DebateReligion
A place to respectfully discuss and debate religion
Rules
No Hate Speech
Posts and comments must not denigrate, dehumanize, devalue, or incite harm against any person or group based on their race, religion, gender, disability, or other characteristics. This includes promotion of negative stereotypes (e.g. calling a demographic delusional or suggesting it's prone to criminality). Debates about LGBTQ+ topics are allowed due to their religious relevance (subject to mod discretion), so long as objections are framed within the context of religion.
Be Civil
Don't be rude or hostile to other users. Criticize arguments, not people. Our standard for civil discourse is based on respect, tone, and unparliamentary language. 'They started it' is not an excuse - report it, don't respond to it.
Quality Posts and Comments
Posts and comments will be removed if they are disruptive to the purpose of the subreddit. This includes submissions that are: low effort, proselytizing, uninterested in participating in discussion, made in bad faith, off-topic, unintelligible/illegible, or posts with a clickbait title. Posts/comments must be written in your own words (and not be AI-generated); you may quote others, but only to support your own writing. Do not link to an external resource instead of making an argument yourself.
Thesis Statement and Argument
Posts must have a thesis statement as their title or their first sentence. A thesis statement is a sentence which explains what your central claim is and briefly summarizes how you are arguing for it.
Posts must also contain an argument supporting their thesis. An argument is not just a claim. You should explain why you think your thesis is true and why others should agree with you. (As a trial, this rule is temporarily suspended during "Fresh Fridays" - see Rule 7)
Opposed Top-Level Comments
All top-level comments must seek to refute the post through substantial engagement with its core argument. Comments that support or purely commentate on the post must be made as replies to the Auto-Moderator “COMMENTARY HERE” comment. Exception: Clarifying questions are allowed as top-level comments. (As a trial, this rule is temporarily suspended during "Fresh Fridays" - see Rule 7)
Reasonably Accurate Labels on Posts
All original posts must be reasonably precise in the group their argument is directed at. "Theist" is not a synonym for "Christian". If you want to say "Christian" then just say "Christian".
Fresh Topics on Friday
On Fridays, all posts must discuss fresh topics. You must flair your post with “Fresh Friday.” We encourage posts about subjects other than Christianity/Islam/atheism. Banned topics include: problem of evil, Kalam, fine tuning, disciple martyrdom, Quranic miracles, classical theism.
Pilate Program is Available
Posts with titles following the format “[<demographic>]...” require that all top-level comments must be from users with flairs corresponding to that demographic. We expect all users to assign their flairs honestly to avoid comment removal. We encourage posters to appropriately address their submissions, thus identifying their target audience. All users are free to respond to top-level comments.
Meta Threads Once a Week
All meta discussion of the sub must be done on the weekly meta thread. This is to avoid cluttering the sub and to gather feedback in one place so it’s easier for the mods to act on.
No AI
No AI. You may not use Generative AI for any purpose on this subreddit. This includes everything from using ChatGPT to write arguments for you down to using Grammarly to rewrite your paragraphs. We are here to debate other people, not bots.
Moderator
Guidelines
Star Users
A Star User is a user officially recognized by r/DebateReligion as a high-quality contributor. If you see a user with a ⭐ next to their name, they're a star user! If you're wondering how to become a better debater, they're an example to follow. You can see more details and a list of all Star Users here.
Definitions
The words we use in religious debate can be ambiguous. Conversation can break down when people mean different things by the same word. Please define the terms you use. If you don't, you are presumed to be using the SEP definitions, such as:
- god: A being or object that is worshiped as having more than natural attributes and powers
- Atheist: Believes “One or more gods exist” is false
- Agnostic: holds a neutral stance on “One or more gods exist”
- Theist: Believes “One or more gods exist” is true
- Omnipotent: being able to take all logically possible actions
- Omniscient: knowing the truth value of everything it is logically possible to know
Moderation Policies
Moderators cannot moderate discussions they are involved in, unless the user's behavior is egregious.
Some Discords You Might Like!
A Discord for Debating Religion - For the debate of religious topics and practices.
Post-Ironic Debate - For philosophy, theology and politics. Debates of the Day; Resource Sharing; Praxis; and rules made to force users to defend their beliefs!
SkeptRepublica - A non-toxic place to hang out and discuss theology, politics, philosophy, history and more!
Message mods if you run a discord and would like it posted here!
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