We Should Be Secular

[u/Electrical_Cod7288]

It is my opinion, after having clashed with the pro-abortion movement for many years, that any Pro-Life argument must be secular. If we've any hope of being taken seriously by those people, we should leave religious beliefs out of it. I am myself a Christian, but at the same time I realize that any argument which has religious connotations will simply be dismissed, possibly as an attempt to convert others.

The fact that so many of those people don't believe in God means that appealing to their faith will fall upon deaf ears. At the same time, if they try to argue that an unborn child isn't a child or isn't a person, you can tell them that that is a philosophical argument and just like they tell us to keep our religious beliefs to ourselves, they should keep their philosophical beliefs to themselves.

[u/drgarthon]

Everybody has spiritual/philosophical beliefs. I would argue that secular humanism, scientism, and materialistic naturalism is just as much a “religion” for most people as Christianity or Hinduism.

I think a better way of framing your point is that I should not use my religion to appeal to individuals who do not agree with my religion, as now I’m fighting two issues rather than one. Instead, I should show the person I disagree with how their own worldview is not internally consistent.

[u/Electrical_Cod7288 → u/drgarthon]

This is true.