Why did Stalin kill gays?

Stalin was an atheist but was also a rabid homophobe - so I think we can rule "Christianity" or "religion" out as his motive for hating and executing gays. I'm curious how atheists will explain what his motive was for hating gays - It wouldn't surprise me if a few of them tried to drag 'religion' into it somehow, but I want serious explanations.

 

Soviet science viewed homosexuality as a mental disorder.

It was par for the course at the time. Although, in the West, the independent nature of science allowed them to revise their position based on new studies in 60's and 70's.

 

People seen as inferior that go against the Socialist realism of the time, no real surprise there.

 

Just because someone's viewed as 'mentally ill' doesn't make a normal person want them dead - so that doesn't explain Stalin's personal motive for having gays executed.

 

In the Soviet mind, a gay person acting on their illness was effectively no different than a psychopathic person harming someone.

 

Then that means it's technically possible for an atheist or non-religious person to hate gays, despite having never read a verse in the Bible (or the Koran) saying "homosexuality is an abomination"

 

Of course it is. I don't know of anyone who has suggested otherwise.

Atheism only has a single bulletpoint: lack of belief in a deity. Literally every single other belief that any atheist has is entirely independent from their atheism.

 

But Stalin had religious people killed - so if he wasn't an atheist, then I don't see why he'd have had a motive for having religious people killed specifically

 

I am an atheist and here is my official position on why Stalin did what he did: He was a horrible person.

Being an atheist just means you lack a belief in gods. It doesn’t say anything else about you. There are atheists from every political persuasion. There are atheist philanthropists and there are atheist criminals. Though admittedly we are underrepresented in prisons. Though that might just be because we are too smart to get caught

 

Some are afraid they'll catch the disease.
Some are afraid they'll reproduce more of em. oops. never mind that one.
Who the F knows?

 

The Orthodox Church in Russia at the time was a major political player. And they didn't toe the line the way Stalin wanted. Anyone who didn't acknowledge the State as the highest power or crossed Stalin politically was also in for a bad time, even if they were atheists.

 

His motive was to kill everyone

 

There seems to be an idea in the militant atheist movement that 'religion' or 'Christianity' is the primary cause of homophobia - but Stalin (an atheist) killed more gays during his rule than Christians in America have over the past 100 years.

So the negative obsession with 'religious homophobia' is disproportionate

 

You saying stalin was normal?
And how do you know stalin's motives?

 

Hm so Stalin was secretly "a Christian" in the closet, and this is why he killed gays?

 

huh? where'd u come up with that.

 

He didn't have religious people killed because they were religious. He had clergy and religious leaders killed when they rejected his authority or rebelled against his rule. He killed them for secular reasons.

He also killed atheists when they rebelled against his rule. Its what dictators do.

 

Religion and Christianity are the leading causes of homophobia in America.

 

Prove it

 

Anti-gay beliefs correlate highly with religiosity in America.

 

I've read Koran passages and never had an urge to 'kill infidels' just because of something I read in a 'holy book'

Homophobia and 'bigotry' in general actually have their roots in evolution and natural animal instinct for the purpose of survival - species naturally 'fear' things which appear abnormal or 'strange' because of animal instinct - ex. if an animal notices something 'strange' enter their environment, then their instinct tells them that this is a potential threat to their existence - the idea that homophobia exists because someone read a Bible passage telling them to 'hate gays' is just stupid.

 

Well, that isn’t exactly a fair comparison, though, is it? Has there ever been a Christian man in America who had the POWER to pull that off if he wanted to? There are certainly Christians, not the majority of them, who DO believe homosexuals should be killed. They even have their Biblical quotes they can go to for support. But they just don’t wield the kind of power Stalin accrued.

Oh, and another important note is that Stalin is dead. In dealing with today’s bigotry we need to address today’s bigots. And today is it organized atheists or organized Christians who are trying to prevent the spread of LGBT rights?

 

People don't read the Bible in a vacuum. People go to church with other people with similar views, they are raised by parents with views who pass them on, they have friends and family members who have certain beliefs.

In America, religious people are highly likely to be homophobic and to try and pass those beliefs on to their children and their close associates.

Bigotry may be something based in evolutionary fears, but we have also evolved the capacity for philosophy. The philosophy of secular humanism rejects bigotry in general and homophobia in specific.

 

In shocking news today: atheists are human beings like everyone else, and can turn out to be nasty small minded bigots just like everyone else. Now, sports.

 

The world holds more arbitrary beliefs than we want to believe. The idea that homosexuality is an offence that should be met with the death penalty was around and the communists had not reconsidered that particular point. I could blame that on the church perpetuating the idea, but it was perpetuated by all kinds of political and social powers so blaming the church would be a bit small minded.

This is why a lot of people oppose tradition and arguments from tradition. A lot of the time, they turn out to be arbitrary.