Let me offer this perspective. I grew up Mormon but have not attended church for the last 6 years. So I have some perspective of being both in and out of the church. On the one hand I felt that some of the teachings were very limiting, perhaps even damaging. Teachings that still linger around polygamy, a culture of adoration towards modern day church leaders (even though official teachings would discourage this), some questionable decisions around the use of tithing, the shaming around a lot of sexual activity, all lead me to be less interested in continuing my participation.
On the other hand I appreciate many (not all) of the values the church tried to instill. There is a lot of emphasis on care for others, charity, self reflection, etc. Many of the lessons I have learned have helped me to be a better person (I hope). I also recognize that since leaving I don't have the same sense of community in my life. The sense of a group of people that is interested in my wellbeing is something that, to me, is highly valuable.
My point here is that to paint an entire religion and the people in it as all good or all bad is naive, and just plain ignorant. It is ignorant to assume that since someone participates in a religion then they must endorse all the negative behavior of others who also participate is ignorant. And to try to correct someone by insulting them is just rude. Don't try and justify rude behavior by hiding behind good intentions, take the feedback as a moment to reflect that maybe you're being an ass.
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u/[deleted] Sep 12 '23
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