Do You Believe in a Secular America?

[tomhagen]

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Hell, yes!

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Ironically, a secular, nontheistic, religiously neutral America

allows ALL religions their right to believe freely without government interference.

[plimsoll]

8. Not ironic at all

You have to think about the consequences of allowing someone, anyone to dictate what another person should believe.

It is less a failure of critical thinking and more a failure of looking ahead. The irony is that the imposition of an established religion would be done to "save" people in the afterlife, despite the fact that the vast majority of people won't have their precise bit of doctrine established. In essence they seem to be supporting an action that will doom most of themselves to eternal damnation.

Makes perfect sense.

[reACTIONary]

17. And that's a good thing....

... I kind of like irony.

[thegoose]

3. Absolutely

Religious insanity in government always leads to violence.

[LS_Editor]

4. Absolutely. No playing favorites. No playing anything at all.

[calimary]

5. Yes. This isn't Vatican City, okay?

For Pete’s Sake...

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. I long for a secular America!

[diverdownjt]

18. Freedom of religion also means

Freedom from religion.

Secular humanist atheist American.

[watoos]

7. The 3 wise men were pagans.

[Marthe48]

9. Exchange student from Costa Rica

She was in sports, and some of her team members was talking about their divorced parents and visiting each one, how hard the scheduling was. They asked our student how people in Costa Rica handled divorce. She said, "The issue doesn't come up. The Church is the State. It is against the Church to get a divorce, so there is barely any divorce."

The Church is the State.

Who wants that? Especially when every cult in the U.S. has its own ideas on religious guidelines.

I remember when JFK had to assure the American people that his religion would not influence his leadership. Now, you have cheating, lying fanatics promising they are Christians, and gullible sheep willingly following them to slaughter.

[Lonestarblue]

10. Remember Kim Davis, the KY anti-LGBT clerk?

She’s been married four times. I wonder how she would like the State telling her she could not get a divorce. It’s mystifying to me that so many people want a government that bases its laws on the beliefs that most of them do not even live by. I know it’s hypocrisy, but it’s also a lack of justvplain common sense.

[Marthe48]

13. Mickey Rooney married 7 times

I think Johnny Carson joked that he was committed to marriage

Kim Davis would be just like the pigs in Animal Farm-'everyone is equal, but some of us are a little more equal.'

Also, "Do as I say, not as I do" which is so controlling. Which the religious right is all about.

After I first posted, it also occurred to me that the various Christian sects seem to look for Bible verses that mention a specific difference and make that their mission statement. Maybe religion survives on narrowly defined structures, but faith needs and allows a larger outlook.

As far as I can see, the only thing the far right religious sects have in common is hate, and I don't know how their individual members can square that with the true Christian message of love.

[Mars and Minerva]

11. YES. nt

[panfluteman]

12. The Separation of Church and State Was the Wisest Thing That Our Founding Fathers Did

At that time, at the end of the eighteenth century, those of English and European extraction were looking back on at least a few hundred years of bitter and bloody religious wars in Europe. So it made a lot of sense to them. I myself believe in God, even though my father was an agnostic - I had spiritual and out of body experiences from my early childhood, so the path of agnosticism or atheism was not an option for me, but for those whose life experience leads them in that direction, I respect it as a very honest and reasonable path.

[WestCoastDem42]

14. Yes ... and yes again!

👍

[angrychair]

15. No religions. Period.

We are kidding ourselves if we think religion (OF ANY KIND OR FLAVOR) can coexist peacefully with each other or with atheists.

All religions histories are soaked in blood and intolerance.

There is no room for any religion in a modern society that truly wants to include all its citizens and wants them to be their very best versions of themselves.

Since we will never be willing to remove religions from our society, we are are doomed to whatever religious apocalypse awaits us.

[Progressive2020]

16. Freedom Of Religion

Religious Plurality, including the non-religious, is the ideal in America. There needs to be space for everyone, including those who are Secular. Separation of Church and State is important not just to the non-religious, but also to the various religions, especially the various sects and denominations of Christians. Some Evangelicals want a society without religious freedom. That is un-American. And dangerous.

I wonder how Evangelicals would feel if the Catholics wanted no other religions in America? Or the various Liberal Protestant denominations wanted a Universal Church in America? Separation of Church and State keeps any one denomination or sect from taking over.

Cultural diversity is ultimately a strength, I think. I am a sort of Universalist/Humanist myself. I am glad to live in a country without some sort of official or dominant religion. People need freedom of choice and the open competition of ideas, including religious ideas. I am also a supporter of Science and Progress. So, yes to a Secular America, with room for a diversity of views.