Subsidizing Religions
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- Created on Friday, 18 May 2012 06:41
- Published on Friday, 18 May 2012 06:41
- Written by John Draper
- Hits: 15
Why do governments subsidize religions? Partly because of our history - Churches were, and are still, community centres - but partly because they often get it wrong or are slow to change. Governments consider Churches and religions to be charities - and if you are a charity you get certain privileges. Normally, charities are a benefit to society although they sometimes lobby the Government on various things. This can get them in trouble if they are registered and issue tax receipts since this means their lobbying is subsidized by the taxpayer. It's no surprise that the Government does not allow such "charities" - registered charities are limited to spending no more than 10% of their money on political issues. Currently, some Environmentalist charities are lobbying against Government initiatives so they will be losing their charitable status. (National Post). Unfortunately, governments are ignoring the elephant in the room.
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Religious attitudes to Sex
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- Created on Wednesday, 16 May 2012 07:20
- Published on Wednesday, 16 May 2012 07:23
- Written by John Draper
- Hits: 89
Most religions are unhappy with many aspects of sex. They seem to want to control what people do and certainly do not take the view that they have no place in the bedrooms of the nation. They generally (but not universally) disapprove of abortion, sex outside marriage, teenage sex and especially disapprove of homosexuality. They will often say that sex must only be for procreation and say any other kind is unnatural despite the fact that homosexuality and recreational sex is common amongst animals. I came across a table that lays out what the major religions think. It was made 18 years ago in San Francisco but I’m sure it’s still applicable today. Also, not all or even most individuals in a Church have these ethics; but these are what their Church leaders have said. For example, a majority of Catholics don’t follow their Church’s teaching on contraceptives.
Why an atheist blog?
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- Created on Monday, 14 May 2012 07:11
- Published on Monday, 14 May 2012 07:11
- Written by John Draper
- Hits: 116
For many people, religion is boring and of no consequence - for them, a blog on "no religion" is equally boring. For others, they so passionately hold to their belief in their religion that a blog on atheism is annoying but not likely to change their mind. One commenter on this blog recently suggested another objection when he said: "I do believe that in general, people need to have beliefs, or a belief in something, to keep them grounded. Many find that support in religion of whatever kind it may be for them. With this in mind, I am perplexed by what seems to be your obsessive need to relegate all religious beliefs into one category which you seem to be trying to discredit in any way possible on this blog," I would abbreviate this to say "Religion makes people feel good - to each his own - so why criticise religions?"
I can't speak for others but I can try to explain why I operate an atheist blog.
Catholic Nuns show leadership
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- Created on Saturday, 12 May 2012 06:47
- Published on Saturday, 12 May 2012 06:47
- Written by John Draper
- Hits: 121
The Catholic Church is losing followers - especially in developed countries like Canada, Great Britain, the U.S., Germany and Australia. There have been many cases over the last few decades where priests have acted sinfully (to used a religious term) and their "leaders" (bishops and the Pope) have not taken any effective action. It is obvious that the men in charge were more concerned with preserving their reputation than with showing compassion for victims. They hid behind their cassocks and showed no leadership. You might say, they had no balls. Contrast that with the nuns who have had no such scandals and have actively pursued what Christians think is their mandate - to look after the underprivileged and downtrodden. To help those who can't help themselves.
A Homophobic God?
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- Created on Tuesday, 08 May 2012 07:05
- Published on Tuesday, 08 May 2012 07:11
- Written by Bill Kilpatrick
- Hits: 228
Why does homosexuality provoke such hatred in members of the religious right? Well short of the fact that many of them are prejudiced bigots, I believe that the reason homosexuals provoke such strong emotions is because the question of homosexuality goes directly to the heart of the Christian religion's most sacred beliefs. It would appear that if homosexuality is normal and natural then the main premises that the Bible is based on would be false. Those premises are that man is unique in nature because of the human ability to make choices instead of being ruled by instincts alone, the Bible is made up of God's words given to us through man, and the idea that God is love.
Geert Wilders - Islam wants him dead
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- Created on Thursday, 10 May 2012 06:18
- Published on Thursday, 10 May 2012 06:18
- Written by John Draper
- Hits: 231
Wilders lives with a perpetual police bodyguard - experience has told the Dutch that Muslim extremists are serious in their death treats (e.g. Theo van Gogh) - and he has now published a book on his situation: Marked for Death. He was in New York April 30, 2012 and spoke to an audience at the Gatestone Institute. He is often described as "right-wing extremist" but if you filter the rhetoric, he has some questions that deserve an answer. He was raised a Catholic and says he is now agnostic; he campaigns against Islam but never criticizes Christianity or any other religion. He is clearly targeting Islam but then maybe they are worse than the others. As Ayaan Hirsi Ali says, maybe a path that Muslims should follow would be to become Christians first.
U.S. adherents to religions
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- Created on Sunday, 06 May 2012 06:23
- Published on Sunday, 06 May 2012 06:23
- Written by John Draper
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The U.S. Census does not publish information on religion below the national level and their most recent published data is from 2008. However, the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies does a detailed study at census time and has now released data from their 2010 survey. Most of the data concerns spread of religions by geography but since they do surveys every 10 years, some trends can be seen. The best place to see the data is at the Association of Religious data archives.
