What grinds my gears...

[Dr The Singh]

Believing in a Abrahamic religious deity is not a problem. Having the influence of it so wound into the national psyche of the most powerful nation on the planet and affecting everyone regardless of belief is a problem. Ostracising those who don't believe to the extent that a group like this has to be set up in the most powerful nation on the planet is so far past being simply a problem you need a fvcking huge telescope to see it.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28616115

 

What will it take for them to get the message?

He should be glad he's not living in India, he would be well screwed!!

[Captain...]

Iran doesn't have many gay pride marches or bikini clad Spring Breakers, to pluck just two examples out of the air.

That said, I'm sure if you and a moustache wearing boypal held hands whilst walking along the road wearing atheist slogan T shirts in the bible belt, it would be frowned upon.

Not sure they would leave the outcome at mere frowning in Iran, though...

 

That isn't what he said though. Religion is very much tied into the country's psyche, it forms their policy and their education. The fact it is a more moderate and tolerant religious stand point than in Iran doesn't change that.

[Vacamion]

Buce & Captain,

I accept that America has a long way to go to arrive at full freedom and equality of belief.

Unless you are running for high office, I think it is possible to live a tolerable life with freedom of belief in the USA to a massively greater extent than in Iran, which is why I think the comparison was unfair.

[Dr The Singh]

Buce & Captain,

I accept that America has a long way to go to arrive at full freedom and equality of belief.

Unless you are running for high office, I think it is possible to live a tolerable life with freedom of belief in the USA to a massively greater extent than in Iran, which is why I think the comparison was unfair.

Absolutely, i've worked and lived in the 'bible belt', know plenty of athiest that live there, never known a problem, they just keep themselves to themselves.  Being a follower of Sikhism, was treated quite well.

[Rincewind]

49% of Americans believe the world is less than 10,000 old. The book i'm reading ATM is interesting. The fourth Science of Discworld book. It says almost every culture has an Adam and Eve type story and a Creator. Ancient man only saw things from a human POV. They saw the sun move on the horizon so thought that it was being moved by something. Why think anything else? In Hinduism the world is supported by an elephant. In Greek mythology Atlas. Yet the Christian and some others are still taught.

[David Guiza]

On a related note - just spotted this tweet from QI "North Carolina, Akansas, Maryland, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennesse and Texas all ban atheists from holding public office". Not that they'd get elected in those states anyway, but still.

[Dr The Singh]

On a related note - just spotted this tweet from QI "North Carolina, Akansas, Maryland, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennesse and Texas all ban atheists from holding public office". Not that they'd get elected in those states anyway, but still.

Not saying it's not daft, but those rules are unforceable:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/16/states-atheists-banned-public-office/

[leicsmac]

Buce & Captain,

I accept that America has a long way to go to arrive at full freedom and equality of belief.

Unless you are running for high office, I think it is possible to live a tolerable life with freedom of belief in the USA to a massively greater extent than in Iran, which is why I think the comparison was unfair.

 

And that's rather the point I'm trying to make. The fact that you have to express belief in a monotheistic god to even have a sniff of gaining any kind of power in the USA is discrimination in of itself, surely - freedom of religion should also mean freedom from religion. Think what it would be like if the situation was inverted?

 

You don't have to kill someone to destroy their lives.

 

 

A preaching athiest is just as annoying as a preaching Church goer in my opinion. I'm athiest/agnostic myself, but I don't ridicule people's beliefs for having a different outlook to mine.

America is so backward in so many ways, yet it will forever be applauded for being the so called great nation that it is so often made out to be.

 

Yeah, I'm not really in favour of any kind of prosteltysing (sp?) whether it's any group at all that's doing it, but I take issue with the fact that one belief system can hold so much power over those who don't even believe in it in what is a supposedly forward country.

[leicsmac]

Iran doesn't have many gay pride marches or bikini clad Spring Breakers, to pluck just two examples out of the air.

That said, I'm sure if you and a moustache wearing boypal held hands whilst walking along the road wearing atheist slogan T shirts in the bible belt, it would be frowned upon.

Not sure they would leave the outcome at mere frowning in Iran, though...

 

I doubt they'd leave it at mere frowning in many places in the Bible Belt, either. Or most other places in the US, come to that.

[Rincewind]

You can always lose your faith when elected. Politicians are good at changing their minds. It's part of the requirement.

