Religion in American society

Did George W. Bush act for the best of the nation and the people overall, or just in his and in the interest of the super rich? He is a christian.

Again with the attacking Christianity; is that all you anti-theists are capable of? Honestly, it's like dealing with a small child.

Where?

This is all pointless without the actual incidents to discuss. If the atheist groups were denied approval, it was likely due to their display violating the community standards for offensive material. You can do whatever you want on your private property, but public spaces are owned by government and thus are subject to stricter regulation for what can be displayed there. I imagine that the property they were trying to display it on was municipal land, which means that it's up to the mayor/commissioner/board/council/etc. to decide whether or not to allow it.

Or, as in the status quo, anything does as long as it follows TPM restrictions. Nowhere in the West is free expression an all-or-nothing arrangement, but the US suffers the least from codified PC.

No, you won't.

I'll clarify:
- "Hate speech" is illegal
- Holocaust denial is a criminal offense
- "Insult" is illegal
- Displaying the swastika: illegal
- "Insulting of Faiths, Religious Societies and Organizations Dedicated to a Philosophy of Life if they could disturb public peace" is illegal.
- "Casting False Suspicion" is illegal
- and more

Your country is one of the most heavily censored nations in the West. I find it ridiculous that you try to lecture me on what freedom looks like.

Canada has hate speech laws, just like Britain.

You're a real bright one.

Yeah, it is, but it's not the type of speech that we were talking about.

Or you could stop being an anti-theistic prick.

What do you mean? It's not, at least not where I live.

He acted in the best interests of the people overall, actually. While I hated his presidency (or rather, I do now, I wasn't quite old enough to care while he was president), I still believe much of what he did was in the people's
interest. That includes the invasions of Iraq/Afghanistan which were very popular at the time, I'll remind you.

Also, @Kali, did you know for all our freedoms, the US has the most laws on the books than any other nation?

So basically, someone else decides wether or not you can be offended or if it matters if you are offended. That the epitamy of freedom, I see....

Please, you are not even allowed to dance at Washington memorial (or some other, dunno which one exactly) Again, prove me wrong

No.

I know people who do, and they are not imprisoned....

I can insult all day, every day

That is true, however, this rule was instituted by the americans while they tried to "denazify" Germany

I just recently stood in front of a mall with a protest group that hat signs which said: "Christianity kills people" with a picture of an african child infected with HIV.... I am still not in prison, so wrong

You cast it as long as you wish, what is illegal is hindering police in an ongoing case by feeding them false information deliberatly. Which propably is illegal in the states too...

more what? things you can pull out of your ass?

a) Since I am a frequent protester and never got arrested while screaming at police and my government (I told Schäuble once, that he is an ass from 3 meters away).My country also does not lock up people without evidence or trial in a camp where they are tortured. So yeah, whats your point exactly?

Now that is a good one. What you fail to see is, that this is not a matter if freedom of religion, it is a matter of seperation of state and church. There are two ways to go there: Put religious signs of every denomination in class, or take them out. Taking them out it is.
That doesnt change the fact that France is a predominately catholic country, as can be seen here!

Then I would have to give up reason, and quite frankly, would rob me of the amusement i get out of talking to indoctrinated theists without arguments.

How are Christians and HIV related in any way? I don't see how a disease can have anything to do with any religion. I mean, what the fuck? And by the way, no picture can prove someone is infected with HIV, it has no symptoms.

As Christianity generally doesn't allow contraceptives like condoms, which are used to stop the spread of HIV, I can understand how people would make that link.

The pope forbid the use of condoms in Africa, because its against gods will. Heck, he even said that condoms spread HIV.
There was a big HIV drawn on the child. I know that you cant see it. It does have symptoms though, like the collapse of your immune system.

Because the pope obviously controls what Africans do....

I know it has symptoms. But not visible ones. You start getting horrible infections and random flus/colds that your immune system can't fight off.

