Better put, I should have said that 'religion', as defined above has EVERY PLACE in a secular society, NOT NO PLACE. This would include every 'religious group' and every 'religious practice'.whatever it may choose to call itself.
Ok, yes, this now makes more sense. Thanks for the correction.
Lance wrote:
America does have a 'religious' foundation. That 'religious foundation' was 'Christian' in it's orientation. IMO it was primarily enlightenment rooted rationalistic Deism.
Rationalistic Deism certainly played a role through guys like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, but I'm not sure it would be proper to say it was primary. Very influential, certainly, but Christianity had its important role as well.
Lance wrote:
Does this help? Do you now see why I disagreed with your comments regarding lower court decisions?
Well, your correction above helped, but I think you need to reverse yourself on the comments you made as well.
Lance wrote:
To the extent that such activisim is 'religiously' rooted I think one of two courses of action might be followed: 1. Extend church/state separation. 2. Extend the privileges of the state so as to include every 'religious belief' equally. From Islam to Santeria, from atheistic humanism to the Ku Klux Klan, treat all equally.
I think you make this too difficult. The state should simply stay out of any religious matters. For example, when the Ten Commandment issue was raised, the court should have said, "this is a religious quarrel between atheists and Christians. We are not allowed to order anything one way or the other based upon religion. As long as nobody is passing a law respecting one religion over another, we have to stay out of it." Instead, they decided to rule in favor of secular humanism, favoring an atheistic religion and infringing upon the freedoms of Christians and Jews. They violated the very law they were claiming to uphold. They destroyed the confidence of many in the judicial system.
Furthermore, I do not think it is the job of the state to make sure that all religions are treated equally. All religions should have equal access, but there should be freedom for the better religions to gain prominence. It would be ridiculous for society to try and give equal importance to the religious views of both Usama Bin Laden and the Pope.
Peace be with you.
David Miller.
---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
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