Sincere request

[UtesRule]

Can we please leave religion out of the sports conversations we all come here for?!!

Thank U!

Go Utes!

[RedUte14]

I wish man. It’s the worst part about sports in Utah is someone always has to bring it up.

[AlohaUte]

Its seriously my least favorite thing about being a Ute fan. I don’t care if you love the LDS church, hate them, or somewhere in the middle, we as a fan base have them all. Lets stop being dicks and offending each other. This issue is the primary reason why UFN became the cesspool of the internet before its death and resurrection.

[Holladay Ute]

Thank you, I am in total agreement with this. I have posted a number of responses about my religion on this website, but I have never brought it up first. And I have looked past a ton more than what I have responded to. I actually messaged Tony last year about this topic and he told me to ignore the people I don’t want to listen to, which is reasonable. But there are clearly a lot of people on this website who are not shy about taking subtle or not so subtle digs at my church or spreading misinformation about it. So I feel like I have every right to respond and share my views. And I think I have done that in a super respectful way every single time. I don’t usually feel the same level of respect is given back to me. But yeah, I don’t come on here wanting to stand up for my religion. I feel obligated to do that sometimes when I read some of these comments. But I come on here because I love the Utes. I would love nothing more than to talk just sports.

[UtesRule]

I wholeheartedly agree with you Holladay Ute and have no problem with your responses from earlier today.

I just ask that all posters be respectful, which you have been.

[Ute Dub]

Agree

[RoboUte]

I’m going to talk about Buddhism whenever possible and no one can stop me.

[2008 National Champ]

Confucius say: “How come my followers never thought to put a clock in my belly?”

[Tony (admin)]

I totally prefer to keep religion out of our discussions. Unfortunately, we are in a conference with byu and with them as part of the equation sometimes sports and religion are mixed together.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

I’m not LDS and grew up in Salt Lake and attended the U. Here’s my 2 cents. As an outsider looking in the LDS faith is very strange. The kids growing up that looked down on me for not being LDS were more likely BYU fans (not all). The LDS kids that didn’t care were more likely Utah fans. I have many close LDS friends that I still play golf and hang out with. Being a die hard Ute fan for many years I have gotten to know many LDS fans that are not only great fans but great people. I love the diversity. We all have the Utes in common. Sports is meant to be an outlet for religion and politics. I love my Ute LDS brothers just as much as my non LDS brothers. Let’s all have respect for each other and keep religion out of our posts. It would be fun to have a pre-game Ute hub party. Lots of knowledgeable people on this board!!

[TubbyUteStreetwise]

UtesRules’ request is interesting. On the one hand, it would be easy to comment that UtesRule should simply avoid these conversations. This site has never seemed so entrenched in LDS religiosity that it would affect anyone’s engagement with the site to avoid discussions of that topic. Making this suggestion to UtesRule seems reasonable.

On the other hand, the very idea that UtesRule would make a request to avoid religious talk implicitly suggests that he would prefer NOT to block those who discuss religious topics. He feels compelled to read their takes – both Ute-based and LDS-based. To me, this instinct is a good thing. It’s counter-productive to the discourse of a well-functioning society not to listen to multiple sides of an argument, particularly if those sides can be respectfully discussed.

In my mind, it’s good for religious people to read non-religious takes. It’s good for non-religious people to read religious takes. The impulse to turn off ideas that conflict with your own system of belief is misbegotten. In the case of UtesRule, though, he is not asking other users to be civil with their comments, he is asking them to censor themselves for his sake. The more I write about this topic, the more, I guess, I disagree with UtesRule.

One thing that further complicates this request is that our relationship with the TDS is intrinsically connected to religion. For better or for worse, our rivalry is called “The Holy War”. This means that religious discussion will inevitably bleed into the rivalry. There is a way to talk about BYU that belittles their team and some of their fans, but respects their existence. It’s a fine line but I think it’s okay to try and find it.

[Author]

Posts