Like I've said, I have always supported religious freedom. Especially religious freedom of belief. Believe in Santa Claus if you want. But I am beginning even rethink that a little. Not so much laws to suppress it, but just the idea that it makes some people think they should commit acts of violence. Maybe not legally suppress it, but deal with it as a mental illness. Freud thought religion was a mental illness. And I am beginning to think he was at least partly right. Sometimes it is. EDIT: You know, and I am beginning to think hate is a disease too. I wonder what doctors say about that or what Freud would.
So what exactly are you trying to say? You're having reservations about religious liberty because you think it makes some people violence prone? Would you put the same limits on speech? As for Freud, his contributions to psychotherapy were invaluable, but many of them haven't stood the test of time. His Totem and Taboo and Moses and Monotheism ,efforts to build on the latest secular thinking of his day on religion seem quaint at best, and his theory that unconscious sexual impulses were the prime motivators of human behavior is no longer generally accepted by psychology and psychiatry. He thought gays were sick too.
I firmly believe we are all mentally ill to one degree or another. Mentally ill as none of us can grasp reality in its pure form but are subject to various forms of delusion. Delusions come about through filtration of the world through sensory limitations, social upbringing, and a belief in permanence. Religion fosters delusion and thus mental illness (or a lack of mental clarity and understanding of the true nature of reality) by promoting various beliefs that can not be supported by verifiable facts or data, leading one to accept that which is unproven and is open to various forms and types of interpretations often dictated by a dogmatic authority. This doesn't mean a religious person can't function in the everyday world in a moral manner, but the thought processes of a religious person, by the fact that they accept unproven and unprovable ideas and notions, is subject to accepting unproven and unprovable ideas and notions.
I don't know about phycology and only some about religion but when it comes to legal matters, religious and non-religious should be treated the same, that includes paying taxes. Religion has no place in government or politics (at least in the US, where I am from). If a candidate mentions anything about religion they should be disqualified from running. They have the right to their own beliefs but having people vote based on their religion seems wrong. If you can't provide a solid platform on topics that concern people without appealing to and manipulating religious groups, then you don't belong on the ballot. We should also remove "in god we trust" from our money and "one nation under god" from our pledge. Those things were not added until the 1950's I think, they were never what the US was founded on to begin with.
But again like I said above only treat it this way in extreme cases, especially ones that lead to things like violence. A while back they were talking about these two young brothers in Michigan. Their parents were becoming alarmed because they were neonazis and it was leading to violence. So they had them committed to be treated. I've always been against things like neonazism and hate of course. But I thought, do we need the law to change our political views? But then after that I thought, maybe in that case it would be justified. (Also I don't the all the details of that case. But the newscaster seemed to say that that was their only problem, their political views.)
My concern is that there are a large number of so called "Christians" want to create a Christian theocracy in the United States, despite the fact that most early immigrants came to this continent to gat away from the endless wars and oppression by Catholics, Radical Protestants and Puritans. That is why the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution defined religious freedom for all citizens. There are backward zealots who deny the separation of state and church as inalienable rights. Some activists want to create laws that only permits "Christians" to Participate in government. The risk is real. I am a Christian who wants to practice my beliefs as Jesus defined defined and rely on the rantings of Constantine the Great and Corporations that use his name in to gain power. My family history included a minister who was burned at the stake for heresy in 1455 for rejecting Catholic rules about marriage in the ministry. Twenty Nine other relatives were hanged by the neck for rebelling from "Charles the firsts" attempt to force Anglicans to convert to Catholicism in Monmouths rebellion in the 17th Century. Some "Christians" are backward and deny science in support of superstition and beliefs that have been found to be fantasies to explain natural events that they are too ignorant and or incompetent to understand.
It is people's translation of religious scripture that causes division, hate, violence and war. It has done throughout history and it continues today. Often it drives a wedge between ordinary folk rather than a hand of peace. In addition to this the hypocrisy of it all gets to me. Here in England people would gather in church and sing 'All things bright and beautiful' before adorning themselves in red jackets, gather hounds, climb upon horses and enjoy seeing a bright and beautiful fox torn apart by the hounds. They even smeared the blood of the mutilated fox on the face of a new member of the hunt. Pure evil by so called followers of Christ. As for mental illness, nobody is perfect, we all have some baggage of life which has some how shaped us and I guess we all react in different ways to different situations cos of this. Some in kind of difficult situations throw themselves into religion, and where there's a charismatic leader they can be sucked into some real dodgy groups. Hey we all know of Jonestown. Others turn to neo nazi far right groups and their messages of hate. The common factor between the 2 is the sense of belonging to something to fill that space in their lives. Is it crazy to be religious in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence? No way, religion is comforting for a great many people. As long as they carry love and not hate and division in their hearts let them have their comfort. The world sure needs more people of love in religion than fundamental and supremacist extremists. A little off topic Is the question 'Is being religious the same as being spiritual?' I would say being religious is following one path of a certain faith. I would even class some Wiccans who follow a single path as being religious, but they sure do curse me when I say that. Being spiritual is more eclectic yet believing in something on a broader base. While science has answers for a religious argument it cannot always answer a broad based spiritual one. And there's a lot of evidence out there in favour of Spirituality and the powers of Mother Earth and the Universe. If youre having doubts about your faith it's human instinct to question things as we are all born with a free mind. But it could be worth opening your eyes a little wider and your mind more spiritually.
Dear Reverend: I cannot express my gratitude for your input: As you suspect I am descended from English Ancestors who were for the most part Anglicans. I am descended from John Rogers "the Martyr" who was burned at the stake for his Methodist Beliefs. I have ancestors from Exeter, Norwich, Creech Saint Michael, Stratford Apon Avon, Colchester etc. I also have Scottish and Scots Irish ancestors. Most of them participated in the War of Independence which now seems to be a mistake in light of our current government. I have now been researching issues that can be documented directly to the teaching of Jesus. This leads me to later documentation such as the Nicean Creed, The story of Adam and Eve and Noahs Ark. I hope to return to the UK if the situation gets better. Thank you so Much - Wally
Moderate religion is the breeding ground of radical religion. Moderate religion allows for a radical interpretation of core beliefs common to both moderates and radicals.
It is a secular creed that is replacing the God-centered religion of yesteryear. Churches are empty and being re-purposed. We worship The State. People do not express religious belief openly when in public.
