Originally posted by queeq
Yeah, you have a good point. However, I don't think this is an exclusive trait for religion. I think you can see that in all layers of the population: politics, company policies, famlies... Maybe it has to do with a general sense of identity and a need to belong, fueled by insecurity. That's why may people have some sort of idol, leader what have ya and they follow him without dispute. Because the leader gives them a feel that they belong and he gives them some kind of identity. I mean you do see that in churches a lot, but one sees it in anti-reiligious organisations as well. heck, you even see it on these boards: tehre seems to be a very shapr line between religious sympathisers and non-sympathisers. And each member of the group nods very hard with statements made that fit in his ball park. But also notice that the sharper the line is, the more common group cohesion gets. And the more common group cohesion gets, the more stereotyped the perception of the opposing group gets. And by that time we're pretty close to tribal war.So I totally support your plea for independent thought. But that doesn't mean the conclusions drawn from idependent thought lead to the same conclusions. In other words, independent thinkers don't have to agree to be considered an independent thinker. But the only way to find out if someone is an idenpendent thinker is to show some interest and not to throw some stereotype at him.
Very insightful. I agree with much of what you shared. To extend your argument just a bit... I would also point out that just because a person is affiliated with a particular viewpoint, does not mean his brain has been placed in a pickle jar. Independent thinkers can make a significant contribution to group collectives.