? For instance, in high schools, kid normally gravitate to kids very similar to them. Thus, you get the formation of cliques and so forth.

But I think religion might be different. Religion can shape beliefs and values and convictions and morals and so forth.

To me, this biased viewpoint of gays/lesbians normally comes from the parent. In other words, the parent was already biased against gays/lesbians (I can't say due or not due to religion though) and brainwashed and indoctrinated their own kids to think the same way.

I'm rambling now...

Most people don't choose their religion either, they get sucked into it by one way or another, and then it dictates everything they do with their life and they are not allowed to question it.

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"It is extremely difficult for our contemporaries to conceive of the conditions of free banking because they take government interference with banking for granted and as necessary"

-- Ludwig von Mises

I think that there are a whole lot of people who are born into a religion and it gets so instilled in them that they become unable to think from a different perspective. Being in these religions they are taught about how to feel toward certain things and people and these feelings are based on things they are taught about the world.
Then, there are people who are raised this way and somehow develop the ability to take another perspective and break free from those chains. I, for instance, was born and raised catholic and, until i was 15, believed it all. But I dont anymore.

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Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.
-Dr. Carl Sagan

I grew up S. Baptist. My parents have "racial" views. I would call them racists-lite. They are also deathly afraid of gays/lesbians. Somehow, I never "caught" their perspective on these issues, even though I grew up in the church and was a true believer (tm) for most of my life.

__________________
Catz Meow
Badly behaved.
Hedonistic Lemming.

************************************************** ***
JW Frogen, my new favorite noob poster:

If you are such a weak jellyfish you can be bullied on a forum where you can ignore any poster you do not want to read than I suggest you move to Tibet, convert to Buddhism, protest the Chinese occupation, be killed as you will by the Chinese and hope you come back with some form of backbone.

What's a '(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)s'?

multiple boobs.

__________________
Catz Meow
Badly behaved.
Hedonistic Lemming.

************************************************** ***
JW Frogen, my new favorite noob poster:

If you are such a weak jellyfish you can be bullied on a forum where you can ignore any poster you do not want to read than I suggest you move to Tibet, convert to Buddhism, protest the Chinese occupation, be killed as you will by the Chinese and hope you come back with some form of backbone.

'Breasts'?


If religion did that, I imagine more people would go to church!

Thats awesome! Im really glad to hear that. My mothers racist but every time i hear her say anything that implies a prejudiced attitude i make her understand the ignorance in what she is saying. I caught her perspective when i was younger but i am of a generation that seems to be surpassing racial discrimination, if slowly.
As for religion, exposure counts for a lot. I got out of catholic school and into an entirely new world of information. Given the option, I changed my views. Unfortunately, some arent so lucky. Ever heard of the documentary Jesus Camp?

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Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.
-Dr. Carl Sagan

It's a misconception that 'most' people neither choose their religion nor are encouraged to question it.

In my tradition, we are scientific about it. We say 'try it' if it doesn't work, discard it.

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"To be a warrior is to learn to be genuine in every moment of your life" ~Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche~