I already made the point that an idea being weaponized for bad purposes doesn't disprove it. We could imagine a world where a state reacts to flat-earthers by executing their entire bloodline, for example, but that wouldn't make the earth any less round. It would warrant a critical examination of the round-earthers' beliefs, but we would still have to establish a logical connection for how believing in a round earth would cause someone to be more prone to doing stuff like that.
Shinto
The only thing I said about Shinto is that it doesn't claim to make you a good person. That doesn't mean that I consider it "harmless" or "quaint." As I said, "That’s not to say that these belief systems cannot or should not be criticized."
Referencing the point I made above, we can easily connect Shinto to Japanese imperialism by pointing out the belief in the emperor's divinity. However, there's the question of, is imperial divinity an inherent aspect of Shinto? Traditionally, not really - poor farmers in feudal Japan barely knew who the emperor even was, and nowadays the emperor has explicitly denied being divine, but Shinto still exists. Does a widespread belief in mythological creatures make it easier for fascism to take root? Maybe, but then, fascism took root in Germany without such a belief (though the Nazis loved their mythology, tbf). It might be worthwhile to study how Shinto evolved, to see when and how it acquired a fascist character, and how it changed after WWII, in order to understand how fascism can make use of various belief systems and how those belief systems change in respone to fascism. Not only to better critique Shinto, but also to gain a better understanding of how fascists gain power.
My point is not to defend Shinto, which I have no investment in and I will happily agree is nonsense and bad, but to say that it's better to study and understand beliefs first, and then provide a more nuanced critique, rather than painting things with broad generalizations that are more relevant to the belief systems that you're more familiar with.
Atheism isn’t right or wrong. It’s not a belief system. It’s simply a recognition that there is no evidence of magic and no reason to treat the suggestion that there is seriously.
Atheism isn't a belief system, it's neither right or wrong, it's just the correct set of beliefs that magic isn't real? Is there a difference between a set of beliefs and a belief system? Is there a difference between being "right or wrong" vs being supported or unsupported by reason and evidence? I don't understand what you mean at all.
I already made the point that an idea being weaponized for bad purposes doesn't disprove it. We could imagine a world where a state reacts to flat-earthers by executing their entire bloodline, for example, but that wouldn't make the earth any less round. It would warrant a critical examination of the round-earthers' beliefs, but we would still have to establish a logical connection for how believing in a round earth would cause someone to be more prone to doing stuff like that.
The only thing I said about Shinto is that it doesn't claim to make you a good person. That doesn't mean that I consider it "harmless" or "quaint." As I said, "That’s not to say that these belief systems cannot or should not be criticized."
Referencing the point I made above, we can easily connect Shinto to Japanese imperialism by pointing out the belief in the emperor's divinity. However, there's the question of, is imperial divinity an inherent aspect of Shinto? Traditionally, not really - poor farmers in feudal Japan barely knew who the emperor even was, and nowadays the emperor has explicitly denied being divine, but Shinto still exists. Does a widespread belief in mythological creatures make it easier for fascism to take root? Maybe, but then, fascism took root in Germany without such a belief (though the Nazis loved their mythology, tbf). It might be worthwhile to study how Shinto evolved, to see when and how it acquired a fascist character, and how it changed after WWII, in order to understand how fascism can make use of various belief systems and how those belief systems change in respone to fascism. Not only to better critique Shinto, but also to gain a better understanding of how fascists gain power.
My point is not to defend Shinto, which I have no investment in and I will happily agree is nonsense and bad, but to say that it's better to study and understand beliefs first, and then provide a more nuanced critique, rather than painting things with broad generalizations that are more relevant to the belief systems that you're more familiar with.
Atheism isn't a belief system, it's neither right or wrong, it's just the correct set of beliefs that magic isn't real? Is there a difference between a set of beliefs and a belief system? Is there a difference between being "right or wrong" vs being supported or unsupported by reason and evidence? I don't understand what you mean at all.