Correction

Surely you've seen this floating around:

Okay, I get that this is a joke, and the punch line almost makes it worth it, but it didn't start out with the punch line. And I gotta object. Here would be my version:

To place "shaming religions and spirituality as silly and not real" next to "being homophobic, misogynistic, racist or an otherwise hateful person" is setting up a false equivalence between the two, when clearly they are not in the same ballpark. It may be impolite to call someone's beliefs "silly", that's true. It may be impolite to point out that someone's belief is unfounded and probably "not real". I am a very polite person, sometimes to a fault, so I don't often confront people and tell them their beliefs are "silly or not real". However, if I did, it would be in no way equivalent morally to being homophobic, misogynistic, or racist.

It is in no way comparable to hating someone for the color of their skin, or who they love, or the lack of a Y chromosome. Saying religion is silly is not even hating someone at all. It is a description of an idea. It is not even saying religious people are silly. It is saying an idea is silly. It is okay to say ideas are silly. You are free to disagree.

Every other area of ideas is free to be criticized: why is religion different? Religion should not get a free pass.