Why is religion becoming such a big deal nowadays? Especially the public display of it?

Question

Why does everyone want to remove public displays of religion. Like the "In God We Trust" on our money, pledge of alligiance, 10 commandments, etc. Years ago it was all different. Those little things meant a lot to a lot of people. Even most that it meant nothing to (non-religious, etc) understood this. So how come now everyone acts like its so wrong and offensive?

Answer 1

Slavery was tolerated for a long time, too, even though it was always wrong. And so was segregation. Likewise, public displays that imply that one religion is acceptable to the government and considered superior to all others have always been un-American. They were tolerated because the majority of Americans were of the same general faith. But during the last ten years or so, religion has begun to intrude more and more into matters of public policy (abortion, stem-cell research, etc.) and into our laws by politicians pandering to their fundamentalist base. People are rightly worried that, if not checked, this will result in a loss of religious freedom for everyone.

"E Pluribus Unum" is a far superior motto for a nation that treasures freedom of religion. "In God We Trust" gives god-believers a false sense that the government has validated their belief in monotheism over polytheism, pantheism, atheism, and other stances. This is false. The government must remain neutral in matters of religion. Having a religious motto leads people to believe this isn't true. Same for "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge should be for all Americans, not just those who believe in monotheism. There is no reason for the Ten Commandments, or any other religious document, to be displayed in courthouses. The laws of the land are not based upon them, and their presence seems to imply that they are government policy. Display the Declaration of Independence, and no one will complain. Display the U.S. Constitution, and no one will raise a sour note. But the Ten Commandments, Humanist Manifestos, the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, and quotes from the Talmud or Book of Mormon don't belong on the walls of courthouses and schools.

Answer 2

This is an excellent question.
Here is my answer:
Consider this:

A society is capable of surviving for thousands of years unless it is attacked from within or without by hostile forces. where such an attack occurs, the primary targets are it's religious and national gods and heroes,it's potential of leadership and the self respect and integrity of it's members.
If you look around you , you will find countless examples of these points. They scream at us every day from the newspapers and TV.
Probably the most critical point of attack on a culture is it's religious experience. Where one can destroy or undermine religious institutions then the entire fabiric of the society can be quickly subverted or brought to ruin.
For the last hundred years or so religion has been beset with relentless attack. You have been told it’s the “opiate of the masses “, that it’s unscientific, that it is primitive, in short , that it is a delusion.
The source of this kind of attack is always covert and hidden. It is promoted by a few who have a vested interest in a slave society.
Unfortunately these few rely on creating fear and insecurity in others
to forward and promote their enemy propaganda. These others feel correctly they have to defend themselves from an attack, but because the real enemy is hidden, they can be manipulated to attack what they really should be defending as they cannot see the real enemy.

The key here is that underneath all these attacks on organised religion there is one fundemental target:
The spirituality of man, your own basic spiritual nature, self respect and peace of mind.

Answer 3

properly, you could comprehend a number of factors approximately human beings. One, because of the fact we are self conscious, we are fairly lots the only existence varieties in the international who understand, purely before time, that we will die. because of the fact we adore not being ineffective, this has a tendency to be the only massive concern that universally scares the pants off human beings. So, there is passable motivation to discover ANY thank you to circumvent that destiny, no rely what the fee. next to that concern, bread and circuses mean not something. to comprehend why there not basically is faith, yet why there are a brilliant number of competing manufacturers, all with fierce loyalists, you could study, and comprehend the human situation over all of our species' historic previous. Thats a tall order. Few all of us is on the same time as much as doing that, much less making use of it to their very own selves and ideology.

Answer 4

Liberalism gone amuck and the ACLU, but do this:

Want to give the ACLU a Christmas present?
Send them a Christmas Card! It is time to get out your CHRISTMAS cards list! As the ACLU are working so very hard to get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of this holiday, we should all send them a nice CHRISTIAN card to brighten up their dark, sad, little world. Make sure it says "Merry CHRISTMAS" on the inside only. Here's the address; just don't be rude or crude. (It's not the Christian way, you know!) ACLU 125 Broad Street 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 Two tons of CHRISTMAS cards would freeze their operations because they wouldn't know if any were regular mail containing contributions. So spend 39 cents and tell the ACLU to leave CHRISTMAS alone. Also tell them that there is no such thing as a "Holiday Tree". . . . It's a CHRISTMAS Tree! Pass this on to your e-mail buddies.

Answer 5

>> Like the "In God We Trust" on our money

Added in 1957.

>> pledge of alligiance

Added in 1954.

All of which, are in direct conflict with the establishment clause. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Establishment_Clause_of_the_First_Amendment ). So, it's always been wrong and offensive - it's just that people were too scared of communist Russia in the interim.

The state cannot sponsor any religion. Would you be okay if your money said "In Allah We Trust"? Yeah, I think not. If you want to put up religious symbols and make references to god, you have to do it on private property instead of public property - what's so hard to understand?

Answer 6

Because there are now people who honestly do find it wrong and offensive.

I'm not going to claim to be a good one of those people, but I am one of them. Imagine you saw someone who believed in things proved completely false, but refused to listen to reason, refused to look at what could be easily presented to them, and then tried to force you to pay for displays of those ideas.

I can tell you, it's pretty offensive.

Answer 7

Christians are pushing their Christmas down our throats---the Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, etc.,.

And, They do not even know what they are pushing for. Is this really it?

Christmas is, in its origins and its symbolism, perhaps the most pagan-inspired of all Christian holidays. Its dating derives from the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia, which was determined by the winter solstice, that astronomical point in the year after which the periods of sunlight on Earth lengthen.
And that's not all that contemporary Christians have in common with neo-pagans. Most of the popular symbols surrounding Christmas - evergreen trees and other greenery, mistletoe and holly, the Yule log, candles and bonfires and holiday lights, mystical spirits with the ability to fly and to enter and leave a house through its chimney, tricksters who treat or taunt little children, not to mention those elves - all derive from older, pre-Christian Europe.
These pagan-derived symbols and customs are precisely the elements of Christmas that Christian activists are pressing to preserve and promote. Wonder if most realize it---------------

Answer 8

Well, they were only started in the 1950s to distinguish us from the godless communists. (Apparently you couldn't tell the difference.)

Those aren't as important as things like stem cell research, but this IS supposed to be a secular country. Not that the word 'God' never appears in the Constitution.

Answer 9

It is a lashout response to the new Christian fundamentalist/maximalist movement that has rocked America. 10 years ago, they were not trying to force their dogma into every aspect of society.

Answer 10

We have a lot of non-believers who wants God removed from their sight. I guess people believe God is being fed forcefully to them. I just don't get it. Ppl say they don't believe in God and they shouldn't have to say his name in school. If I didn't like the color red and someone said red out loud I wouldn't be offended. Our country's foundation is based on God. Why complain. If you don't like God...don't say his name. Don't touch money...use plastic. Write a check.