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Aelyria wrote:

So.

Did I even once claim that religious people HAVEN'T done bad things? Did I even remotely imply that bad things AREN'T the direct result of horrible behavior from Christians specifically, and theists or religious people in general? No. I did not. I did not do that because it would be blatantly false to do so. Christians, theists, and religious people in general have done horrible, monstrous, frightening, sickening things throughout history. But they aren't special for having done so. Bringing up the fact that they have in this way only has two motives: you're trying to skewer me for acting like religious people (and Christians in particular) never do anything wrong, or you're pulling blatant Whataboutism.

My point is not, was not, and will never be that religion is flawless. Because that would be monumentally stupid. My point is, was, and will always be that hypocrisy is not in any way special to religion, which is what was originally claimed. The original claim was not "religious people CAN BE hypocritical." It was that religious people straight-up ARE, fundamentally, MORE hypocritical than anyone else: "That won't be difficult as religion and hypocrisy go hand in hand." I then brought up examples of hypocrisy, such as the French Reign of Terror that was supposed to be about Public Safety (since that was literally the provisional government's name, the Committee of Public Safety), which slaughtered thousands of political opponents, and which was EXPLICITLY anti-religious in nature.

I am a religious person. I strive, every day, to be as honest, forthright, and upstanding as I can be. That means always being critical about my faith and what it asks of me. It means continually re-evaluating my positions and asking whether what I am doing is morally right, and genuinely considering the possibility that what I do or have done could be morally wrong. I absolutely will not defend the horrific actions of some fellow believers; I will never defend the rank hypocrisy that some religious people demonstrate. But I will not stand idly by when someone blanket accuses me, and everyone like me, of being an inherent hypocrite simply because we are religious. There are religious non-hypocrites, and non-religious hypocrites. Unless you've got some scientific data to back up your assertions--and yes, I am genuinely willing to listen if you do, and will genuinely strive to avoid unfair burdens of proof in this regard--all you're doing is defaming a group of people to which I belong.