Post by Tzalaran on Nov 12, 2008 9:49:26 GMT -6
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
If you have read some of my other posts here, you will know that i have a distinct dislike for organized religion. There are many reasons for this, but foremost and most pertinent is the penchant for religious groups to persecute and perform acts of hatred against 'heathens'.
History has proven that more wars are fought over religious disputes than any other reason. Greek wars were all about their patron diety, moving forward the crusades were about reclaiming the "holy land" from muslims, WWII was about the facist christian movement of Hitler and the perversion of Shinto in imperial Japan.
many of the hot button topics of the past few election cycles; gay marriage and abortion taking the spotlight are being debated over religious vs. secular philosophies. The fact that there is no room for compromise because of this belief in divine righteousness is a wedge in more than just our view on these topics, it follows into a lock of compromise in all other areas. This is a scary precedent in a country founded on the basis of compromise.
to me, Freedom of Religion means that i should never have to fear my laws being written because of a religious view. Theocracy is alive and well in the middle east and other sections of the world, and the founding fathers intended for this nation to never fear being led by a religious leader. The past eight years, there has been a distinct move to change that. Whether we talk about Bush 43's crusade against terrorism, or the attempt to write a ban on gay marriage amendment to the constitution, or the push to outlaw abortion based on religious views, these are all attempts to put religious ideals into law.
Both the gay marriage and abortion ban movements have come as a direct result to christian churches crossing the line between public and private institutions. i'm not gay, and my wife and i have decided against abortion for our own reasons, but there is no way that i or anyone else have the right to tell another person what they can do, who they can love, or what rights they do or don't have. The fact that because of teachings from a book written by humans there is a big movement to restrict these rights from a portion of the population goes against everything this country was founded on, and goes against the implied freedom from religion that exists in the first amendment.
The rhetoric from the christian conservatives on these topics is in direct violation of their own commandments because of how they have carried out the crusade against gays and abortion. thou shalt not kill (which implies not doing any violence against your fellow man), thou shalt not bear false witness (lies about certain politicians and their beliefs on these matters), thou shalt not covet (this is a big one... desire for power and greed is the real lifeblood in our politicians now). For as long as the christian conservative movement continues these improper methods in their actions, they have no moral authority and are only seeking to segregate and persecute certain parts of the population because of their beliefs.
If you have read some of my other posts here, you will know that i have a distinct dislike for organized religion. There are many reasons for this, but foremost and most pertinent is the penchant for religious groups to persecute and perform acts of hatred against 'heathens'.
History has proven that more wars are fought over religious disputes than any other reason. Greek wars were all about their patron diety, moving forward the crusades were about reclaiming the "holy land" from muslims, WWII was about the facist christian movement of Hitler and the perversion of Shinto in imperial Japan.
many of the hot button topics of the past few election cycles; gay marriage and abortion taking the spotlight are being debated over religious vs. secular philosophies. The fact that there is no room for compromise because of this belief in divine righteousness is a wedge in more than just our view on these topics, it follows into a lock of compromise in all other areas. This is a scary precedent in a country founded on the basis of compromise.
to me, Freedom of Religion means that i should never have to fear my laws being written because of a religious view. Theocracy is alive and well in the middle east and other sections of the world, and the founding fathers intended for this nation to never fear being led by a religious leader. The past eight years, there has been a distinct move to change that. Whether we talk about Bush 43's crusade against terrorism, or the attempt to write a ban on gay marriage amendment to the constitution, or the push to outlaw abortion based on religious views, these are all attempts to put religious ideals into law.
Both the gay marriage and abortion ban movements have come as a direct result to christian churches crossing the line between public and private institutions. i'm not gay, and my wife and i have decided against abortion for our own reasons, but there is no way that i or anyone else have the right to tell another person what they can do, who they can love, or what rights they do or don't have. The fact that because of teachings from a book written by humans there is a big movement to restrict these rights from a portion of the population goes against everything this country was founded on, and goes against the implied freedom from religion that exists in the first amendment.
The rhetoric from the christian conservatives on these topics is in direct violation of their own commandments because of how they have carried out the crusade against gays and abortion. thou shalt not kill (which implies not doing any violence against your fellow man), thou shalt not bear false witness (lies about certain politicians and their beliefs on these matters), thou shalt not covet (this is a big one... desire for power and greed is the real lifeblood in our politicians now). For as long as the christian conservative movement continues these improper methods in their actions, they have no moral authority and are only seeking to segregate and persecute certain parts of the population because of their beliefs.