One good reason to, if not exclude theists, then at least minimize their presence here, is the very real possibility that they could become a large minority. Once their number has reached a certain percentage of the LW community, it’s almost a certainty that they will team up with agnostics and atheists who believe in belief to enforce deference towards their beliefs; by constantly chiding vocal anti-theists, or simply by making it known that they are theists once in a while, they will make it rude to state that theism is, in fact, irrational. This isn’t a new phenomenon, it’s one that already exists in nearly every society in the Western world, as well as most internet communities. I’d hate to see it take hold at Less Wrong too.
Probably this is a better idea than the one I started with—there’s a distinction between an atheist community and an atheist-only community, and the former may be wiser.
One good reason to, if not exclude theists, then at least minimize their presence here, is the very real possibility that they could become a large minority. Once their number has reached a certain percentage of the LW community, it’s almost a certainty that they will team up with agnostics and atheists who believe in belief to enforce deference towards their beliefs; by constantly chiding vocal anti-theists, or simply by making it known that they are theists once in a while, they will make it rude to state that theism is, in fact, irrational. This isn’t a new phenomenon, it’s one that already exists in nearly every society in the Western world, as well as most internet communities. I’d hate to see it take hold at Less Wrong too.
Probably this is a better idea than the one I started with—there’s a distinction between an atheist community and an atheist-only community, and the former may be wiser.