What are your opinions on banning one or more religions by law in a country? Should a secular government permit freedom of religion, or can that right be deprived of a person visiting an "atheist sanctuary country"?
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Ghost Liberty,
Been there, done that. Try opening up a Baptist church in Saudi Arabia.
King Asa restricted other religions in the Bible. He simply killed people who didn't believe in his favorite religious fairy tale.
http://www.thebricktestament.com/king_solomon/executing_unbelievers_brin... = 6 pictures
Banning one/all/no religion by law in a country is a perversion, since beliefs cannot be enforced. Freedom of thought should be guaranteed in democratic systems; otherwise, we're talking about a dictatorship.
That said, in real democracy what it should be banned are privileges to any religion: Preaching in public schools (or any other public establishment), interfering with proper education, having exempted taxes or any other kind of public economic aid.
Flamencabot,
You would have been a good supporter of the Catholic position against religion in public schools in the late 19th Century.
Here's an article from the December 31, 1871, New York Times detailing the Catholic arguments against teaching religion in the public schools. How many of their points do you agree with?
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9403E7DF1739EF34BC4950...
@Diotrephes You would have been a good supporter of the Catholic position against religion in public schools in the late 19th Century. Lol, well, I've been a Catholic for some time in the late 20th Century. Let's see.
Certainly not for the same reasons ("because we, as members of the CC, cannot join in religious exercises with non-Catholics" or because "religious instructions given therein have been and are still condemned by our highest ecclesiastical authority as corrupt, false and heretical"), but I agree on the petition of "no religious instruction, prayers, hyms, or other religious exercise be permitted during school hours".
My main reason is because I think that no kind of partisan (political, religious, etc.) indoctrination, especially when one is privileged over others, belongs in public establishments in a supposedly democratic country. Religions shouldn't be taught in schools, except from a social, philosophical and historical perspective, never as fact, given that no god has been proven yet.
(edited to fix)
@Flamencabot: "what it should be banned are privileges to any religion"
I agree. And governments should also refuse steadfastly to appease people who engage in violence for so-called religious reasons, as is happening in Pakistan right now. Religious nuts who riot and fight should be treated like any other hoodlum.
@Algebe, we must arise a social consciousness to treat religious nuts as they are, people with a mental disorder, because what I see in some politicians, especially from the US GOP, is really scary, and it enables other people to confuse insanity with religious zeal.
I don't believe in it. You're just going to oppress people, how is tgat better than religion. I hope for a day where humanity has out grown the for a deity, but it has to happen by the faithful coming to the realisation on their own accord... with maybe a little gentle nudging from us atheists.
“What are your opinions on banning one or more religions by law?”
No.
That being said, in the US, there Is at least one, perhaps more, that is designated religion so tax exempt that absolutely should not be.
I like Seth MacFarlane's response. He was interviewed by.... I forgot who... but said:
Interviewer: "Do you think the world would be better off without religion?"
Seth: "Absolutely."
Interviewer: "Do you think we should ban or outlaw religions?"
Seth: "Absolutely not."
IMHO banning religions will cause more problems than they will solve. It is a knee-jerk reaction. If we want religion to go away, it has to be through education and the voluntary choice of the religious to leave their religion.
Plus, banning religion is bordering on thought crime, and I am 100% against that. I believe no thought, belief, opinion, or idea is ever a crime unto itself. Words and actions however are a different story.
Banning? No!
Treating religions like the business enterprises that they are....Absolutely!
I don't think banning religions by law is good in any way, it would be thought policing... but banning religious teachings in schools, not allowing churches to be tax exempt if they don't open their books for audit, and truly having a secular government are all good things in my book. In America I would like to see more and more politicians denounce religion instead of conforming for votes! It has always amazed me how someone that never talked about "god" before gets on stage and claims to be christian and the nation eats it up!!! You got my vote, I voted because he is a good Christian man... it's nothing but word game bullshit!
It's sad that people don't value honesty if it conflicts with their fairytale!
"If we want religion to go away, it has to be through education and the voluntary choice of the religious to leave their religion."
We need inclusive education. End 'religious education' and "faith schools". Religious superstitions have the same place in education as any other superstition. Religion persists because children are indoctrinated into accepting the incredible as fact.
Banning religions, Hell no. What need to be changed is the preferential tax laws that benefit organized religion for no good reason
So far, based on the feedback I have received, the draft constitution of Greenway has the following provisions setting forth secular government, secular education, freedom of thought and belief, spirituality/religion, etc...:
[The] constitution guarantees an open and limited secular government.
It is prohibited to form a political party that discriminates between citizens, whether on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, color, race, ancestry, nationality or place of origin, language, marital or familial status, spirituality/religion, political or ideological beliefs, intelligence, education, capability or disability, previous condition of servitude, property, economic situation, social circumstances, social status or other characteristics, or other personal background.
No person who maintains membership in a secret society, or who takes an oath to protect himself or another person from due process of law nor any person who espouses a philosophy or spirituality/religion which undermines the separation of powers inherent to a limited government and a free people shall be eligible for a position in the government.
