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The Forum > Article Comments > The case for an end to religious privilege > Comments

The case for an end to religious privilege : Comments

By Moira Clarke, published 26/11/2012

Australians might be interested to learn that one of the ATO's definitions of 'charity' is the 'advancement of religion'.

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Thank you David,

I agree and fully support the separation of church and state. It's just that I was not aware of this use of the word "secularist". It's certainly not what I meant when using 'secular'. What I meant is (by Merriam-Webster) 'worldly', 'temporal', 'not overtly or specifically religious'.

Dear Glen,

<<YuYutsu, I'm trying hard to work out what you are trying to make us understand.>>

Nothing in particular, I was writing to RevDek.

<<Wouldn't the normal sequence of things be that you establish whether something exists before you decide to love and worship it?>>

Where existence matters, yes.

Normal love is conditional.
When you truly love someone, you don't care how they look.
When you love them even more, you don't even care whether they exist.

<<Do you seriously mean that the term was unknown before modern times>>

Again, sorry for confusing the meaning of 'secular'. I think that the term 'existence' was earlier used in a much more loose manner compared with today's scientific precision.

<<But Christians insist that God exists>>

They are wrong on that point.

(that does not make them 'bad' or less religious, only mistaken)

<<Are people objects? What about music, love, disappointment and respect? What about death and taxes>>

Relatively speaking these are, it's workable for ordinary living, but ultimately there is nothing but God, so none really exists and none really is an object.

<<May we ask what religion you subscribe to that regards God as something that doesn't exist but nevertheless needs to be loved and worshipped?>>

I follow the principles of Advaita Vedanta.
Posted by Yuyutsu, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 4:22:38 PM
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GlenC wrote:

"At the moment, the situation is that any organisation that meets the ridiculously inadequate requirement to be classified as a religion — virtually a statement that it believes in a god, any god — is entitled to dip it hands in all taxpayers' pockets to fund its proselytizing work."

Religion is broader than your definition. Unitarianism and Buddhism do not require a belief in God but are religions. Religions may be theistic or non-theistic.
Posted by david f, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 6:19:09 PM
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"Religion is broader than your definition. Unitarianism and Buddhism do not require a belief in God but are religions. Religions may be theistic or non-theistic."

David F, you are right of course. I'd forgotten all the reasons why I was so shocked a couple of years ago when I read various countries' explanations of what they accepted as a religion. Thanks for the correction.

AJ Phillips, may I record your response to RevDek and use it whenever Christians with a strong missionary bent knock on my door on those increasingly frequent days when I struggle to string together coherent sentences! Thanks. Beautifully succinct.
Posted by GlenC, Wednesday, 28 November 2012 10:59:02 PM
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> The cost of all this? An estimated $31B per annum,

I find it hard to believe that all that money will "magically" appear if you remove tax concessions on religious and other non-profit bodies. It's probable that not collecting those taxes is having a nett positive benefit on the community, one way or the other.

Whatever the case, I think the writing is on the wall for all types of NGO's. Despite this, I believe it will only strengthen the resolve of these organisations to make the world suck less despite how difficult the "state" makes it for them. It's in such times that Christian's believe God does his greatest work.
Posted by AI, Friday, 30 November 2012 9:17:10 AM
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