Please tag your questions with the denomination you're asking about

Question

I'd like to request that everyone please tag your questions with the denomination you're asking about.

We have people getting angry over or downvoting questions that are asked from the perspective of a particular set of doctrines without mentioning which doctrines they're asking about.

On RPG.SE we have tags for dnd-4.0, dnd-3.5, pathfinder etc because though these games look identical to the average person watching them being played, they have very different and complex sets of rules.

To avoid arguing and debate, questions must be tagged with their respective gaming system.

We use system-agnostic when asking questions that apply to all gaming systems.

I believe we should use tags for catholics, jehovahs-witnesses, mormon etc.

If it applies to all groups, we should use something like christianity-agnostic (a first for those terms appropriately belonging together!)

Answer 1

It is absolutely important to tag questions with denomination/sect, especially when the question focuses on a belief that may be unique to that group. This is essentially the same principle which applies to specifying Bible translation/version when posting quotations or references. Without this information, those who reply to your post can be very confused as to what your preconceptions of faith are, and cannot provide good and appropriate answers.

I think the analogy to RPG.SE isn't quite that far off. For those familiar, I think the comparison is more like this. (Note: By this analogy, I'm not intending to state that any particular group is "more right" or "more up-to-date" than another.)

• Let's say that, as a group, most Protestant Christian denominations are like D&D 4e.
• Roman Catholicism could be considered to be like D&D 4e Essentials. It's based on the same core rule-set, but with some additional flair and methodologies added through supplemental rule books.
• Mormonism on the other hand, is more like something along the lines of Legends of Anglerre. There's a different set of rule-books, but the world and objectives of the game are very similar.

There's going to be a good bit of overlap between 4e and Essentials, but there's some questions about Essentials that don't apply to all 4e Player Characters. However, a person who is only familiar with D&D can't hope to answer questions regarding Legends of Anglerre, except where those questions involve very general RPG principles and concepts.

I myself am not familiar at all with Legends of Anglerre, except that it is another RPG set in a fantasy world similar to those in D&D. (Thanks to @CRoss for the reference.) I'm also not deeply familiar with Roman Catholicism or Mormonism in particular. So, please forgive me if the above analogy is somewhat crude and inaccurate in some regards. I hope the proper message has still come across, and applies well.

That said, there are still some questions that can be considered "system-agnostic" among Christian faiths. Although the "christianity-agnostic" tag would be amusing to see around, I suggest using the more widely recognized term, "non-denominational".

Answer 2

I think we need to consider that many posters--especially after we go public--won't know which denomination/sect they are asking about. We need to allow room for these people to ask their questions without feeling punished.

Answer 3

I was wondering what the official tag for roman-catholic would be. I don't mind a synonym from Roman Catholic to Catholicism. But if it's all the same to everyone (and it's not) I would like catholicism to be the best tag for questions related to Catholic doctrine which in line with the Pope in Rome and his Bishops.

Furthermore, I don't necessarily want to restrict my own questions to only other Catholics. (Since as far as I can tell there are only two or three of us at the party thus far) If I've got a question regarding my own faith, I've got a nice big Catechism and a Nice Big Bible and a nice big priest who can help me out.

Mostly what I'm interested in is:

1. Filling in the holes where only Tradition and Magisterial teaching suffice.
2. Defending obvious smears on my Church (and Our Lady).
3. Getting answers for kids in my Catechism class about practices and beliefs in other churches.
4. Not getting into a holy war and losing my job because I spend all day arguing.

So, if I have to tag the question with the denomination I'm talking about, then so be it. But seriously, christianity-agnostic should just be inferred when asking a question without a particular denomination.

Futher-furthermore, if the denomination is applicable (and could be confused), it should not only be in the tag, but also in the title and the post.

Most of us have vastly different ideas about Christianity, but the same goal and the same Savior.

Answer 4

I think this is probably only important if you are looking for input from scriptures outside of the Bible. Sure some of the answers may reflect some minor doctrinal differences, but if you are looking for references outside of the Bible or you are referencing a text outside of the Bible you should probably tag it as such.

I'm intrigued by your analogy to RPG systems, but I don't think that really holds up long term here. Because honestly if we all tagged our questions accurately with our belief system it would not only be long an unwieldy but no one would be using the same tag.