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Originally Posted by mrnoodle
I support the freedom of any religious group to practice their religion, and I support the right of non-religious people to abstain.
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Okay, so why does the line "...freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM..." keep appearing in so many of the debates? Does this simply mean that people who wish to abstain must tolerate seeing displays of it or that they must endure a government biased to a religion of that government's selection?
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Originally Posted by mrnoodle
What I don't get is how one can draw a parallel between a theocracy and a government that simply doesn't work against people of faith at every opportunity. To say that ALL faiths must be represented simultaneously or NO faith can be mentioned by ANY public official while he or she is on the clock is unrealistic
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Well, I've always viewed government as a representative body that provides a function and that function has not ever been religious, nor does any require any religion to operate. Does a courthouse need a star of david to determine court cases? Does a town hall need a crescent moon and star symbol to levy taxes? Does a state run elementary school need a Christmas tree to teach chemistry? No. Religion simply serves no purpose at any of these places besides making one group of people feel more recognized and powerful than another. The government biasing itself one way or another only discredits some portion of the population, but remaining netrual affects no portion of the population in a negative way. This, to me at least, seems both logical and simple.
So, if this group you fear gets its way and removes religious displays from government, what will happen? Does society degrade and collapse? My view is that people will feel free to practice their religion as they please in their churches, worship areas, in public, etc. I even think that the lack of a government recognized religion might even make many of the minor religions in this country feel even more open and free to do as they wish.
I suppose I've never seen these groups that you speak of actually do anything to try to prohibit private individuals from celebrating or observing their beliefs, only the collective government. Maybe you have some instances in the media that you'd like to point to us that provide a different story?