Thread by @GREENESJ333

Roger Froikin @rlefraim wrote, "Is there a war on Christianity or is it a war on religion?

The reason for the question comes out of the frequent claims by some on the Right politically that there is a war on Christianity.
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Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, Bill O’Reilly. Have all mentioned it or written about it.

But I suggest that they are wrong. There is not a war on Christianity as much as there is a war on religion. All religion.
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All non-secular ideologies that have a central recognized role for faith, respect for tradition, immutable moral standards, and that establish a relation between man and the Creator as superior to rule by man.
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Worldwide, and within those whose families valued traditions, we see those who declare themselves to be non-believers, or who say they don’t do this or that, even when no one cares whether they do or not, as if to renounce their religious background as something negative,
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to score points and respect or acceptance with what they view as intellectual secularism. We seen it often with Jews who will rush to say “but I am not religious”, or Christians who eagerly tell you that they don’t go to church, or
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Hindus who claim eagerly that they are completely secular - all to avoid what they see as judgment by the “more intellectual secular world” as if saying that their religious background is somehow primitive and not as sophisticated...
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(though I suppose I should explain “sophisticated”. Sophists were professional teachers in 5th–4th century BC Greece who taught rhetoric, politics, and "excellence" (arete) to citizens for money. They argued that truth is relative and
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focused on persuasive argumentation rather than absolute truth. Key figures like Protagoras and Gorgias specialized in techniques to win debates, heavily influencing Athenian democracy and legal life.)
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It appears to me that three things are being rejected. (1). A rejection of ethical and moral standards that have been proven through time, in favor of fashion and current interests, (2). A rejection of anything that is contrary to some vague universal way of thinking and
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being that seeks to eliminate differences in favor of sameness, and a lack of dissent, and (3). A matter of acceptance of a status of secularism where mankind has total authority versus of religious authority that insists on moral standards that are not up to man to change.
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What I find interesting, though, is this hostility does not seem to be directed toward Buddhism or Islam.

In the West Buddhism has been reduced to a sometimes fashionable approach to self improvement and health, without regard to ethics, morals, or
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belief in anything outside oneself and some vagueness about universal power.

But the question is why these “sophisticated people who choose to reject religion, make an exception when it comes to Islam which they insist on tolerating, or treating differently.
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They refuse to criticize it, attack it. Or judge it. They rush to make accommodation for it that they never do for Christianity, Judaism, or Hinduism.
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I am sure many would disagree with me about this, but I think this strange attitude toward Islam is a combination of two things: They see Muslims as something primitive and not to be taken seriously, and at the same time,
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something to fear because they view Islam and Muslims as inherently both super organizable and violent.

So, these are some things to consider. I’d like to hear your responses."
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