? I never said that.Matt Z wrote:So no one is allowed to disagree with you? Isn't that the point of a forum, to discuss/debate things?
Matt post 2:
People might classify Atheism like a religion, but it is just the absence of religious belief. It is not believing in something unless it is fallible and has at least some evidence that can be independently verified. Atheists don't force their lack of belief on anyone. However it is true the small group of them will flip out about someone saying "Merry Christmas" or something silly like that. Very few atheists/agnostics do that.
Matt post 3:
Separation of church and state CAN'T go too far. It is part of the constitution. However Students quietly praying together at lunch without involving anyone else has nothing to do with that because nobody is forced and the school isn't sponsoring it.
Religious clothing and jewelry isn't a threat and is protected by the constitution under freedom of religion. I don't see why anyone would object to that. But at the same time I have no problem with profiling. If a woman wearing a burka is 100 times more likely to have a bomb underneath than her non-burka-wearing peers, random security screenings should be slanted that way 100 to 1 in my opinion.
IM:
Promoting belief is fine as long as it is in a constitutional way.
I agree it is due to ignorance. Many religious people think that people without religion spend their time molesting kids and animals, raping, stealing and murdering. Which makes me wonder if they think that because they would do all that if they didn't think God was going to punish them. Because if that is the case they need some serious help!
Now ridiculing someone for having a rosary or other religious item is just plain bigotry and there is no excuse for that. Usually it is a person of a different religion that is more likely to do that though.
Matt 4:
Nothing wrong with saying Merry Christmas. It isn't even religious in some contexts. It is more cultural. It's kind of like, putting up a Christmas tree is ok, but a Nativity scene,not so much. I, for example am a cultural Catholic even though I am Atheist and celebrate those holidays even though they have a different meaning for me. I have an Atheist friend who is culturally Hindu. It's the same way for him, just different holidays.
IM: Nothing wrong with covering all the bases.