Do you support the concept that "Freedom of religion" applies to ALL religions, and not only those of 'popular faiths'?
Magical
2012/09/12 23:28:40
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34 votes
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28 votes
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1 vote
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14 votes
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I just commented on another poll on "freedom of religion". This is an important topic, and I commend the author who brought it to light.
I wanted to expand on this point after reading an article about The European Court of Human Rights ruling a couple of years ago that Scientology should be allowed to file as a religious organization in response to Moscow, Russia denying its' application. The author of the article noted that this was not only a victory for Scientology but for all religious minorities which commonly have difficulty gaining public acceptance. She emphasized that "religious freedom isn't just for the popular faiths."
She goes on to make this point: "The issue of how to define religion continues to usually equivalent to accusing it of fraud, and governments want to protect the public from fraud. On the other hand, if government is to remain neutral, what criteria can it use to separate real religions from fakes? Many conservative Christians consider all non-Christian faiths to be fake. Other people consider religions to not be real if they are not old enough or large enough or if they just seem "goofy," although no responsible government could use that as an objective standard either."
That someone chooses a religious path that does not coincide with your beliefs, is absolutely irrelevant. Whether you consider the beliefs to be strange or even 'fake' is irrelevant. (All Atheists consider religious beliefs to be fake). Whether someone walks the walk of Muslim, Christianity, Scientology, Wicca, is no body's business. People should be free to make that choice. This absolutely includes those who choose the road of Atheism, Buddhism, Jehovah's witness, etc., etc.
I'm sick and tired of those who talk about the extremists, the terrorists - and generalize such behavior to painting an entire group black. There are fanatics, rotten eggs, bad guys in all organizations.
And yes, I believe that freedom OF religion includes freedom FROM religion. I think that Atheists should be respected, and those of faith shouldn't be shoving their beliefs in the noses of Atheists or anyone else. (There is no law prohibiting them from doing so, but I personally find such behavior to be obnoxious and a turn-off)
I find the polls condemning one path or another to be reprehensible. I choose to boycott such polls. Some will cry "freedom of speech/expression". Of course they are free to express their bias, prejudice, hatred, etc. - but it is also my choice to shun those that do.
Do you support the concept of Freedom of religion for ALL religions - not only those of 'popular faiths'?
I wanted to expand on this point after reading an article about The European Court of Human Rights ruling a couple of years ago that Scientology should be allowed to file as a religious organization in response to Moscow, Russia denying its' application. The author of the article noted that this was not only a victory for Scientology but for all religious minorities which commonly have difficulty gaining public acceptance. She emphasized that "religious freedom isn't just for the popular faiths."
She goes on to make this point: "The issue of how to define religion continues to usually equivalent to accusing it of fraud, and governments want to protect the public from fraud. On the other hand, if government is to remain neutral, what criteria can it use to separate real religions from fakes? Many conservative Christians consider all non-Christian faiths to be fake. Other people consider religions to not be real if they are not old enough or large enough or if they just seem "goofy," although no responsible government could use that as an objective standard either."
That someone chooses a religious path that does not coincide with your beliefs, is absolutely irrelevant. Whether you consider the beliefs to be strange or even 'fake' is irrelevant. (All Atheists consider religious beliefs to be fake). Whether someone walks the walk of Muslim, Christianity, Scientology, Wicca, is no body's business. People should be free to make that choice. This absolutely includes those who choose the road of Atheism, Buddhism, Jehovah's witness, etc., etc.
I'm sick and tired of those who talk about the extremists, the terrorists - and generalize such behavior to painting an entire group black. There are fanatics, rotten eggs, bad guys in all organizations.
And yes, I believe that freedom OF religion includes freedom FROM religion. I think that Atheists should be respected, and those of faith shouldn't be shoving their beliefs in the noses of Atheists or anyone else. (There is no law prohibiting them from doing so, but I personally find such behavior to be obnoxious and a turn-off)
I find the polls condemning one path or another to be reprehensible. I choose to boycott such polls. Some will cry "freedom of speech/expression". Of course they are free to express their bias, prejudice, hatred, etc. - but it is also my choice to shun those that do.
Do you support the concept of Freedom of religion for ALL religions - not only those of 'popular faiths'?
Top Opinion
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Metaldane 2012/09/13 09:50:36YES - and Freedom of religion also includes freedom FROM religion!
+5And unlike many sh users I'm not a prejudiced prick I believe all religions deserve equal treatment under secular law no religion or non religious belief is better then any other it's the actions of individuals that give them bad names and often it is a very small minority of followers that do so.
In the end religion will kill us all.
I'll share this quiz, posted by Grandbrother, which pretty much sums up the issue:
http://www.sodahead.com/unite...
How To Tell If Your Religious Liberty Is Being Repressed
By Susie Madrak
Rev. Emily C. Heath is a United Church of Christ minister, and she wrote something that may be useful for our friends across the aisle: A quiz to help them decide if they're being repressed!
I'm a religious person with a lifelong passion for civil rights, so this is of great interest to me. So much so, that I believe we all need to determine whether our religious liberties are indeed at risk. So, as a public service, I've come up with this little quiz. I call it "How to Determine if Your Religious Liberty Is Being Threatened in Just 10 Quick Questions." Just pick "A" or "B" for each question.
1. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am not allowed to go to a religious service of my own choosing.
B) Others are allowed to go to religious services of their own choosing.
2. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am not allowed to marry the person I love legally, even though my religious community blesses my marriage.
B) Some states refuse to enforce my own particular religious beliefs on marriage on those tw...
