August 7, 2006
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Something to ponder…
I saw this on a bumper sticker…
“Freedom of religion means all religion.”
Thoughts?
I’ll stop back and update when I get a few responses… I have several points of my own, but I know others will have a number of ideas about this that I have missed.
UPDATE: My thoughts were running another way when I initially posted this. So I am loving the new avenues of thought and entertaining them to spark more on this at home. I was talking with Shawn and he, having lived in Germany over seven years and other parts of Europe another four, was taking me down the path that some people think that even if we say we have freedom of religion, it can’t truly be. He mentioned that there could be a religious group that allows, stealing (or murder as we see it, i.e. human sacrifice), for example, as a part of its doctrine, for some reason. If this were the case, the religion would not be allowed to practice this freely here, in this country, due to it being against the law. Then we talked about the laws of the land and the fact that Christianity would be, then, the religion that might be able to be free here, as the country’s laws were made, based upon the biblical guidelines within Christianity. Then some might try and argue that Christianity was a ‘State Sponsored’ religion. In Germany for instance, there are religions there that are free to gather and believe what they choose, but there is a portion of the taxes, possibly 30%, that is divvied out to one of two, Catholic or Protestant, whether or not the person practices either of them or not. That led us to the topic of the reason that religious freedom is even a part of our founding documents. This was due to the founding fathers having not had that as a ‘right’ in the country from which they came. That suppression of their freedom to believe led them here, so it was important to them to have this as a part of the legal language and foundation upon which our country was being laid.
The train of thought I had at the onset of this was much different. I thought of a warning I’d heard years ago admonishing Christians to take care in pressing the judicial system to allow things be posted or setting precedents in court. The reason was simply that whatever Christians have decided legally in the courts means another religious group would then be allowed to do as well. Where most of our nation would not be offended by the content of a Christian’s display, some religions (Satan worshipers for an example) might post things that were a part of their rituals and practices that would be more than offensive, even scary, to many people who don’t practice what they do. I know that the courts of late have had a number of suits brought to remove ‘offensive’ things like those nasty ole Ten Commandments, but there is really nothing truly offensive in the words, only ideals with which the person here or there disagrees. Whereas a sacrifice on an altar or some lewd scene may very much offend most of the population. So this is where I was at the start of all this.
Thank you for all the comments, come back by with more if you think of something else to say. This has been great.
Comments (13)
There is a bit of irony in this statement. Democracy is one of the few forms of government that allow this practice. Many of the customs being practiced in this country are are outside their religions, and would not be allowed by the government in the religion’s country of their origin. There is a real ‘cake and eat it too’ mentality, but that it the freedom that allows freedom of religion!
Of course, the hinging clause is that practice of any sort of freedom (not just religious) should not infringe on the rights of other persons… that’s where it gets dicey.
uh….thoughts? I’m not sure I have any of those today. I guess what I wonder is what they’re trying to say in the bumper sticker? Like some people are not given religious freedoms here? Sure seems to me that there’s plenty of that in America. Guess I don’t see the problem…are there groups who don’t have it.
Thanks for the comments on my froggie. I’m posting some pics from my new one today.
Are you going to come out here sometime?? You HAVE to come stay with me if you do!! We can do Sequoia and Yosemite easily from here.
I’m going to send you a mail about a turtle gourd that I did.
Hugs,
Lisa
Yeah…I can’t figure out the pic thing. I will remember to do Xanga.. there are a few that still only have Xanga at Oasis too. I hope you are doing well Girlie!!
This is a deep one all right and the implications are legion. It’s very hard to practice the kind of freedom that equally supports/allows all religions to co-exist. But I think that we must shoot for this goal because only when religion is truly a matter of free choice is it meaningful.
Yeah… thanks. Love you!
Interesting thoughts, Deb. It’s a much bigger topic than we would have first expected, huh? Very true that it’s not true religious freedom in that people aren’t allowed to practice sacrifices or other things that are illegal. And if our laws weren’t based on Christian principles, then those things very well could be. Maybe burning of Christians would be a requirement; like paying tribute!!
Okay…got sidetracked and forgot to send the mail. Will do it now.
Hugs,
Lisa
Ecellent thought provoking blog and discussion here – I’m still thinking about it.
I can’t find and at the church but I will go to wal_mart or somthing like that and get a BIG poster board ok
~Alexis~
If anything (sports, politics, etc.) can become a religion and if freedom of religion is a value of allowing all forms of religious expression with equal merit, then embracing the concept is the same thing as embracing anarchy. I don’t think a meaningful society can be built on relative values. Without agreement on certain absolutes, we doom ourselves to chaos. I think there is a false premise out there that we should not have conflicts and therefore we should eliminate anything that causes conflicts. I say we need to embrace our differences, learn to resolve our conflicts, and live that more satisfying life. The real problem is not that we have conflicts but that we don’t value them or the process of resolving them. I think conflicts, handled maturely, create the best environment for personal growth, and I think we should all keep growing as long as we walk this earth. How people respond to others who don’t like their chosen practice of “religion” is much more important than whether they think they are “free” to express it, in my opinion.
Whew. Where’d that come from?
hey how are u doin
hi debbie!
you welcome
hey thank you i miss you i dont want to go to school.well talk later football game is on bye