HOW MUST A RELIGION APPROACH OTHER RELIGIONS?

If we are in a religion, then how should we relate to other religions? There are only five options and each one of them excludes the rest.

First, indifference which rejects all religious dogmas and does not worry about if they are true or not.

Second, the ostrich approach. This holds that there is one right religion and the others are false or less right. There is only one true Church.

Third, the pluralist approach. Every religion is good and none is better than another and you can choose whatever one you want and it will do. All religions are true or bring enlightenment.

Fourth, all religions are saying the same thing in the last analysis and there is truth in every religion.

Fifth, the scientific approach is that we say we do not know anything more than what can be demonstrated by scientific reasoning so we cannot have faith in religion for it is beyond science. This approach has it that one religious faith is just as credulous as the next.

Christianity, Islam and Mormonism are examples of religions which urge that believers go and make disciples of others outside the faith.

Ultimately nobody converts you - you convert yourself. All people must go out and help people convert themselves to the truth for what they believe about the important things. Since they mean well, we have to respect that and listen to them. Nobody says things just for the sake of saying them. They say things to make changes in the world – to put the world the way they want it to be. That is why error should be corrected. That is why if we know religion is wrong we should say so and be distributing tracts to curb its malevolent influence.
 
We see that Atheism or secularism is love and so it is our duty to be militant Atheists who go out and help all who will listen see the beauty of the truth. However, the chief aim is not to fight religion but to stand up for reason and to promote it. The reason it is the aim is that it will have more success and win us more respect. That is why we will concentrate on winning over those who already have turned against religion and then on the clergy. Having said that, destroying religion is an aim too. What the atheist must do primarily then is defend himself or herself from misunderstanding for we believe that ignorance concerning our position is a danger to us and we have a right to do something about it and must. That is what we are doing when we try to get all who we meet interested in the good news of Atheism. Where we are silent we are asking for ourselves and our atheism to be misconceived.  And misrepresented.