No law shall introduce any quotas, whether based on age, gender, sexual orientation, color, race, ancestry, nationality or place of origin, marital or familial status, spirituality/religion, political or ideological beliefs, intelligence, education, capability or disability, previous condition of servitude, property, economic situation, social circumstances, social status or other characteristics, or other personal background, for any positions within any body of the Public Administration; all Persons applying for employment with the Public Administration shall be selected solely based on their merit and no other criteria shall be used; standards of all examinations conducted by any body of the Public Administration prior to offering employment shall equally apply to all Persons regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, color, race, ancestry, nationality or place of origin, marital or familial status, spirituality/religion, political or ideological beliefs, intelligence, education, capability or disability, previous condition of servitude, property, economic situation, social circumstances, social status or other characteristics, or other personal background.
No Individual shall be required to register and/or share information about his or her whereabouts, be it permanent or temporary, assets, be it tangible or intangible, and/or signed contracts, be it employment, commercial or otherwise, unless pursuant to a Warrant; nor shall any Person be required to register and/or share information about any personal attributes such as medical conditions, bio-metrics, sampling and/or sequencing of genetic material, spirituality/religion, political affiliation, or others, unless pursuant to a Warrant.
No thought, belief, opinion, or idea is ever a crime unto itself.
No law shall abridge the freedom of feeling, thought, and choice or their peaceful expression or dissemination, as in speech, press and other media, artistic depiction, or spiritual/religious practice; nor shall any law promote or hinder any gender, spirituality/religion, artistic culture, scientific research, or specific community.
No law shall be passed granting to any citizen or class of citizens privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens.
Congress and the several States shall make no law respecting an establishment of spirituality/religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of choice, speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
No money raised by taxation in Congress or any State for the support of public schools, or derived from any public fund therefore, nor any public lands devoted thereto, shall ever be under the control of any religious sect, nor shall any money so raised or lands so devoted be divided between religious sects or denominations.
No religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor exercise any political authority.
The right to spiritual/religious belief and spiritual/religious practice shall not be denied or abridged, except in the case of violation of the law, and through due process of law. At the same time, spirituality/religion and spiritual/religious practice may not be used to carry out exploitation and to accumulate private capital, in violation of the law, or to engage in violation of the law in some other way; nor may spiritual/religious Persons, groups, or institutions be granted rights or privileges which do not apply to the People in this Republic in general; Spiritual/religions institutions and organizations are expected to pay taxes unless they are non-profit, as provided by law.
The right not to practice spirituality/religion or to hold spiritual/religious beliefs, and to propagate atheism, shall also be upheld.
No person shall be compelled to take part in any religious act, celebration, rite, ritual, or practice.
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the Greenway or by any State on account of age, gender, sexual orientation, color, race, ancestry, nationality or place of origin, language, marital or familial status, spirituality/religion, political or ideological beliefs, intelligence, education, capability or disability, previous condition of servitude, property, economic situation, social circumstances, social status or other characteristics, or other personal background. Congress and the several States shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Nobody may be discriminated against, namely for their age, gender, sexual orientation, color, race, ancestry, nationality or place of origin, language, marital or familial status, spirituality/religion, political or ideological beliefs, intelligence, education, capability or disability, previous condition of servitude, property, economic situation, social circumstances, social status or other characteristics, or other personal background.
Secular State schools will be available and publicly funded to deliver quality public education, encompassing a comprehensive curriculum of natural knowledge spanning millennia and imparting wisdom on scholars. The States shall create a network of public education establishments that covers the needs of the whole population. Part of the curriculum taught by all State schools will be the history of Greenway and other governments of the world throughout the ages, the Constitution of Greenway and the laws of their State, the rights of the people, and political science. Another essential part of school curriculum will be to teach life skills, survival in the wilderness, and prepare students for successful self-sufficient adult lives. In addition, school curriculum should include health and sex education, self-defense and martial arts, as well as weapons safety and training by police and military personnel.
Not to impede or punish devotion or practice of sporituality/religion, or have preferential support of such by public funds, that does not instigate or direct a felony, misdemeanor, or tort.
Not to be impeded or punished for voting if one is a citizen and resident on grounds of age, gender, sexual orientation, color, race, ancestry, nationality or place of origin, language, marital or familial status, spirituality/religion, political or ideological beliefs, intelligence, education, capability or disability, previous condition of servitude, property, economic situation, social circumstances, social status or other characteristics, or other personal background, age 18 or above, or failure to pay a tax.
See the whole constitution @ https://operationgreenway.wordpress.com/2017/08/02/draft-constitution-of...
I want to move to Greenway!
No person who maintains membership in a secret society, or who takes an oath to protect himself or another person from due process of law nor any person who espouses a philosophy or spirituality/religion which undermines the separation of powers inherent to a limited government and a free people shall be eligible for a position in the government.
Sweet. How different from USA eligible candidates.
"Should we ban/outlaw religion?"
Despite how much I detest religion and all the harm it does to a society in general, I wholeheartedly have to give a big "NO" to banning it. I don't care to have "Big Brother" up my ass any more than he already is today.
"The right not to practice spirituality/religion or to hold spiritual/religious beliefs, and to propagate atheism, shall also be upheld."
Oooo... There's a good one.