Conservative Christians Not Sure Whether 'Religious Freedom' Includes Muslims (America, Islam, quote)
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Either you believe in religious freedom or you do not. There is no middle ground, although there are sure lots of evangelicals who are twisting and turning to attempt to promote that the 1st amendment only applies to them. Fortunately, SCOTUS has been secular in it's rulings over the years and centuries, and has shut down the christian extremists.
Conservatives use the term "Religious Freedom" to describe their desire to maintain Christianity's status as the unofficial "official" state religion of the United States despite it being blatantly unconstitutional.
Many of the same people that whine about cashiers saying Happy Holidays, no more forced Christian prayer in the public schools and the lack of taxpayer funded Christian displays on public property are the ones that support bans on Muslim immigration and forcing Muslims to register on a government database.
Even the gnashing of teeth that many fundamentalist Christians engage in over the threat of "Sharia Law" in the US is really just an argument about market share. Many Christians actively seek to make their religious beliefs and dogma an integral part of the country's secular laws.
Either you believe in religious freedom or you do not. There is no middle ground, although there are sure lots of evangelicals who are twisting and turning to attempt to promote that the 1st amendment only applies to them. Fortunately, SCOTUS has been secular in it's rulings over the years and centuries, and has shut down the christian extremists.
I agree. Either you have freedom of religion for all (including freedom of no religion), or you don't. You can't have it both ways.
Either you believe in religious freedom or you do not. There is no middle ground, although there are sure lots of evangelicals who are twisting and turning to attempt to promote that the 1st amendment only applies to them. Fortunately, SCOTUS has been secular in it's rulings over the years and centuries, and has shut down the christian extremists.
Why wouldn't it? They have the same religious rights as anyone else.
Having said that, it's easy to see why people would be a little leery of making a blanket statement that a Muslim has the right to practice their religion, what with the fact that almost every terrorism act in the news is almost universally done by a MUSLIM.
Is it right that they discriminate? Not really. But it's understandable. It's not Methodists blowing themselves up in airports.
Why wouldn't it? They have the same religious rights as anyone else.
Having said that, it's easy to see why people would be a little leery of making a blanket statement that a Muslim has the right to practice their religion, what with the fact that almost every terrorism act in the news is almost universally done by a MUSLIM.
Is it right that they discriminate? Not really. But it's understandable. It's not Methodists blowing themselves up in airports.
Interesting fact of the day: 90% of all terrorism committed on US soil is not done by Muslims. There are more Jewish terrorist here than Muslims. Way more "other" (read: random nutjobs, mostly with guns). "Left wing groups" are four times the problem that Muslims are.
Another factoid that bears repeating is that American Muslims (Muslims who are, you know, American citizens) are more prosperous and better educated than average, and very hard to radicalize as a result. Which is the real answer to Muslim extremism. Find effective ways to combat poverty and hopelessness in Muslim countries, and you deal with Muslim extremism.
Why wouldn't it? They have the same religious rights as anyone else.
Having said that, it's easy to see why people would be a little leery of making a blanket statement that a Muslim has the right to practice their religion, what with the fact that almost every terrorism act in the news is almost universally done by a MUSLIM.
Is it right that they discriminate? Not really. But it's understandable. It's not Methodists blowing themselves up in airports.
Do you know any Muslims? I mean really know them as neighbors and friends.
Most acts of terror are done by men. Domestic and International. The better assessment is to be leery of men of every faith, not just one faith.
Why wouldn't it? They have the same religious rights as anyone else.
Having said that, it's easy to see why people would be a little leery of making a blanket statement that a Muslim has the right to practice their religion, what with the fact that almost every terrorism act in the news is almost universally done by a MUSLIM.
Is it right that they discriminate? Not really. But it's understandable. It's not Methodists blowing themselves up in airports.
I'm glad you said one thing here: almost every terrorism act in the NEWS is almost universally done by a Muslim.
Yep, in the news. Not necessarily in reality. And I'm not saying you think that, but it's worth noting that a huge chunk of terrorism on US soil is done more by Hispanic nationalists than Muslims.
Is it unreasonable that people have a fear of Muslims? Depends what we mean by unreasonable. Humans naturally have a fear of what's different. It's why racism exists. It's why people who aren't religious at all may dislike homosexuals. It's why a fear of Muslims due to the acts of a minority is so prevalent. And I will say this: Islam needs a reformation. Badly. But even so, most Muslims don't represent a threat to anyone at all. The idea that religious freedom wouldn't extend to that goes against American values. Some would contest that, and I'd just direct them to some of the writings of Thomas Jefferson who had favorable things to say about Muslims.
But having a natural tendency to fear what is different does not justify these emotions. We should encourage reason over knee jerk reactions.
I have good news for you. One is running for President. You'll be able to show your support for the Methodists at the ballot box.
I'm with HER ^^^^^^^
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