Could DEMOCRACY be considered an organized religion????
438790
it is correct to say that the democracy is a religion. from the times of the socrates and plato , great scholars have regarded the democracy as the supreme form of governemnt. in today's world it is impossible to think of a governemnt without the demacracy. in a way the democracy is the "government by discussion". it is equally important to know that only democratic governemnt allows its citizens to freely state their views . thus , democracy is a true religion.
5516
Absolutely NOT!!!  Your statement, 'Many parties tend to keep each other honest, and would represent all levels of society.' is a the most accurate assesment of what is TRUE DEMOCRACY!!!
700895
Yes and no (although Mosque and state would be more appropriate).  I would say it's more of a hybrid.\n\nBangladesh's originial constitution of 1971 established it as a secular republic.  Since then, two successive military governments have ammended the constitution to make Islam the state religion.  None of the 3 democraticaly elected governments rolled back these ammendments.\n\nIn practice, most laws are secular.  There are some notable exceptions including:\n     1. Difficulty in obtaining alcohol.  Only select clubs, hotels, and associations may legally serve it (you can also buy it in the Airport duty free).  In reality, it's readily available in the black market, and not enforced for private occasions.\n     2. Certain portions of the Islamic code apply for inheritance.   Individuals have the right to opt out.  Religious minorities are exempt.\n     3. The blasphemy law is enforced on occasion (highly politicized).  Interestingly, it's a carry over of British common law from the colonial days, but I mention it since it is currently use to suppress publications deemed un-Islamic.  The courts have the right to overturn judgements and have done so.
404511
A previous poster was correct.  The Constitution does not state anything about a separation of church and state.  However, if we wish to have freedom of religion, it is in the best interest of all to have a separation of church and state.\n\nIf one religion became predominant and was adopted as an official religion... other religions would naturally face greater obstacles.  How would a christian feel if satanism was the predominant religion?  \n\nI am an atheist... I don't believe there is a god or gods.  I will be the first to admit that I could be wrong.  I believe firmly in freedom of religion.  We need separation of church and state if we wish to keep that freedom for all of us.\n\nI currently think that there are several religions (Mormonism, the Moonies, Christian Fundamentalists to name a few) that seek preferential treatment by the government over other religions.  I think a large civil divide is occuring over this issue.
978379
NO I THINK THE RELIGION WILL BE GROUP OF PEOPLE WITH CERTAIN PRINCIPLE TO LIVE TOGETHER AND GET THEIR BREAD AND BUTTER TOGETHER AND TO FIGHT WITH NATURAL CLIMAXES IN THE OLD DAYS BUT WITH THE PASSING OF TIME IT IS USED FOR THE POLITICAL PURPOSE.
862807
I most assuredly do.  Honestly, I think Elton John is crazy, for the most part, but I totally believe that organized religion is a very bad thing that has led to many horrible events in our earth's history.\n\nWill it rid the world of evil?  Not by a long shot... but it would help tremendously.  \n\nI'm not advocating an elimination of god belief... just organized religion.  It's like ridding the schools of prayer... you can still pray all you want... to yourself.  Just not outloud and forcing others to participating with you.\n\nWorship on your own, just don't force everyone else to join you and don't belittle those who don't want to join you.
356472
i don't think so, the law shouldn't be affected by the church. and if you're Muslim and want to vote, wouldn't you feel unconfortable in a church?  I think that only Christians would vote if the elections were held in churches, and that isn''t democracy.
654669
Absolutely not. \n\nLet me put it this way. Who's religious belief is right? \n\nIf you can answer that question, then we can have prayer in schools. If not, then you can begin to figure out why there is no prayer in school. \n\nSee, if the state begins to determine what prayers can be prayed in public school, then the state makes an endorsement of a particular religion. From there, the state gets more involved in the politics of religion. \n\nNow, the last thing you want is the government telling you how you should or shouldn't pray, right? \n\nLet me go a step further. Let's say we go with the fact that 90% of Americans believe in God. So, you say "Hey, we can just pray to a generic god. Then nobody's discriminated against." (Except the 10%, of course.)\n\nExcept, praying to a generic god is a sin. You pray to the one true god, otherwise, you're really ticking god off. Besides, Christians are pretty fond of Jesus and would get really ticked at keeping him out of prayers, don't you think?\n\nSo, we have to make a choice. Who's religion is the right one? Well, Christians outnumber everybody else by a wide margin in the US, guess we'll make Christiantiy the de facto religion of the US. (85% of believers are Christians of some form or another in the US. So we take 85% of the 90%)\n\nExcept, which version of Christianity is the right one? Do we have Catholic mass? Do we have have Baptismal hymnals? What about those who refuse to engage in the prayer? Will there be repercussions? (You bet there will be by those who do pray versus those who don't.)\n\nOK. You might say I'm complicating the problem, but I'm not. Essentially, we have a separation of church and state to avoid internal conflict in the country over who's religious belief is the correct one. We also, don't want a government telling us who to worship and how to worship. (Living in a religion dominated society is called, theocracy. See the Middle East for what our lives would be like if we had a church dominated government.)\n\nKeeping prayer out of schools and government allows us to live in a country where we have religious freedom. The freedom to worship as we choose of our own free will.\n\nIn other words nobody is penalized for not being of the "correct" faith. Everybody has the freedom to worship without government oversight and being bullied by social pressures. Nobody is at risk of the majority telling them how to live. \n\nAmerica is about freedom. Freedom from government endorsed religion is a good thing.\n\nHope that makes sense.