I'm confused, which American President said that. Oh wait, none. He was well within his rights to believe that, and it was well within the rights of his constituents to accept that based on their own opinions. But would you rather the government silence him, or not allow him to speak his mind?

Ok, the logic behind this statement...well I can't think of a way to end that statement because none of what you said makes sense. First, if the statistic you provide is correct, and some portion of your population has a belief in God (we're assuming the Christian one for right now) the religion probably effects their day to day lives as well. The fact that the question was asked does not mean that it was answered with a resounding, "Burn the heretic bastards." Finally the US has no state religion, unlike some people. *cough* Europe *cough*

And the Pope obviously isn't any kind of an authority figure, nor do his followers listen to him whenever he says anything.

Which obviously has nothing to do with the time in which those countries were founded.

Your understanding of both of these topics is far too limited for me to waste the time educating you on. I'm in awe of your dedication to ignorance.

All of that information came straight out of here, and that's all cited at the bottom.

Did you even read the article? Or, perhaps the better question at this point, can you?

France banned religious symbols that students wear. It was passed to force Muslim girls to either drop out or abandon a key religious tradition. It's clearly an assault on religious liberty, and the implications of the government telling you what is acceptable attire are an affront to several other individual liberties.

France is a predominantly nominal Catholic country. It's also got one of the highest atheist populations (I think it might be the highest, actually) in the world. The law that banned the headscarves also banned large crucifixes, which are worn by many Catholics in France.

Anti-theists aren't reasonable. They're dogmatic. They're irrational. They're the Evangelicals of atheism. They're despicable people. You're pretty much the archetype of the worst kind of anti-theist.

Now that's not what I meant. But, first of all, HIV is most prevalent in the central African countries and the countries around Kenya (not quite sure what to call that part of Africa ). And those countries do not have many Christians whatsoever. In fact, in many of those countries traditional African religions are most prevalent. And in Northern Africa, we have a predominantly Muslim population. The pope doesn't really have too much authority in Africa.

Thank you for the correct use of dogmatic.

I said politician, not president. 3 Republican candidates who are or were in the run for the candidaty stated that they were choosen by god to do it. Hermann Cain, Michelle Bachman and Rick Santorum. Again, they are free to speak theire minds, but we can assume that at least 2 of them are either liars, or god choose 3, just to be safe

It wasn't answered that way because the Atheist Internet community hijacked the poll But it would have been like 70% against a president that is a non-believer.
The lgic behind my argument is that, while you can think of yourself as a believer, you are not ruled by it. If there were a politician that would make the "choosen by god" claim, even the religious people her would tell him that he is a crazy ass. Praise the lord in your home as long as you want, but when it comes to make important decision that affects the entire population, use reason, not faith.

Other than the UK, there is no country in Europe with a state religion I can think of. Plus, membership is not mandatory in Britain too...

My god is best god. (Or rather, will be best god. Maybe.)

I'm not entirely sure what branches of Christianity they follow, but here it says it's the most widely practised religion in Africa together with Islam, and the dominant religion in Sub-Saharan Africa.

I read the Bible, both in German and in Greek, I read a translated version of the Quaran. I studied ancient history and their religions. I looked into various Polytheistic religions too. None of them made any effort, to present proof of their claims. So I rejected it. I tried to find the reason behind it, but there wasnt any. If you tell me that I, who has brought up catholic and thought about this topic for 15 years (and still does), that I am dogmatic, despicable and "the archetype of the worst kind of anti-theist", than I really think that you suffer from some kind of social dissorder. Please tell me, are you socially enganged in any kind? Are you even poart of your society? Do you have friends? I don't think so....

How will this in any way affect their economic and social policies. Did any of them then claim that they will oppress the religious and non-religious minorities?

The poll does not show you the result you want, an overwhelming majority saying yes, so you left that part out. Or those people were religious and just do not let it affect their politics.

The UK, Denmark, Greece, and Malta all have state religions. Also there is Vatican City.

Edit- And you are defiantly dogmatic. (Not meant as an insult)