Mom Confessions

So, not to minimize or sound glib, but I hate spiders out of a deathly, almost outlandish fear of them.

I know...not the same thing.

Being a Unitarian, I will come outside of my own personal feelings on religions (I happen to be fascinated by every belief/religion whether I agree with it or not) and say that one can actually hate other religion and due to a fear (phobia) of them IMO.

At least for some.

My own Mom would be an example of this--she is someone who is an old-time Evangelical, spent Sundays practically living at churches (her foster parent's were the pastor and his missus for a local church she grew up in here in AZ), gospel loving, nothing else will do Christian. But I do believe it's because she's never taken the time to research and learn about these other religions as I long and crave to.

Other religions, IOW, frighten her.

Do we need to be phobic about any religion? Can't we just subscribe to "if you don't like it, dont look"? As long as those practicing their religion aren't harming others as part of their beliefs, let them be.

In the progressive world, impossible. In reality, of course. especially when said religion is also a political ideology hell bent on world domination of unwilling subjects.

but you can only hate political ideologies if they're nonreligious and practiced by North American/European/Latin American conservatives.

That's right! Hydrophobia is a disease in animals. If you get bitten by an animal with hydrophobia, you stand a chance of getting rabies, right?

DSamuels wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 9:41 pm Hydrophobic and hydrophobia are 2 different things.

29again wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:57 pm I always thought that an object that was hydrophobic was something that did not work, or did/could not live in water. It doesn't mean just water. It means more than that. The "hydro" part is water, though.

I see phobias as something stronger than just someone who doesn't like/approve of/hates a religion or group of people. To my thinking someone who is islamaphobic would be trying to kill them all, same with homophobics. There would be a much stronger reaction than just avoiding them.

SolidlyAverage wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:50 pm A phobia as defined by the medical community is an irrational anxiety, yes. But the word “phobic” applies to other situations. For example, some inanimate objects are ‘hydrophobic,’ but that doesn’t mean that they are irrational afraid of water, it just meals water. To be ‘phobic’ means to have an intense aversion, intolerance, or fear something.

So an islamophobe isn’t someone who is necessarily afraid of Muslims, they are a person who has an intense aversion, whether fear-based or just plain old-fashioned hate-based. Similarly, homophobes aren’t necessarily scared of gay people. So by the basic definition, someone who hates everything about a religion would be a “that-religion-phobe.” That’s the definition both technically and colloquially.

AZLizardLady wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 11:34 pm So, not to minimize or sound glib, but I hate spiders out of a deathly, almost outlandish fear of them.

I know...not the same thing.

Being a Unitarian, I will come outside of my own personal feelings on religions (I happen to be fascinated by every belief/religion whether I agree with it or not) and say that one can actually hate other religion and due to a fear (phobia) of them IMO.

At least for some.

My own Mom would be an example of this--she is someone who is an old-time Evangelical, spent Sundays practically living at churches (her foster parent's were the pastor and his missus for a local church she grew up in here in AZ), gospel loving, nothing else will do Christian. But I do believe it's because she's never taken the time to research and learn about these other religions as I long and crave to.

Other religions, IOW, frighten her.

So your mother would indeed by phobic about other religions, regardless of anything about them. I would agree that she could be called -phobic. I just don't see this degree of dislike, whether it is truly a fear or just a disagreement with or dislike of another religion in most adults.

Putting aside the misuse of the word “phobia” to describe an extreme dislike, disapproval or rejection as opposed to an irrational fear, I think that if someone claims to hate everything about a specific religion then the misused but generally accepted now suffix of -phobe would definitely apply to that person. It would be hard not to consider that person a “x” religion-phobe. Because there is the factor of irrationality coming into the description and you really cannot claim to hate everything about one religion and consider that a rational hate. Another point to consider is how that person treats other people that follow that religion. If he/she passes a negative judgment automatically, then that person is prejudiced and could be labeled a “phobe”.

Personally, I would go more with an “anti-x religion” term than a “phobe” term, mostly because of the fact that we’re already using the concept of “phobia” wrong to begin with, maybe we shouldn’t add abusing it to refer to anyone who disagrees with us as well.

29again wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2019 9:45 pm

AZLizardLady wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 11:34 pm So, not to minimize or sound glib, but I hate spiders out of a deathly, almost outlandish fear of them.

I know...not the same thing.

Being a Unitarian, I will come outside of my own personal feelings on religions (I happen to be fascinated by every belief/religion whether I agree with it or not) and say that one can actually hate other religion and due to a fear (phobia) of them IMO.

At least for some.

My own Mom would be an example of this--she is someone who is an old-time Evangelical, spent Sundays practically living at churches (her foster parent's were the pastor and his missus for a local church she grew up in here in AZ), gospel loving, nothing else will do Christian. But I do believe it's because she's never taken the time to research and learn about these other religions as I long and crave to.

Other religions, IOW, frighten her.

So your mother would indeed by phobic about other religions, regardless of anything about them. I would agree that she could be called -phobic. I just don't see this degree of dislike, whether it is truly a fear or just a disagreement with or dislike of another religion in most adults.

I do feel that many turn their noses up at other religions and spiritual customs due to ignorance and an unwillingness to at least learn about them. Is that fear? For all, no but some, yes.

My Mom is 80-years old and has seen a lot of decades filled with changes, a lot of which she doesn't like. I think with living alone, she FEELS alone, and like the world has gone on without her sometimes.

It's sad. :/

Yes! Also fear of water, which I guess could mean fear of drowning. Some people don’t know how to swim so they are scared of pools, etc.

I absolutely love water, pools, the beach but I have an extreme dislike, almost fear, about anything other than gentle waves.

29again wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2019 9:37 pm That's right! Hydrophobia is a disease in animals. If you get bitten by an animal with hydrophobia, you stand a chance of getting rabies, right?

DSamuels wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 9:41 pm Hydrophobic and hydrophobia are 2 different things.

29again wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:57 pm I always thought that an object that was hydrophobic was something that did not work, or did/could not live in water. It doesn't mean just water. It means more than that. The "hydro" part is water, though.

I see phobias as something stronger than just someone who doesn't like/approve of/hates a religion or group of people. To my thinking someone who is islamaphobic would be trying to kill them all, same with homophobics. There would be a much stronger reaction than just avoiding them.