[gort]

Don't pretend this applies to just religion.

If you openly declare your belief in alchemy, alien abduction, astrology, the Easter Bunny, fairies, ghosts, holocaust denialism, karma, the Loch Ness Monster, magic, moon-landing-hoaxism, 9/11 truthism, reincarnation, Santa Claus, telepathy, thetans, unicorns, Yahweh, or the Yeti...

...then those who fight on the side of reason may show you less respect than you think you deserve.

[gills]

The point I was making was one of irony concerning select individuals and the uneven application of so-called open-mindedness. Paramount to open-minded behavior is to be comfortable enough with the understanding that others see the world differently than yourself, that you can be exposed to alternate views and evidence while being curious, skeptical, and feeling unthreatened.

Regardless of the topic, disrespect is generally a defense in response to the perception that one's worldview is being threatened. Every person, in particular those who claim to be 'on the side of reason' in a given discussion, should understand this and learn sufficient introspection to detect and counteract such behavior, because defense of one's worldview is silent admission that parts of it are not based entirely on evidence.