Would it be kosher, or even make sense, to broadly insult any group of people? And even if we assume that every single religious person is homophobic, that doesn't make responding in kind right. How can we justify combating hatred with .. more hatred?
Point taken. But that hardly means the best course of action is "hands off." It isn't an all or none situation. You can't just write off criticism. You are criticizing here. Why wouldn't you do it with someone who is religious? Why wouldn't you comment on the irrational aspects and behaviors of their religion? Why would you think you'd be hurting them?
Some people are fragile. Treat that person with kid gloves but don't enable the behaviors that are clearly wacko. Be honest. There isn't anything sacred about religious belief and practice. It's as open to comment as anything else despite perceived cultural taboo to the contrary.
It makes perfect sense to broadly comment on irrational and destructive behaviors within groups of people. If persons in that group see that as disparaging or insulting there isn't anything you can do about that.
I have no issue at all with commenting on religion if it comes from a place of commonality and respect.
My main issue with the atheist approach is this idea that there is
nothing sacred about religious belief. The equation is more complicated - spiritual approaches were devised by us, and they survive because many of us like them. If it was all negative impact to practitioners all the time, these people would be leaving religion in droves. But the objective reality is that for many religious followers belief is a net benefit, at least for the period in which they believe. Sure, some sects might be more predatory than others, but you can't generalize what is an incredibly diverse set of religious groups.
If a hardline atheist takes nothing else from this thread, it would be to at least take a few minutes to consider that some religious people follow religion for a reason, they benefit from their belief, and that their perspective can be valid. It doesn't have to be logical, rational, scientific. Take a moment to show acceptance that some religious people derive joy and happiness from their belief systems, and that doesn't necessarily need to be fixed.
But what we're seeing, I think, is atheists holding the belief that if everyone became an atheist and started thinking rationally, the world would be improved. So what's happening is that atheists invalidate the beliefs and desires of the religious to further the secular agenda. Rightly so? Maybe, but I'm not convinced about the premise that people seeing the light of reason will make things in any way better. I'm also not convinced that we will ever be able to think logically across the board, it amounts to a fantasy. So personally I see more benefit, and it brings more joy to my life, to include the religious in my circle and observe our commonality, rather than thinking of them as irrational, incompetent people who need to be corrected. You can even model positive social behavior without undermining their ontology.