http://rationalreligion.co.uk:

By: Raden Roro, a convert to Islam Ahmadiyya

Here are common allegations, memes, and popular quotes spewed by many atheists against all religions and all religious peoples.

“Religions survive because they brainwash the young. Take away that brainwashing, and religions will die out”

“We are all born atheists until someone starts telling us lies”

“If you could reason with religious people there wouldn’t be any”

Whoa, talk about some very angry people! I can’t say that all atheists agree with these sentiments, and certainly don’t want to tar them all with the same brush. But there is a vocal contingent of atheists, inside and outside the public eye, who express similar sentiments regularly. The question we have to ask is—are these quotes a fair assessment of all religions? Imagine a statistician conducting an experiment with one sample and generalizing the findings to the entire human race. Imagine a scientist making claims without actually doing proper research… or any research at all.

Considering a pew forum survey estimated that 40% of atheists are between the age of 18-29, it is statistically unlikely that most atheists have had the opportunity to explore and understand a variety of world religions.

Atheists—Don’t Generalise!

Since proponents of atheism emphasise a reliance on facts, reason, and the scientific method I argue that it is important to put some effort into substantiating the claim that “religious people are brainwashed”. For those interested in rigorous research methodology, in the realm of social sciences, scholars agree that it is crucial that researchers acknowledge their biases, worldviews, privilege(s)/ lack thereof, and upbringing. This is because one needs to differentiate between matters of fact versus matters of values.

So let’s take an example: If I make a sweeping claim , a value laden statement such as “university education is useless”, I should specify as a matter of fact:

• Which university?
• Which department in the university?
• Whether perhaps my negative experience was based on a particular course?…
• Or I was one of those students who never show up, don’t do the readings, submit a paper last minute and yet still expect great results?

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