I'll share this quiz, posted by Grandbrother, which pretty much sums up the issue:
http://www.sodahead.com/unite...
How To Tell If Your Religious Liberty Is Being Repressed
By Susie Madrak
Rev. Emily C. Heath is a United Church of Christ minister, and she wrote something that may be useful for our friends across the aisle: A quiz to help them decide if they're being repressed!
I'm a religious person with a lifelong passion for civil rights, so this is of great interest to me. So much so, that I believe we all need to determine whether our religious liberties are indeed at risk. So, as a public service, I've come up with this little quiz. I call it "How to Determine if Your Religious Liberty Is Being Threatened in Just 10 Quick Questions." Just pick "A" or "B" for each question.
1. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am not allowed to go to a religious service of my own choosing.
B) Others are allowed to go to religious services of their own choosing.
2. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am not allowed to marry the person I love legally, even though my religious community blesses my marriage.
B) Some states refuse to enforce my own particular religious beliefs on marriage on those two guys in line down at the courthouse.
3. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am being forced to use birth control.
B) I am unable to force others to not use birth control.
4. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am not allowed to pray privately.
B) I am not allowed to force others to pray the prayers of my faith publicly.
5. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) Being a member of my faith means that I can be bullied without legal recourse.
B) I am no longer allowed to use my faith to bully gay kids with impunity.
6. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am not allowed to purchase, read or possess religious books or material.
B) Others are allowed to have access books, movies and websites that I do not like.
7. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) My religious group is not allowed equal protection under the establishment clause.
B) My religious group is not allowed to use public funds, buildings and resources as we would like, for whatever purposes we might like.
8. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) Another religious group has been declared the official faith of my country.
B) My own religious group is not given status as the official faith of my country.
9. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) My religious community is not allowed to build a house of worship in my community.
B) A religious community I do not like wants to build a house of worship in my community.
10. My religious liberty is at risk because:
A) I am not allowed to teach my children the creation stories of our faith at home.
B) Public school science classes are teaching science.
Scoring key:
If you answered "A" to any question, then perhaps your religious liberty is indeed at stake. You and your faith group have every right to now advocate for equal protection under the law. But just remember this one little, constitutional, concept: this means you can fight for your equality -- not your superiority.
If you answered "B" to any question, then not only is your religious liberty not at stake, but there is a strong chance that you are oppressing the religious liberties of others. This is the point where I would invite you to refer back to the tenets of your faith, especially the ones about your neighbors.
http://crooksandliars.com/sus...
Religious freedoms are taken away subtly, not in grand gestures, and are led by social and cultural trends in attitude. In our society today, it is all too often accepted to laugh at the person who believes in God, to be hatefully mocked by teachers, professors, outspoken homosexuals, etc., who think their way, their "beliefs", are superior and the rest of us need to comply or be outcast. Isn't that what they accuse the religious of doing? In fact, the vast majority of religions do not do this, society just does not like our view and so feels compelled to tell us we are wrong. Little injustices happen every day to the religious, even in the US and it is precisely BECAUSE we don't impose our will that it can.
The Reverend who wrote this "test" is free to see the world as she wants, but she does not speak for all, or even most people of faith and her assumptions are childlike.
Everyone should ...
Religious freedoms are taken away subtly, not in grand gestures, and are led by social and cultural trends in attitude. In our society today, it is all too often accepted to laugh at the person who believes in God, to be hatefully mocked by teachers, professors, outspoken homosexuals, etc., who think their way, their "beliefs", are superior and the rest of us need to comply or be outcast. Isn't that what they accuse the religious of doing? In fact, the vast majority of religions do not do this, society just does not like our view and so feels compelled to tell us we are wrong. Little injustices happen every day to the religious, even in the US and it is precisely BECAUSE we don't impose our will that it can.
The Reverend who wrote this "test" is free to see the world as she wants, but she does not speak for all, or even most people of faith and her assumptions are childlike.
Everyone should have the right to believe what they want and there have been injustices in the past by different religions all over the world but we must be careful to disallow the pendulum of justice to swing to the other side, at some point we have to say where enough is and stop trying to get revenge. Interestingly, revenge is a human ego concept, not a Godly one although there have been those misguided into applying it to God.
Because I will argue that it is actually evidence of freedom of religion that people GET TO laugh at the person who believes in God, etc.
I see no real difference in religious symbolism than commercial symbolism. If an Atheist owns a business, will he be as vociferous in his opposition to a competitor moving in next door and erecting his trademark? I don't think so.
I don't think there are any religions that "force" people to believe other than Islam, and then only in Islamic controlled states.
The problem with religious symbolism in the public sphere is that it ends up seeming an endorsement of religion. It is no offense to remove them, as religion should not be part of our government...
It's not an expression of support of atheism to not have religious symbolism as part of government.
(2) What cases are you talking about, specifically?
http://www.au.org/
Whatever happened to free speech? Why are they opposed to it in certain situations? Doesn't the 1st Amendment apply to all?
On the other hand,I think too much time and money is wasted on trying to take religion out of our schools. That was there long before we were. If you don't want your child to hear a prayer, have him excused, for that five minutes. Our Country was founded on religion, and to take that away is to destroy what we are. And WHO we are. A Country that has the right to choose!!
The problem with Atheists is, they can't look at a cross on the wall and except the fact that it brings joy to a lot of people, just because it is there, and move on. They think they have the right to take that joy away by demanding it be taken down.
The Christians accept the atheists as having the right to believe however they wish. The Atheists do not accept the same thing in the Christians!!!