After discussing my article on "-isms" on a Swedish online forum and getting a lot of "My beliefs are mine and can't be defined", I'm really curious about what makes people so frightened of definitions?
I see definitions as practical tools of getting faster to a common ground when discussing specific subjects with others. If everyone involved know what the basic terms means, then we don't have to trudge through 15-30 minutes (maybe more) of negotiations on what things really are and who is and isn't this and that.
But it seems my practical view is a minority one, at least on open online forums - is it maybe that they are forced to actually think about their beliefs if they try and define them? Thinking can be both scary and hard work; I should know, I do it several times a day...
Last but not least, do they believe that knowing they're a polytheist with animist leanings, an inclusive monotheist or what ever they may be, will change what they believe and practice?
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