Why do people belittle?

Look, I know it's nice to "respect other people's opinions" but some opinions are just downright stupid and need to be belittled, along with the idiots that believe them.

We have spent too long pandering to religious people and their beliefs, with the result that gay marriage is illegal in most places (if not gays) science is held back thousands of years, and religious people are allowed to ride roughshot over any thing that doesn't agree with their text. Plus we respected them so much we gave the catholics our kids to look after and trusted them, and we all know what happened there.

To be honest, I think that belittling can only come in the context of a deteriorated dialogue. I mean, you're not talking about the good-natured "ribbing" that friends do to other friends. It has to be more global than that.

Imagine an atheist who reads the question "Atheists: why do you belittle us?" and the response, "people belittle because they are insecure." If the dialogue has deteriorated, then I submit that this statement is *not* going to be read as some neutral statement of fact, but rather as its own belittlement of atheists. "Atheists categorically belittle, only insecure people belittle, therefore: atheists are categorically insecure." That is the logical implication to be read, in a deteriorated dialogue: not "some atheists happen to be insecure just like the rest of us," but "all atheists have an internalized insecurity because they disagree with me."

It is also wrong. A public shaming doesn't have to fundamentally be about insecurity. It might just be because there is little other hope to get a point across clearly. The religious are often unwilling to consider the possibility that they might be wrong. What's surprising to me is that, the times when I have seen it most clearly, the believer suddenly asks the atheist the very question which they should be asking themselves: "Well now, Mr. Atheist... I have one question for you. What if you're wrong?"

Now, if your dialogue is in that sort of disrepair, where two people disagree and at least one of them is absolutely closed to the idea that they might be wrong (i.e. that a meaningful discussion is possible), then perhaps one of the only ways to /reopen/ the discourse is a caustic reply. It may generate a lot of animosity to harp on someone's ill traits, but I think the atheists have this idea of "the religious should be more humble, less sure, more inquisitive", and, as it were, preach humility by public humiliation.

I do not know that this is what's actually happening, but I submit it as a plausible alternate model.

I'm gonna be honest. I belittle because I get a kick out of it. But I usually only belittle if

1) The person is being stupid

2) The person is a troll or a poe

3) The person is being naive or pathetic.

I can only answer for myself, and I will address one point and one point only. I readily admit that I belittle theist fairly or unfairly simply because I have run so many theist who I find are intellectually disingenuous, and since they are people of faith i find reason has no bearing in our disputes. So where does that leave us? Reason against faith? I'm pretty sure any one can deduce from here the logical response, frustration and where ever reason fails, and it will fail, I believe belittling will follow, on both parts..Rightly or wrongly that is just me and I do not and cannot speak for others.

We should all try to be more positive and definitely not belittle people. However, a "thumbs down" here is not necessarily belittling the person. If the answer is incorrect, a thumbs down is appropriate.

First of all a thumbs down does not equal belittling. However many of you answer do equal belittling, which is funny because you have said that belittling equal insecurity. Thanks for confirming what I have always suspected: that the most vocal of the fundies keep shouting their BS to convince themselves that it is true. You also get thumbs down because your answers rarely have anything to do with the question. Recently someone asks a question about evolution and your answer has to do with a show on wormholes and dropping paint filled balloons from a ladder. You then went on about that disproving the big bang (which of course it did not). You also fail to see that the big bang has nothing to do with evolution.

People belittle because they can't cope in a serious and mature fashion.

So in answer to the question "why do atheist belittle" you replied "because they are insecure" and now you're telling other christians not to try belittling people.

1 peter 3:3 / 2 timothy 3 - bad behavior is prophesied to increase in the last days.

john 8:42-47 Messiah says that those that do not understand what He says have a different father than Himself .

2 corinthians 11:12-15 their father can play on all kinds of weaknesses he finds in his children

a psychopathic bully ?

inferiority complex ?

attention seekers ?

a bad habit ?

ignorant ?

jealousy ?

hateful ?

philippians 4;5 kjv . genuine christians are supposed to practice self control in everything.

I think you simply bring out the urge to belittle in others.