Should Some Things NOT Be Respected?

Going off from my previous post on religion and respect...

Should religion even be respected?

What makes it deserving of respect in the first place? That it has lasted for so long (in most cases)? That it concerns the makings of the universe? Maybe what makes it deserving of respect is that it helped launch human civilization by unifying large groups of people under the same banner.

In that case, I have some respect for religion. While it can be argued that science would have advanced much faster had religion not interfered, it can also be argued that without some form of organized religion, it would have have taken much longer for human civilizations to begin forming. So yes, I suppose religion in general deserves a modicum of respect for launching human civilization, if nothing more.

However, when most people speak of religion and respect, what they refer to is the respect that their personal beliefs, supposedly, deserve. But why is this? Why do people think that their personal beliefs are inherently deserving of respect?

There are two definitions of respect that I think people commonly mistake for the other. They are:

-noun

1. esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability

2. deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment

The first refers to the respect you give to someone who has achieved something worthy of respect, such as when an athlete receives a gold medal in the Olympics or when a scientist discovers a world changing theory.

When it comes to respect in terms of the second definition, I agree it should be given to religion because it does exist. You cannot deny the existence of religion no more than you can deny the existence of communism or capitalism. More importantly, I agree that this kind of respect should be given to the right to religion and to no religion. Without this respect for the right to religion/no religion, there would be no separation of church and state, something of which the negative consequences I am sure I do not need to explain.

Using that defintion, yes, religion deserves respect.

However, when speaking of respect with the first definition in mind, I fail to see why religion deserves such respect.

Why do I need to respect your personal beliefs outright? What makes your personal beliefs deserving of my respect?

It is not because your personal beliefs are tied to how you see the universe, and by criticizing (or "attacking" as they like to call it) them you feel hurt. This does not make it deserving of respect, for all it has done is delude you into believing a more romanticized version of reality exists solely for the sake of keeping you within your comfort zone.

It is not because religion kept you from continuing a life of crime, alcoholism, drugs, murder, or whatever else. In this case, religion deserves respect from you for helping you make your life better. So how does it deserve my respect? The way I see it, religion is a crutch, making it so that you don't have to do anything to solve your problems.

So why? Why is religion inherently deserving of my respect?

It isn't. The day I respect someone's personal beliefs is the day I find someone who reached beliefs through logical means, not because they were raised to believe or because those beliefs keep them from committing acts of violence on others. I will also not respect a person's beliefs if they only use those beliefs to keep from having to be momentarily uncomfortable about living in a godless universe.

I repeat, I will only respect your beliefs if you can prove to me that you reached those beliefs through logical reasoning, even if I disagree with that reasoning.

Now, whether or not you wish to continue calling me a jerk or an asshole is your prerogative. I couldn't care less of what you think of me.