The biggest problem I have for the so called 'seperation of church and state' is that it seems nowadays . . . it is a gateway to: DISCRIMINATE AGAINST RELIGIOUS PEOPLE It is oke to discriminate against someone for some arbitrary reason as long as that reason is not religious I could not let yellow shirts in to my place of business for some reason I can make up . . . as long as it is not religious It seems when ever a religious person says or stands for something it is summarily dismissed as zealotism etc I'm not ultra religious nor do I go around bashing people with it or about theres but their is definately IMO a BACKLASH against religious folx. They have dismissed as ridiculous, zealots, seen to be 'sheep' or of low intellect, etc. I have just notice alot more harsh statements directed toward religious people [for the record. . . the particular religion does not seem to matter people just really seem to be tired of religion in general] but in the end. . it may just be me Rocket River
That's interesting, RR. I just started listening to "Blind Faith" on my computer. Stevie Winwood singing, Had to Cry Today. It's going to be followed by, Can't Find My Way Home. Then, Well All Right. Presence of the Lord Sea of Joy. Wrapped up by, Do What You Like. Seemed to fit the topic, somehow. I always thought Winwood was underrated as a guitarist.
The Civil Rights Act forbids discrimination based on (among other things) religion. That's the law. If you fire someone for any religious reason, you are breaking the law. Furthermore, forbidding businesses from basing their employment policies on religion is not religious discrimination. Not even close. The religious people in those businesses are still free to practice their religion and they are free to live by the rules of their religion. However, anytime their religious practices imposes on the liberty of another person, the courts are almost always going to rule on the side of individual liberty. Like I told you in the thread about the woman eating pork at the Muslim business, either the courts can grant the business's right to forbid pork in the workplace or the courts can grant the woman the right to eat pork. Unless the business can prove that the ban on pork is business related, the court will rule in favor of the woman because forbidding her from eating pork is a greater invasion of liberty than forbidding the business from imposing religious-based rules. As I said, the Muslims in the business are still free to practice the religion as they see necessary. When you say there is a backlash against religion, I don't think I agree. If anything, there seems to be a backlash against secularism, as religious persons who were used to having their religion (usually Christianity) dominate popular culture are seeing other religious/spiritual ideas creep in. And they don't like it.
The vast majority of this country is religious and the US is one of the (if not THE) most fervently religious industrialized nation(s). Our president not only has to be religious, but he has to be deeply in order to get elected. How, then, are you seeing so much anti-religious sentiment?
When I see Christians oppressed across the world, I thank God that I live in a nation that lets me worship God as I know Him to be. From time to time I feel that people look down on me for my faith...think I must not be very intelligent. But who cares, really? People will think of me what they'll think of me, no matter what.
When did RR ever say anything about employment? It seemed to me he wasn't talking about illegal discrimination but rather the personal animosity towards religious people that is commonly encountered, and more recently given unprecedented consideration in government practice. I see it now, and I used to practice it myself. All the secularists here who feel persecuted by the pervasive Christian faith: Christians feel a complementary persecution. It seems neither side wants to see the other as anything besides an aggressor.
i dunno. if you wear a t-shirt one day saying "I'm a Christian" I bet you would get a lot less dirty looks or rude comments than if you wore one that says "I'm an Atheist"
Religion is partly about the tendency for human beings to coalesce into groups of shared interest. Atheism is more individualistic, so I don't think you will ever see groups of atheist discriminating against anyone. Other than Penn Gillette, there just aren't any atheistic evangelist out there rallying the cause.
That's how I've always lived, except from the perspective of an agnostic. And you might not believe the stories I could tell you about the discrimination I faced from being a hippie in the '60's. It certainly gave me a lot of insight into the discrimination, far worse, faced by those because of their race or their religion... neither of which can be changed like I might had been able to, had I wished. I could have cut my hair, shaved my beard, and changed my clothes. For those of an affected race or religion, that's not an option. Ironically, because of my wife's job high up in that "entity" that works for the State Legislature, I have to keep the bumper stickers off our cars and we both have to watch what we say in public places, here in Austin. So I have compromised. I don't like it.
Maybe it's the circles I travel, but I doubt I'd get dirty looks for either. In fact, I think the only time I've ever gotten a negative reaction for being an atheist (not counting attempts at conversion) was when 2 little girls asked me if I was a Christian. I said "no" and the younger one shrank away from me in horror. The other seemed intrigued. Everyone I tell at church seems to take it in stride. It might be because they're Presbyterians and believe God chooses you instead of the other way around and therefore see no shortcoming on my end. Or maybe it's only because I'm not sensitive to such things (and mor sensitive about persecutions my wife gets for her faith). When one gets one's back up about a thing, every move by the "opposition" seems like an offense. On the other side, I've seen my wife get strong negative reactions, including intimations that intelligent, well-educated people like her don't believe such ridiculous things.
Not if you were in some South East Asian countries. Then it would flip around. I have a question... Where aer Christians opressed all over the world?
Pakistan Sudan Saudi Arabia parts of Nigeria parts of Indonesia There are probably more countries beyond those five.
