Well, I don't know if that's the "purpose", seeing that religion has existed since well before currency.
It is definitely frequently exploited to make money, though. Then again, so is medicine.
I should also point out that the US is not a true democracy, nor was it ever intended to be, nor should it ever be. A true democracy really would be just mob rule.
Then it's the practice that needs to change, and that change needs to be internally driven. Secularism is all about universal human rights, but, again, in practice America (in particular) REALLY sucks at it. That doesn't mean secularism inherently can never work.
I mean, my question was never...
Here's one I learned from Tumblr a while ago:
Freyja, Freyja, come to us,
Freyja, Freyja, Vanadis,
We call for thy power, come thou to us,
Freyja we're calling, calling for thee.
I never said we shouldn't be defensive when they try to force their culture onto us, nor do I believe that we shouldn't criticize.
I just don't believe we should be forcing our culture onto them, either. That's equally dangerous, but the fact that it's dangerous is ignored because the danger...
I'm a fifth-generation Irish-American, my great-great grandmother having (most likely, since her maiden name was Gilligan, she was devoutly Catholic, was a massive rebel, and she came over alone as a teenager) come from the region around Belfast, so I know a little bit about the situation in...
At this time, no, since Heathenry (with a capital H) is a new religion, less than a century old and almost entirely comprising of First Generation Heathens (that is to say, there aren't very many children being raised as Heathens.) I have to deal solely in hypotheticals, as a result.
For...
I do want to reiterate again that I have no opinion either way on this particular matter of... "Brexit", since I don't know about the situation.
Though I'd laugh if Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland gained independence in the coming years, and end up joining the EU. :laughing: EDIT...
Well, the "from religion" is more an inference that I think has sometimes been taken a bit too far, but yes. America is very, very influenced by Christianity.
Compare that with, say, Norway. Norway has a State Church. But from what I've seen, they practice secularism far better than we do...
Forget Abrahamic religions, they're picked on all the time. I'm going to pick on my own religion, because the current situation makes it an easy target.
For those who don't know, I'm a Heathen. That basically means I worship the Germanic Gods (Woden, Thunor, etc.), and hold to many Germanic...
I don't know squat about Cricket.
But the thing is, that "infantile" thing is kind of how things work in democracies. I've once heard democracy described as government by mob. We shouted down the votes of those folks who believed (and some who still believe) that same-sex marriage should be...
There absolutely is a distinction. I'm all for secularism.
What I oppose is the notion that secularism needs to be spread to the rest of the world. I see that as not terribly different than the notion that theocracy needs to be spread to the rest of the world.
However, allow me to say another...
Well, here's the short version.
Some years ago, Prop 8 was a law put up to popular vote in California that, if passed, would outlaw same-sex marriage in this state. It did pass.
Now, in the US, by the judgment of the Supreme Court, same-sex marriage is wholly legal throughout the country...
Yeah, because our way is the way of FREEDOM, so we need to make sure that they ONLY stick to our FREEDOM way!
Oh, they want to live some other way? That's just 'cause they're BRAINWASHED! We need to TEACH them how wrong they are, by FORCE if necessary, so that they have FREEDOM!
*sarcasm over*...
While I'm 100% in favor of secular politics, I do wanna say something.
It's important to consider that our culture is inherently rebellious. We put immense value in what we "want", and in having the "freedom" to "choose" that thing we "want", and perceive that anyone who tells us we can't have...