[David Guiza]

Not saying it's not daft, but those rules are unforceable:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/16/states-atheists-banned-public-office/

Strange. Considering how enshrined and worshiped the US Constitution is, I don't see why those states feel the need to conflict it. As I said though, what are the chances of an Atheist being elected in Texas for example anyway? Zero

[Dr The Singh]

Strange. Considering how enshrined and worshiped the US Constitution is, I don't see why those states feel the need to conflict it. As I said though, what are the chances of an Atheist being elected in Texas for example anyway? Zero

Religious belief of any kind has a very black or white view of the world, certain beliefs have no leway, so when in a state where majority are religious, following a non believer is simply not acceptable.  So if your a decision maker in US or India or Iran etc, if you don't follow the line, your finished!!!!

 

Religious extremism is bad, mixing religion with politics is bad, we forget how lucky we are in the UK!!

[Rincewind]

Religious freedom was part of the constitution. The Founders were secularists.

[Dr The Singh]

Religious freedom was part of the constitution. The Founders were secularists.

I disagree, they were religious, but the constitution allowed people to follow there religion eg Pakistan is the same, it;s a islamic state but constitution allows people to follow there religion (religious freedom).

[Buce]

@ leicsmac

Fyi: proselytizing

Edited 4 August 2014 by Buce

[Dr The Singh]

I doubt they'd leave it at mere frowning in many places in the Bible Belt, either. Or most other places in the US, come to that.

Bull, having worked and lived in Missisipi and Tennesee, plenty of gays, I believe they have gay parades there also!!

[bovril]

Whether gays are popular in the deep south or not, America is not a theocracy ffs....

[Vacamion]

I doubt they'd leave it at mere frowning in many places in the Bible Belt, either. Or most other places in the US, come to that.

 

 

I just had a quick scoot around Google and can't find any reports of proven anti atheist violence in the USA, beyond the odd schoolyard scrap.  Yeah I would imagine that they'll call you names and offer you a knuckle sandwich, but the theocracy actually executes apostates in the Middle East. 

 

It isn't the same thing and I maintain that the comparison was unfair.

 

I say this as a completely godless individual myself.

[Vacamion]

Because you can do THIS in a theocracy:

 

 

 

[Dr The Singh]

I just had a quick scoot around Google and can't find any reports of proven anti atheist violence in the USA, beyond the odd schoolyard scrap.  Yeah I would imagine that they'll call you names and offer you a knuckle sandwich, but the theocracy actually executes apostates in the Middle East. 

 

It isn't the same thing and I maintain that the comparison was unfair.

 

I say this as a completely godless individual myself.

Agreed!

[leicsmac]

Bull, having worked and lived in Missisipi and Tennesee, plenty of gays, I believe they have gay parades there also!!

 

Really? I'm amazed there wasn't trouble given how seriously most folk down there take the religious attitude towards being gay.

 

Whether gays are popular in the deep south or not, America is not a theocracy ffs....

 

Not in the official sense, no - religious law isn't the law of the land. But what do you call it when everyone who has power in a country has to believe in one particular belief system to have power in the first place? Theogarchy?

 

I just had a quick scoot around Google and can't find any reports of proven anti atheist violence in the USA, beyond the odd schoolyard scrap.  Yeah I would imagine that they'll call you names and offer you a knuckle sandwich, but the theocracy actually executes apostates in the Middle East. 

 

It isn't the same thing and I maintain that the comparison was unfair.

 

I say this as a completely godless individual myself.

 

That's fair enough, but as I said earlier there's different ways of making someones lives difficult besides beating the crap out of them/killing them. Marginalising takes many forms other than the threat or execution of direct physical abuse.

 

I definitely agree that the US/Iran comparison is unfair just merely for the degree of violence offered in either country, but that doesn't make the ostracising that atheists get in most of the US right.

[leicsmac]

Religious belief of any kind has a very black or white view of the world, certain beliefs have no leway, so when in a state where majority are religious, following a non believer is simply not acceptable.  So if your a decision maker in US or India or Iran etc, if you don't follow the line, your finished!!!!

 

Religious extremism is bad, mixing religion with politics is bad, we forget how lucky we are in the UK!!

 

This is true. And it shouldn't be the case.

[purpleronnie]

Selfies.

[kingcarr21]

Selfies.

totally agree. The wife always trying to do selfies. i mentioned earlier in the thread about hashtagging. So seeing #selfie is just the fvcking worst.

 

In fact ive just punched myself in the face for typing it

[bovril]

Nick Clegg opening his mouth.