TheMadFool — TheMadFool
Name me an alternative to religion that has a good side? — TheMadFool
Gnostic Christianity. — Gnostic Christian Bishop
What about an alternative to religion that isn't another religion? — TheMadFool
whollyrolling — whollyrolling
Secularism as described in the French term laïcité.
Freedom of religion as well as freedom from religion. It takes religion out of the public's face and thus eases tensions.
I will assume you are not a Christian.
Tell me, how would you feel if you were on a subway sitting across from a Christian with a little sign on his lapel that said, "Turn or burn" or "Jesus saves"?
How do you think a Muslim would feel?
Regards
DL — Gnostic Christian Bishop
All I'm saying is for most people it's religion that keeps then on the right side of the law. — TheMadFool
Conversely, if we look at the Christian nation of the U.S., as an example; we see perhaps the least peaceful and law abiding nation on earth. — Gnostic Christian Bishop
One scholar I like is Bart Ehrman. He began as a fundamentalist and the more he learned of the bible the more he became an atheist. — Gnostic Christian Bishop
I’m not sure what to call myself. I suppose I lean toward “agnostic” rather than “atheist” simply because as a scholar and professional thinker I am, at the end of the day, more interested in “knowledge” than “faith.” Moreover, the term does seem to me to convey a greater sense of humility in the face of an incredibly awesome universe, about which I know so little. I happen to think that humility is a good thing in these circumstances. At the same time, I can understand why others may want to emphasize what they do not believe rather than what they do not know, and so call themselves atheist. (Why they are so incensed that I don’t follow suit, however, continues to be a mystery to me.) 1 — Bart Ehrman
If one needs to belong to a homophobic and misogynous religion and discriminate and denigrate women and gays and retard the progress of the rest of the world in their moral thinking, and refuse equality to all people, while continuing their lower levels of inquisitions and jihads, I do not feel it that the few benefits of religions are worth the greater harm that they do.
If you think you should live by the Golden Rule, change the labels in this quote to women, minorities, gays or children being brainwashed by religions and it shows what we should be thinking and doing for each other.
"First they came for the Jews, but I did nothing because I'm not a Jew. Then they came for the socialists, but I did nothing because I'm not a socialist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I did nothing because I'm not a Catholic. Finally, they came for me, but by then there was no one left to help me." – Pastor Father Niemoller (1946)” — Gnostic Christian Bishop
Banning all public religious representations would increase the amount of hatred and violence coming from within the religious community.
— creativesoul
That is not the case where religions have banned atheism nor where Muslim countries have banned the apparel the O.P. speaks about.
Is that your opinion/speculation or can you cite something with research and not just opinion? — Gnostic Christian Bishop
Are you confident that Catholic schools never expel students in Canada? — andrewk
The largely non-religious founders of the US thankfully had the foresight to enshrine the right to practice one's religion in the Constitution because they saw first hand the oppression that arose from religious suppression by government. — Hanover
I like Bart as he is an honest researcher.(Why they are so incensed that I don’t follow suit, however, continues to be a mystery to me.) 1 — Bart Ehrman
Is this a philosophy thread or a preach and spit venom thread? — whollyrolling
I'm not saying you're wrong but I'm afraid there's no good alternative to religion given our present condition. I'm particularly concerned about the lack of thinking skills of the general populace (including myself of course) and taking away religious beliefs would add up to undermining the harmony in society even if such harmony is infected with tribalism, communalism, etc. — TheMadFool
You need research to reasonably conclude that a ban on all religious representation would increase violence within religious communities? What planet do you live on? — creativesoul
You defend religions that are obviously and flagrantly homophobic and misogynous by getting a few example to the contrary and which I concede exist, just what a hypocrite does by not mentioning that they are just the few within the many.
As to your other requests, asked in an uncouth way. — Gnostic Christian Bishop
That or you are deluded.
Then, as now, there is basically a religious test for your lying politicians.
I don't care how the religious sheeple believe.
Secularism just says to get your beliefs out of the public square where they do not belong as they create hate and violence.
Or hadn't you noticed? — Gnostic Christian Bishop
LOL.
Religions say kill them. It will teach them how to love.
You give value to that do you?
Religions have institutionalized homophobia and misogyny and a denial of equality to better than half the planet.
You go ahead and speak for it. I will not. — Gnostic Christian Bishop
Gnostic Christianity. That is why they used the inquisitions on us.
They knew that our view of god was better and we had to die as they could not best our morals and ways of thinking. — Gnostic Christian Bishop
Whether it is systematic is irrelevant. If the Catholic system, or any private school, expels disruptive students, who then end up in the public system, then of course the task for the public system is more difficult. Any 'comparison' of efficiency that fails to take that into account is meaningless.I know for a fact that expulsions do occur. The reasons would likely vary.
I do not think it is a systematic culling of any kind though. — Gnostic Christian Bishop
There are women and gays in positions of authority in churches. Why would you omit this information from your post?
A thousand years from now I guarantee that someone will look back and be incredibly shocked at how the US managed to maintain the image and reputation of one of the most wealthiest, prosperous, and innovative places in human history, yet at the same time keep such a majority of their population in poverty, oppression, or otherwise deteriorating circumstances. By no means in the US Saudia Arabia, but in many, perhaps even more dangerous ways-there are real issues in American society.The US is the "least peaceful and law abiding nation on earth"? Have you lost your marbles?
As per (I believe) the OPs original point, any kind of religious signage is a form of propaganda and thus serves the purpose of propaganda, to propagate. There are no exact statistics though. My guess, a lot.What percentage of these religious populations actually hurls beliefs forcefully and habitually at those from other religions, or at anyone?
You're straw-manning, also, Buddhism is a decentralized spiritual activity, not a centralized organized religion. Buddhists wouldn't be organized to fight anyone FYI.Where is the conflict, and what is the nature of the conflict? Are hordes of Christians fighting hordes of Buddhists in the streets of every city?
Why is religion a human right?How can you reconcile your proposed violation of fundamental human rights with the law and the constitution?
Also, please reference global violent crime and terrorism statistics so that we can all have a gander at how anarchistic and violently out of control American citizens are by comparison to the rest of the world.
This is supposed to be a philosophy forum.
That might go against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. — ralfy
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