111029
I think that the more church is separated from the state, the better. There are maters of religion, and matters of the phisical world. \nPhisical world should be sorted out by pure reason. \nReligion can not be (please anote that I don't mean that religion is something wrong or stupid - merely, that many things in religious matters are a matter of faith).\n\nOf course, religion always does influence the local culture, and that can't be avoided. \n\nIn the case of Iraq, I think it would be a good idea to separate the worldly and religious matters. As Julius Caesar once said, "What belongs to God, give to God. What belongs to Emperor, give to Emperor". \nHowever, taking into consideration the way Islam covers both mundane and religious issues (I'm not a Muslim, nor an expert on the topic, but got interest in the subject to claim that I have an idea of what I'm talking about :)), it would be very, very hard to divide those two matters. Not something that can be done quickly.\n\nNevertheless, I think it would be a good goal to go for.
843227
I'm not sure what you mean...Democrats can be Christians too.\n\nAnyway, as a Christian, I believe that religion should be kept out of govenment. Why? Because I don't want a Muslim president or Congress (or any other religous persuasion) outlawing my religion.\n\nGod grants choice, and so should the government.
935604
I see your point and have wondered that myself.  \n\nI know my 12 step group is more "religious" than my church as far as repeated traditions and regular meetings.  There is a set of beliefs, a text that all use, traditions, etc.\n\nHow about politics.....wouldn't democrats or republicans fit into this as well??\n\nGreat question, my answer is I dont really know when that point is crossed, but I appreciate your logic.\n\nDavid
600683
No. Government without religion is a cold, heartless government. We need religion to help with compassion and understanding, as well as infusing some much-needed morals into our officials. The US was founded on Christian principles, and nowhere in our founding documents does it say that religion is not allowed in government, only that the government cannot establish (ie: force on you) a religion. \n\nTo all those who will start blathering about "separation of church and state" please note that this phrase is NO WHERE in our documents. It is found in private letters written by Thomas Jefferson a decade after this country was founded.
970673
Amazing. I'm not the only one who recognizes this.\n\nThe world doesn't revolve around the Democrats and the Republicans: correct, however, there are several sects in the Democratic and Republican parties. They include, but are not limited to Moderate, Conservative, and Liberal Republicans; Moderate, Conservative and Liberal Democrats; as well as Liberal and Conservative Centrists, Independents, Anarchist, Libertarians, Reform and Green. The whole Liberal or Conservative thing is getting old.
576133
I don't believe organized religion is "a bad thing" any more so than "being spiritual"\n\nThe key here is to remember- it isn't the religion- it's the practioners and how they interpret (or misinterpret) their religion- that's what causes disagreements between people.\n\nAfter all, Aryans claim to be Christians; that doesn't mean we're to assume all Christians are racists.
567095
When you say "organized religion" there are a couple of things to consider.\n\nWhen most people refer to an "organized religion" they are reffering to:\n\n1.) a group that has been classified under the tax codes of a particular country, or are affiliated with a group from another country.  Example: The Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, or even a small 20 member 'Church' that's filed as such.  that is technically an organized religion from an econmic sence.\nIn this regard, no.  It isn't organized.\n\n2.) A group that is recognized as being a branch of a particular religious body, such as the methodist church, or baptist church ... they are 'christian churches' and are organized as such.  They are organized for worship.  \n\nSo this is where you get into the gray area.  Do you share particular beliefs with the people that you are meeting with?\nI would assume you do, if not, then you wouldn't be meeting with them for worship.\n\nIn that regard, I would say, yes.\n\nBut there is nothing wrong with that.  There seems to be this trend in culture now that says that organized religion is bad.  That's not really true.  A lot of good can come from having organized relgion.  Can there be bad?  Yes, of course, but thats because the people make wrong choices, it's not because the system is inherently flawed.\n\nI am a non-denominational christian who works in a methodist church.  As a christian, I have a 2,000 year link to Jesus, and a who knows how long link to Moses, or Abraham ... that's something I'm proud of.  Something that gives me hope.\nWorking in the methodist church, I can see this huge web of good that can be done.  Do I like it all the time?  No, not at all.  But I can see how it can reach out, help people, and above all else, exault the name of the Lord.
1094464
Today, I think that most, if not all, organized religions are off the mark a bit.  To rephrase, while I am struggling with the notion of God, I know that I do not believe in the God that Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Bahai's belive in.  Today, I believe that if there is a God, that he/she/it pressed the "start button" and left us to work out the rest for ourselves.
1184365
this is your taste of Christian democracy .\nit is not yahoo so much who remove your text as the public that is ofended .\nthey press the abuse button .\nand i have mentioned this a lot .\ntrue democracy it the good the bad and the uggly.\nthat is the way humanity crumbles.\n\nchristian democracy is the mood of the mob and things are democratic as long as they tolerate it ,if not democracy becomes facist in the blink of an eye.\n\nto be tolerant of things you do not agree with is an impossible concept for some Christians.\nthey got a long way to go before they get to heaven.\n\nbut what me worry , I am already there  I am pagan