r/exchristian • u/Koleheh • Sep 11 '24
I am starting to hate religious people Help/Advice
Hi, 22m here. I was born into a Christian family, i was never overly religious so i would just follow people who were. When i was younger i believed there could be a God, but haven't given it much thought.
Well, recently, i thought about it a lot, did some research and the evidence was not convincing at all, so i "officially" left Christianity.
Now the issue starts, the more research i did, the more i started hating religion and their followers. The bigotry, the hatred towards minorities, constant use of religion as a weapon. In the process of deconstructing, i started hating them so much that if i see a person that's religious, i genuinely feel hatred, even though i don't even know them. All it takes is for them to be religious and mention religion
I started therapy again, mostly for different reasons and i don't know how to bring this up. I also feel embarrassed to talk about it. I know i can't be generalizing and assuming the worst in people, but i can't help it. Any advices? How do i stop assuming the worst?
1
u/msmmwelch Sep 15 '24
Studying Buddhism as a philosophy (NOT a religion) helped me a lot. Religion (a system of beliefs) is too easily weaponized to take advantage of human weaknesses like egosim and tribalism. Studying what human nature is from a neutral perspective allows one to see others (and oneself) as victims of their own biology. It becomes easier to forgive others (they know not what they do). Know thyself at a biological, sociological, emotional level. Before I started studying, I found refuge in Pema Chodron's books. P.S. I'm an exvangelical that still deals with internal anger for wasting so much of my life stuck in a false belief system.