Posted by deirdrehbrt on March 31, 2006, at 20:25:22
In reply to Re: Public Expression of Religion Act , H.R. 2679, posted by Declan on March 31, 2006, at 14:13:12
I kind of worry because I'm an LGBT Witch. I'll be going to court in a few weeks with my daughter to fight a traffic ticket. (the specifics are irrelevant) Anyway, it will seem interesting if they have the requisite ten commandments hung on the wall or other Judeo-Christian symbolism.
My point is that these symbols while comforting for Christians truly alienate those with other beliefs, especially considering there were western laws prohibiting Witchcraft as recently as 1951. Shortly before that, a woman was tried for practicing witchcraft in England, I think during world war 2.I KNOW, absolutely, that many Christians are afraid of my religion. I'm quite certain that if it were not unconstitutional, there would be significant support for outlawing my religion.
The reason I am against this law is that I think it is worthwhile to find some way to eliminate religious bias from public spaces. I would prefer that rather than eliminating Christian symbolism that emblems of other faiths be permitted. I would rather educate people about other faiths than eliminate speech about the majority religions.
Unfortunately, there are many religious leaders that would prefer their flocks heard nothing of paganism, fearing that if it presented in a positive light that their people may be led astray. Many of these people would rather eliminate Christian symbols than have them presented aside, in my case, the pentacle.
The truth is that pagans do not wish to destroy Christianity. We don't proslytize. If someone asks us about our symbols, we'll tell them, just as a Christian would tell someone about the cross on their necklace, or the WWJD bracelets. Still, we are feared, and we are fought when we complain that Christian symbols in court rooms, to the exclusion of symbols of other faiths can be intimidating. They tell us that we are subject to the laws of a God that we may not believe in, whose first commandment is "I am the Lord Thy God, Thou shall have no false gods before me". That first statement tells to me that My Gods and Goddesses are considered false in that court.
I am religiously tollerant, but can find good reason to support a case to try to compel that court to either allow other emblems of faith, making the court less intimidating to those who aren't Judeo-Christian, or to remove religious artifacts altogether.
So, I don't wish to diminish Christianity, but to make the country, which isn't supposed to be promoting any religion over any other, less hostile to those of other faiths.
Hope I'm making sense.
BTW, I don't consider my faith "suburban" though there are some who approach it as a "fun thing to try". Typically these people don't stick around too long though.
--Dee
poster:deirdrehbrt
thread:624709
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20060322/msgs/627271.html