Quote:
Originally posted by lendaddy
Isn't it just spite/hatred of religion that gets you irked when they are legitamized as educational facilities? Seriously what are you worried will happen to you?
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I lived in Salt Lake City for a few years, religions are fine by me
I am not afraid of what will happen to me if Christian faiths are given money, or if people in my government choose to have personal faith. This is fine. Even in SLC where %90 of the city is Mormon I never felt threatened, or oppressed (even though it was hard to find a job as a non-Mormon).
It's not myself that Im worried about, it's us as a whole. My needs are met, and if I were selfish I wouldn't even bother to vote. But as a responsible citizen I think its important to look out for others because I know that they have looked out for me and I owe it to them to participate.
What scares me about religion in this country is that
its no longer an issue of practicing personal spirituality. Rather, I see the Christian faiths are being used as a political tool of influence. This may not be the case or it may not bother you as a member of the Right, but I think it has great power to destroy.
When I hear Bush speak, he reminds me of a Pastor or a Preacher. My problem with that is that those kinds of people don't ask you to choose what to believe, to consider other viewpoints. or even to think about what is important to you as an individual. They pass down commandments from on high for their followers to believe and not question. They present their interpretations as facts. Therein lies the power of fear over the power of thought. You don't want to be a sinner right? The Bible tells you what to do, right?
They are the 12 Commandments, not the 12 Suggestions.
In my opinion, the religious Right uses religious thought to back legislation (
ie abortion, gay rights, etc), and then leverages their trust with the faithful to do powerful, unholy, things (
i.e. the gutting of environmental policy, the unwaranted liberation of an sinful nation, denial of scientific evidence, etc, etc).
You, as a member of the Right, may not feel influenced by what Im talking about and you may not see that influence in the government, but I think we can agree that its not in the best interests of the people if did exist. My lefty thinking probably makes me more suspicious of this kind of stuff but I hope we can agree that a degree of skepticism when looking at religion and politics is positive for everyone.
Unfortunately skepticism is almost a sinful thing in this country.
Its a deviation from the Commandments, its a personal idea outside of some ancient book, its an original thought. You may not like it, but that doesn't mean its wrong.