Bigwavedave said...
Most western democratic countries have in their constitutions a protection of the right to freedom of religion.
While our constitution doesn't entitle us to the right to freedom of speech, it does guarantee the right to worship as one chooses.The US constitution mentions freedom of religion even before freedom of speech.
Do people have the right to deny Blood transfusions? Undertake genital mutilation of their daughters? Prohibit bedroom activities of consenting adults?
I can go on..
Why do you think that religious rights have to be guaranteed in nations' constitutions? Because the first thing that dictatorships, military regimes and atheistic tyrannies do is try to control peoples' religious and spiritual beliefs.
Religious freedoms must be protected from other religious persecution. Look at whats happening in Pakistan and those other countries, Religious minorities get persecuted by religious majorities..
Atheistic tyrannies? While many terrible acts have been committed by regimes without a state religion, they aren't done in the name of Atheism. In these cases the State
is the religion, that is why competing religions get the boot. Look at North Korea, they worship Kim, they don't sit around reading Charles Darwin..
Humans have a fundamental instinct to worship something and also an evil instinct to bully and control those who are weaker.
No we don't! We are gullible at a young age, and the major faiths have become very efficient at indoctrination.. Look at Iceland, perfectly happy without worship/.
Someone's attempt at ridiculing the religious beliefs of others shows that they are succumbing to the base instincts of humans. ie To attempt to control others' beliefs by mocking and denegrating them. (bullying)
If I criticize somebodies belief in astrology, or their stance on protecting Tasmanian forests, am I attempting to control them? NO!.. Then why is questioning Religious beliefs any different?
It's an intelectual position, like any other.. Intelectual positions are there to be challenged...
This is a form of discrimination and is no different to racism. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Idi Amin, Col. Gadaffi, Pol Pot, Sadam Hussein, most Arabic countries and the former USSR all try/tried to control or eradicate the religiuos and spiritual beliefs of their people.
No Racism is far worse than questioning an intelectual stance.
And you can't compare a few jokes about Jehovahs to Totalitarian dictatorships suppressing their citizens..
When you crtiticise someones religion or their method of expressing their spirituality you are starting on the slippery slope that is bigotry, hatred and ultimately evil.
What if their method of expressing their spirituality is flying into buildings?
Respecting religious beliefs at all costs is a slippery slope to being blown up or burned at the stake..
If I offended any poster here I apologise, but I am passionate about freedom of expression and discrimination of any sort.
So why are you against the criticism of religion?
Find the most Pious nation in the world Saudi Arabia or Pakistan, and look at their record of protecting freedoms and discrimination.. Those Theocracies are religion without restraint.. The mild forms of Christianity are only mild after hundreds of years of post enlightenment mockery by people like me..
Look at the pope, once a warlord, now a weirdo in a cape..
