What's the best way to refer to any particular religious group on here without naming their religion?

so that a particular group cannot make baseless claims that they are being insulted, mocked, questioned about their beliefs, etc. etc. etc.





Any one have any ideas?

What's the best way to refer to any particular religious group on here without naming their religion?
you people (lol)? {{Hugs}}
Reply:Rule No. 1 is to give them the respect of correctly spelling their name and being accurate in mentioning what they believe.





Unfortunately, an awful lot of people here spout a load of drivel about religious groups, mixing them up with others, assigning beliefs or practices to them that they don't have. This should not be confused with detailing historical facts about beliefs and practices that some members might not know about. I have sometimes been accused of telling lies about things the group did or said a long time ago so I try to quote from their own literature to field that objection.





So, do your homework, speak respectfully even though you may disagree with them and never get personal. Name the group so that no reader is left wondering, due to their own lack of knowledge. If you do that, you can name them without any concern that they might be insulted, for even if they are, your conscience will be clear.
Reply:A direct approach is always best as long as you are sincerely inquiring as to what they believe. Go ahead and use the preferred name of their Faith and if you are not making false, baseless claims or being insulting or mocking their beliefs, it should be clear from the charitable tone of your question. One thing that you can do to avoid confusion as to your intent is to ask only one question at at time.
Reply:I thought that one of the purposes of this site was to be able to ask questions about various beliefs.





I'm also fairly certain many of these claims are not baseless.





But a standard disclaimer could work.
Reply:use the universal classification scheme and refer by its entry
Reply:Refer to them by their core beliefs?
Reply:be proud of your religion...you are only following the path of God :)
Reply:I use the terms "Factions", the "I"-word, and the "M"-word.
Reply:Perhaps you can describe/refer to commonly practised activities unique to that group. Catholics tend to do certain things and have a particular Sabbath. Their practices are very different from Seventh Day Adventists-who have a different Sabbath, the women avoid adorning themselves with jewelry and wearing makeup, etc. Many Islamic women avoid showing their skin and hair... you get the drift.


Religion is a topic that people tend to be sensitive about so it would probably help if you make it clear that your intent is not to offend, and then live up to it by phrasing your questions and answers in a neutral manner. I hope this helps. Good luck.
Reply:I call them 'theists'. i.e. those who believe in a god.
Reply:Fundies
Reply:Fundies is an accurate description of one group. That word applies to a specific group inside of two religions that I know of.





Christian fundies and Muslim fundies have a lot in common.
Reply:Here are some terms that are helpful for categorizing religions.





Religion = All religions (yet I notice here it gets used to mean Christianity way too often.)


Theism = Believe in some kind of god/s


Monotheism = One god


Polytheism = More than one god


Nontheism = No god





If you're talking about a specific religion, I think it's best to list the religion. There are vast differences between, say, Christianity and Shintoism. There are even vast differences between Mormons and Baptists. So sometimes the more exact you are, the more sense it will make.





I think a lot of issues arise when someone says "Christians think/do/say/etc..." because there are so many different kinds of Christians. One group will nod in agreement, another will be highly insulted. So even then, perhaps it's best to be as detailed as possible.