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Originally Posted by ubertuber
...There aren't so many groups in the world (or here on TFP, especially in places like the politics group) that don't get treated this way. I think when you don't feel this way it is because your particular group has a dominant presence (not exclusively so, but weighty nonetheless).
I wonder if you feel that Christians are especially unwelcome here... From my perspective, they're treated as just another group of people. By that I don't mean they're ignored, but rather that they are fair game for analysis and criticism like any other group (whether religious, social, or other). But then, I'm not particularly Christian these days, so my opinion doesn't speak to the experience that Christians have here...
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I wouldn't say ESPECIALLY unwelcome. Like much (possibly MOST) internet discussion, things are said that are unlikely to be brought up in a real-life conversation. I'm certainly guilty of that at times. However, I can't recall a time in real life when someone accused me of being a fan of Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson. Online, it's pretty easy to be lumped in with them.
IRL, the religious beliefs of the Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims (or Islamists, since that seems to be the fashionable descriptor) I know just don't crop up in conversation that often. I tend not to get in religious discussions with Christians either, because abortion alone will take up a morning without resolving anything. Of course, religion can't be AVOIDED if you're talking to a Mormon. (
--sort of)
In an online political debate, the typecasting, not just about religion, is fairly common, and I doubt that anyone likes being fitted into their own little slot, based on one or two facets of their makeup.
Things also get awkward when a moderator does it, not that you have.
This is not one of my most coherent posts, but maybe it got my message across.