Anyone know what is the most secular country in Europe? With the best

[saracat]

record of women's rights? I think I want to move. I can't take this anymore. I am beginning to hate my own countrymen. I don't want to live in a country dominated by ignorant religious nuts who don't even accept scientific evidence of brain function and can't bother to read evidence before protesting the rule of law. I am sickened.

[coloradodem2005]

1. I would bet Sweden.

Pretty progressive. THeir religious right is about where our Democrats are.

[Pallas180]

17. Yeah , but its cold.

:shrug:

[Lindacooks]

19. Well, you wear warm clothes and stay inside a lot in the winter!

:D

[Mass]

2. Most secular is certainly France

However, it is not the one with the best women's rights record. I guess Sweden is.

[saracat]

3. Thanks. I'll research it! I just can't take this anymore. I probably can't

afford to leave yet, but I am so ashamed of these people. Yet again, we are the laughing stock of the world as we display how ignorant and illiterate we are!

[Huckebein the Raven]

4. Isn't the Czech Rep. 70% atheist ?

[Dr Ron]

5. I wouldn't worry about most secular

The general view in Europe is much more secular than here, and there are lots of other factors to look at in chosing a new country. It is possible that a country which has slightly higher church attendance than another might still be preferable overall (assuming that neither has the problem of religious interference in government we have here).

[rockymountaindem]

6. If you're using the Schiavo case as the impetus for this, I'd say

you're being a little alarmist. The wingnuts aren't winning on this issue. Yes, they're making a lot of noise as usual, but that doesn't mean there are more of them. Look at the polls. Most people don't think this is a political issue, nor do they want Congress to intervene. Every judge has ruled in Michael Schiavo's favor. They haven't won a single round of this particular fight, but have merely prolonged it. Look at all the news coming out about how Republicans are afraid this will backfire on them.

If anything, public reaction to this fiasco has made me feel a little more comfortable about things.

[saracat]

7. I know that, but the fact that they have gotten as far as they have and

that MSM has swung back in support of them ,after a brief rally on the side of truth ,will only cause more to defect to their side! Even if they don't win, they have created a martyr. I can't take it. I am trying to be rational, but I have contempt for these people. And these are the people the Dems want to "reach out to" ! I will NEVER reach out to ignorance andstupidity!

[rockymountaindem]

9. I don't think any of their posturing is working.

The only reason they have gotten so far is because of the extensive grounds for appeal provided in the US court system, not because anyone agrees with them. As for the media, what do you expect? Lastly, I don't think these are the people the Democrats are trying to reach out to. They're way to far on the other side. I know lots of the people we should be reaching out to, and they're not in favor of this whole circus. I also know some of the people we shouldn't be reaching out to, and we're definately not reaching out to them.

[Pallas180]

20. Okay, Saracat - can we start a DU American Expat thread - maybe

pool our researches of the best place to move out of this country to..

[_TJ_]

8. You won't go wrong with the UK or Holland

glorious bastions of freedom and liberalism IMO

[mr blur]

10. Well, thanks for that...

Blair himself (probably the most religious PM we've had for a long time) has just given a speech saying that while he believes faith is important in life (to him at least), it must not become a factor in politics, and that this country (UK) must be careful not to go the way of America with its "breast-beating" faith-influenced politics. Amen (sorry) to that. Abortion, for example, is not to be a factor in the upcoming election and the Scottish Episcopal Church has just declared its support for gay priests.

[LSK]

14. well isnt that a 180 from say 200+ years ago

Wasnt part of the reason we formed this country to keep religion out of government????

[Pallas180]

16. Hey Thanks for that info. Airfare to UK is cheap right now...would

love to go and take a look see and then the tunnell to France.

but I understand France if floating with Muslims...you have to think
that's where the Ayatollah started his revoltuion from

England a bit cold...and Sweden too.

How about a nice warm country.

Oh yeah, forget about South America...Rumsfeld is there and I read somewhere there are two warships heading to park off Central America... just a little threat to Venezuela - who just ordered 100,000 rifles to fight off the expected US invasion...

Columbia - Brazil all involved too.....

so okay where is there a safe warm place to move to?

[deadparrot]

11. I know how you feel

When the House passed this shit, my first thought was getting the hell out. I'm looking at teaching English in Portugal, or somewhere in Europe. Portugal is a bit on the poor side, but some of the wealthier countries are extremely hard to work in. I'm so serious; ever since November, I've been looking at these kind of careers.

[cire4]

12. Czech Republic has the lowest church-going rate in Europe

Roughly 2/3 of the population describe themselves as either atheists or agnostics. So I would think that would make them the most secular country on the continent.

However, Europe is far far far far more secular than the US. Pretty much any country is void of religious whackjobs who are in positions of power. Europe is very good at not mixing religion with politics.

However, Poland and Ireland can be exceptions..

[bobbieinok]

13. US religious right groups are working hard in UK and Germany

in 2003 there was a large pentecostal (mostly religious right) European conference in Berlin

[mr blur]

15. Perhaps, but we don't take them seriously

and we don't allow them to tell us how to live, or who to vote for.

[GOPBasher]

18. Most of them are pretty good. But listen,

PLEASE DON'T MOVE!!! If everyone like us (i.e. people with brains) moved, THEN what would happen to the United States? And remember, no matter where you are, you can't escape the consequences of what America does -- military adventures, environmental problems, destroying the world economy. We have to stay here and fight the ignorance.

[saracat]

21. I could still vote!Not leaving yet but close. Just thinking seriously

about it!

[GOPBasher]

22. Oh but you'd still vote? I see. That's cool.

:-) I thought you meant leaving the country and your citizenship.