Religionista
This term has been used in this group and a complaint about it's use made in another group.
I became curious as what it might mean and how it might have originated.
Since I can find little that actually defines it on the internet, I thought it might be interesting to have a discussion about the term and possibly even come to some consensus about what it means and whether it should be used here.
The first use I can find here occurred in February, 2012. It's use was clearly derogatory. It was, with only one exception, used by a single member until May, 2013. At that time, it was used in five posts in a single thread by a well known troll. This troll has been banned from this site repeatedly. He presents as a highly antagonistic anti-theist, but I (and others) have often thought him to be carrying a false flag.
That troll was banned once again the same day he used it.
Since then, it has been used with what appears to be increasing frequency.
Despite objections from those it has been aimed at and others, the term has continued to be used.
So, what does it mean?
Religionista is not an accepted english word. It is not found in the urban dictionary.
It is a Spanish word meaning "Religionist; sectary: Protestant", which doesn't appear to be derogatory at all.
There is one place I find a very informal definition: "someone who wears their religious affiliation with too much pride." Not a compliment, but again, not very derogatory.
Religionista.com is a blog site by a christian who considered herself an agnostic in the past. It's kind of an interesting site, actually, and she has adopted the term in a positive way.
The suffix -ista is also not consistently defined. Here is an interesting take on it's common usage from an article entitled "Five Suffixes That’ll Make you Look Like a Moron"
From: The Italian suffix denoting fascist
Common Uses: Fashionista, Twittista
Darling, what sort of pillockista appends -ista to perfectly good words? Unless you’re a scriptwriter for Absolutely Fabulous (you’re not), then you should leave this one well alone. Not least because it’s going to make you sound like the sort of person who spent all of the 1990s hunched over a toilet cistern with a rolled-up note.
Other dictionaries say "one who follows a principle".
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the way it is being used here false under the "fascist" definition and not the "principle" definition.
If that is the case, then it's use is basically calling other members fascists, something I think we can probably all agree would not constitute civil behavior.
On the other hand, if we can agree that it means a person of religion who follows principal, then we might agree that it is in fact, a compliment and those who it is aimed at could graciously accept it as such.
Does anyone else have any other information of this word or thoughts about it's use?
= new reply since forum marked as read
But I really think they are using it in place of supporter.
The reason I think this is because there are people much like yourself who profess to not being theists but are very supportive of religion and believers.
My experiences on the interwebz tend to show that deragatory terms toward believers by non-believers tend to take the form of pyschological terms or references to being closed minded.
It is also possible that those using it are using it as a reaction to many of us being called militant atheists. Seems to me that in South American politics they will often refer to militants down there by referring to the name of the person they are supporting + ista. So it could be that they are saying not only that many of you are supporters of religion but militant supporters of religion.
Or it could be that depending on the poster that it simply various. Maybe poster 1 means it as you suspect, as a way of saying religion facist, while another simply is trying to describe all supporters of religion, and poster 3 means it as a way of saying militant religion supporters.
Either way, as I told rug it sounds pretty hipster to me, but then again:
While there is no doubt prejudice, I don't think it's used in a derogatory fashion. Certainly not here.
As for the hispanic reaction, I think they would find it funny that it was being used in a pejorative fashion and that they would just snicker at you.
Honestly the whole adding an a at the end feels too hipster for my tastes.
But then again:
I've never been a hipster but I have been mistaken for a homeless man.
I generally don't care what people say. I'm more interested in what they mean and why they mean it.
If someone uses an unfortunate word here they know the worst that could possibly happen is that they will get banned. If they did the same in real life they would be risking real life consequences. The only reason we have rules about name calling here is to keep the invective from becoming unimaginative. As long as people don't get bored they stick around and invest in something that doesn't even require them to reveal who they are.
In real life certain words are not uttered not because somebody asked that they not be used. It's because they asked that they not be used and made it clear that there would be real life consequences if they were used. The phrase "fighting words" refers real life consequences, something that gets forgotten in places like this.
DU is an abstraction, and I tend to treat it as such. If I see a painting of flaming genitalia riding a unicorn attacking a gigantic twinkie covered in chicken shit my first thought will be, "Um, okay. I think I see where you're going with this so lets explore what it means."
Of course there is a measure of Scots Irish "don't start nutn' won't be nutn'" as well. 
"painting of flaming genitalia riding a unicorn attacking a gigantic twinkie covered in chicken shit"
This came up.
Now and then in conversation people will try to come up with a totally new and outrageous idea for an artwork and my answer is always, "already been done" followed by something like "Vito Acconci 1968".
So now I try and come up with something outrageous and damned if you didn't reach out and find it. Well played sir, well played indeed.
He can then boast about he's ignoring someone because of . . . whatever . . . until the next time he talks trash about the same poster.
Reminds me of this guy.
Less chance for worry about insults, perceived or real.
I use theist, desist, atheist, non-theist (The last one less often).
Believer and non-believer. I often choose the latter instead of atheist, since some do not like the word.
I used to use other terms, even in this group. But these days I would prefer to engage in conversation than be overtly insulting, especially over rhetoric.
My thinking is that if a group finds a term insulting, it isn't up to me to decide it isn't.
Gay was once an epithet. But LBGT folks adopted it. So now it's accepted.
Likewise, and interestingly, Obamacare seemingly now embraced by the Democratic Party. Good for them, BTW.
But one should be sensitive to others feelings.
On the other hand, I have no problem flinging epithets at the religious kooks in the GOP. I know that might not endear me to some believers here, but they're going to have to accept that. I will explain my reasons to them if they object. IMHO, some people have not earned such respect. Certainly, those in the GOP have not and deserve the derision.
Interesting post.
Hope you're having fun in sunny Mex!
We (both on DU and elsewhere) often seem to go round and round with the same debates about the meaning of particular words.
I would particularly like to see new words to describe the growing group of people who do not identity as either a believer/nonbeliever or atheist/theist. There is so much variety, which I think we should embrace, at least within the democratic party.
I go by the basic principle that if someone experiences a word in an insulting way, I will defer to them and stop using it. Others, of course, feel entirely differently. And, as you say, sometimes "owning" the word defangs it completely (as in the "gay" example).
Big day on the road today and we should go through some beautiful country.
Hope you have a great weekend.
