I'm not talking about forcing people to give up their personal beliefs.
I'm talking about banning religion out of politics and public life. Like no politicians saying "God bless America" to get votes, no swearing on the Bible in court etc.
Your thoughts please.
2007-09-25 00:45:47 · 15 answers · asked by Krelboyne_Girl 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Government
Yes and No..
what is needed is a moderate society.. and a government or a body of leaders that can achieve a balance by representing and addressing secular as well as spiritual needs of people..
banning one in favor of the other would go against any democratic principals..
this is because most societies consist of people whose lives are dependent on the practice of their faith, as well as people whose lives are focused on worldly matters..
it's an extremely difficult balance to achieve, but for true democracy to exist then true representation (of all society's concerns) is needed..
i'm terribly sorry you have to be bashed by answerers for this.. it's a perfectly valid question and certainly makes people seriously think through their opinions..
2007-09-25 01:09:19 · answer #1 · answered by druid_gtfx 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
First of all, I am not sure you know what you are asking. I don't know of any country that is a TRUE democracy. The USA is not one. We are a Republic. In a true democracy, the people would vote on everything, law, taxes, peace and trade treaties, resolutions, etc. It would be chaos. Perhaps a better way to put it would be a true democratic representative government. As for your question: NO. How can you have the freedom of a democracy and turn around and impose absolute bans on religion and speech? How would you know how to vote on something if you didn't know all the angles, what made up peoples views and ideas? Their motives might be wholly different that what you believe them to be. If a person says he is Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, I at least understand the basic guiding principles in their lives. A person who wont say, ...who knows?
2007-09-25 08:01:08 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely NOT!!! America was founded not as a democracy, but as a republic. If you think that a politician saying "God bless America" actually garners votes, then you are simple minded indeed.
The swearing into office on a Bible (or Koran) affirms that persons pledge to uphold his office responsibilities on his faith in his God. By removing this you are basically saying he doesn't have to pledge to do his job.
Granted a politicians word is basically WORTHLESS now days, but the majority of them still do have faith, and by requiring them to swear on that faith that they will execute the responsibilities of their office is better than nothing.
2007-09-25 08:04:45 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
No, dumb (and illegal) idea!
I don't think you can abridge anyone speech or religion, even a politician, that was tried in Nazi Germany. What do you suggest next, eugenics???
As for the swearing on the Bible, one can also swear on a Koran, a dictionary, a dead fish, or nothing. the whole point of swearing is just to impress upon the person the importance of the act.
You misotheists will never succeed in getting rid of us!
2007-09-25 08:01:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
I think its more likely that true democracy can only work in a society steeped in Christian values. Egalitarianism, civic-mindedness, and charity are all required to make a democracy work. All of these are principles taught by Jesus.
Without a significant number of people in a society willing to put aside their own selfish wants and sacrifice for the greater good, there could be no democracy.
2007-09-25 07:55:51 · answer #5 · answered by smartr-n-u 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well it sounds like you are trying to eliminate free speech by stopping people from talking about their belief in God.
If you are speaking specifically about the US, then you really need to look closer at our Declaration of Independance.
'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights...'
Our nation was founded on the belief that God gives us basic rights. Since this belief is the entire basis for the formation of our country - how can you argue to eliminate it?
2007-09-25 08:02:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
No.
I am all for secular but I think people want it to go too far.....anyone can say God bless America because that is his/her right to free speech...as for not swearing on bible I would go with that as it is basically useless
We need a moderate society instead of the extremism that is our present culture....also we need to live+let live instead of the current "If you don't think exactly like I do then you are an evil demon who loves terrorists and wants to rape my family" mentality on both sides of the spectrum.
only then can we have a real democracy.
gcbtrading>
The definition of Republic is "a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them. "
The definition of Democracy is "government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system."
so basically democracy is type of government and republic is the country...but same thing..any democratic country would be a republic and vice versa
2007-09-25 07:51:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
True-Democrary = oxy-moron
Law vs Law = Loser vs Loser
Lie vs Lie = Liar vs Liar
A king-dom is neither a democrary nor a republic.
King and domain of God is not elected nor limited.
2007-09-25 08:37:27 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope
We have gotten a long way doing that and I see no problem or do you believe 10% of the populations should be the ones to tell what the other 90% want to say or do?
2007-09-25 07:52:12 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
beilief in god coupled with the persistence of blind faith results in an egoistic affirmation & amplfication of the individual's freedom of speech and affects on society. considering the holy books tend to be written before man's current state of understanding,the metaphysical affects of such can retard the progress of human understanding especially when a new truth appears contradictory to dogma.
exodus 21/21 seems to advocate slavery in spite of the possibility of internal hemmorrhaging as unseen by god.still,these words come from god & are in the bible so they must be explainable.
religions tend to clash especially when the afterlife happens.
2007-09-25 08:26:08 · answer #10 · answered by enord 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