Oh come on...
Look, people, nowhere have the Hindus, Catholics, or Jews stated anything along the lines of "I'm going to stop this game being made," or, "I'm going to sue Smite into oblivion." They don't like the game, they've said they don't like the game, they've tried to talk to the developer about the game so that maybe the game could be changed and then they could like it, and (finally) they're encouraging their practitioners not to buy the game. These are all perfectly okay things; the creators of Smite aren't the only ones protected by Freedom of Speech.
This right here?
1337mokro said:
I can say anything I want about it whenever I want to. So please, go cry in the corner silently.
You are a hypocrite. I'm actually kind of amazed at the stunning display of cognitive dissonance that must be at work to allow someone to claim "I can say anything I want" and then in the very next sentence order the other group to be silent.
Beyond that, whether you are legally allowed to say a thing is irrelevant to the question of whether or not saying a thing makes you disrespectful, a jackass, or a disrespectful jackass. For instance, I was pretty hard on 1337mokro right there, and I was kind of a dick about it. I'm allowed to say such things, but I'm still a disrespectful jackass for saying them in the manner that I did, particularly since I singled out 1337mokro even though there are many, many posts I could have chosen (sorry, you lost the random pick) or, better yet, I could have made my point without singling out an individual--I didn't because I think this shows a stronger, clearer position, and I couldn't have made this paragraph's point as well without showing legally acceptable jackassness.
Is Smite disrespectful? Of course it is. This is an idea born out of high school thought experiments ("Shiva would
totally murder Odin, man!) and not religious enlightenment. They weren't aiming for respect, they were aiming for the Rule of Cool. Personally, I didn't think them jackasses until COO Todd Harris decided to be snarky in his response to the Hindus.
Should it be made? Of course. Free speech is free.
That being said, no one should be surprised that people being disrespected are upset that they're being disrespected. I mean, come on, don't piss on them and tell them it's rain. Additionally, people coming together and telling a company what they think of the company's product is basically how business works (Mass Effect 3 ending, anyone?)
So let's all take a step back and a deep breath, read some Cracked [http://www.cracked.com/article_15759_10-things-christians-atheists-can-and-must-agree-on.html], and not act like dicks today.