Religion & Politics

[nicodemus]

[sponge]

Trying to get us to write your report for you eh? :P

[OT] The ID on this topic is 6666. Heh.

[nicodemus]

[James S]

I think it can get to a point where it becomes ... to ethical. Meaning, the people's ethics might be different from the ethics of the goverligion that they are in. If the ethics of the goverligion were forced upon the people that would be bad (they would not be free people), but for it to remain a goverligion it would have to force those ethics onto them. It just depends if everyone in the goverligion has the same views on the religion and how strict the goverligion was. If someone doesn't like the goverligion's views then they could leave, but some people don't have the resources available for them to do something as monumental as move out of a country.

The question is kind of worded weird. Of course it would be ethical. But different people have different ethics...

[Warren]

I say church and state should be separated (well, they are, mostly). A lot of people think Israel is governed with religion, but it isn't at all. Vatican is, and same with several Arabic countries. I think some East Asian countries aren't separated, but I don't know. Overall, I disagree with combining church and state.

[edit]
I don't think it's ethnics, I think it's the lack of choice in a religion run state, because then you can't be nonreligion that much, and you can't convert. I think the freedoms would be lower.

[James S]

Well every government is based on basic religious "rules," such as: don't kill, don't steal. But a lot of a religion is personal thought's and actions. A goverligion would be hard pressed to restrict those things. Such as Judaism for example. The government would have to force all grocers to carry only coser (spelling?!?) meats and foods. Men would not be allowed to shave their heads. All men would be circumcised at birth. You would not be allowed to do anything that required labor on the 7th day of the week. You would be forced to fast from sundown on Saturday to Sunrise on monday.

Basically, a goverligion would have to be VERY strict about everything, so strict that they probably wouldn't have the means to make sure it was kept under control.
Is it ethical to force people in one nation to follow the religion of that nation? Well, every child in that nation would be raised under that religion, every person there would be that religion. But I think religion is a personal choice that each person must make sometime in their life. It is not something that the government should decide for you, for better or worse.

[Warren]

[James S]

[Warren]

[James S]

[sandmann]

The people are getting oppressed... Just because there are people cheering in the videos doesn't mean the country likes him. They have embargoes that state that they can only sell enough oil to support and feed their people. Yet somehow the people are starving, and Sadaam hasn't let the UN inspectors into his weapons facilities in years. Oh, and the Gulf War Sickness, soldiers are mysteriously sick and dying after that, strange huh? But there's no evidence that he's bad...

Warren, that's such a stupid, fashionable statement. Everyone says that because it's not in style to support Dubya.

[James S]

Sadaam sure is braking enough treaties, isn't he?

[Warren]

The people of Iraq aren't starving, but they aren't rich either. Might as well kill off Saddam, got nothin' better to do 'til we get Osama.

[James S]

[ynot]