Manfred comments on Thwarting a Catholic conversion? - Less Wrong Discussion
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That seems like a surprising claim! I'd like to explore it further.
The most dangerous religious fundamentalisms lead people to do things such as blowing up buildings, committing mass murders, jailing and torturing people for apostasy, and throwing acid in the faces of schoolchildren. This occurs both when dangerous religious fundamentalists occupy positions of formal political power (governments), and when they do not (terrorist groups, militias, abortion-clinic bombers).
(Note, I'm not asserting that religions or fundamentalisms in general promote those sorts of things. You specifically said "the most dangerous religious fundamentalism", and I'm taking that limitation in good faith.)
Somehow, nobody around here seems to be doing those sort of things. Indeed, that sort of behavior seems to be pretty rare in the Traditional Rationality community too — the skeptics movement; the New Atheists; etc.
Is that just because we are totalizing and dogmatic about making people happy instead of about hating and killing them? (I am reminded of a Barry Goldwater quote about extremism and moderation.)
Or do you think there is some other reason?
I think a good explanation for saying things like "just as totalizing and dogmatic" is that the question is getting substituted, in the regular sort of way.
That is, when we talk about how of course we should discourage people from being catholics, this sort of assumption that part of dymphna's identity is bad makes them feel attacked, and feel bad about the attack on their group. And because dymphna is a smart person, they use ideas like "just as totalizing and dogmatic" to communicate the badness they perceive.
And yes, I'm not being charitable at all.
TO HATERS: Oh? You think you'd do better than dymphna in a similar situation? Heck, I know I don't a lot of the time.