Q6. Does this also mean the church should stay out of state business? A. My oath it does, but good luck convincing some Christians of that. They think we should be living in a theocracy with a 'national religion to harmonize or unite the people'. Thankfully they're a tiny minority and most Aussies - who are a pretty irreligious mob - think they're barking mad, so our religious right are never going to have the influence they do in the U.S. which is why they carry on so loudly. I do wish they'd pipe down: they're wasting their time as well as everybody else's because they are never to going convince the voting public that strictures laid down by non-existent sky fairies for their followers should apply to people who don't follow that particular fairy.

For those of you who still really want to live in a theocracy, I hear Saudi Arabia is lovely this time of year...

Dear Nathan,

The general public has no idea what religion is and is not equipped with the tools to identify religion when they see it among all sorts of other ideas and behaviours. You don't need to go far - just look at the responses in this thread and see for yourself how divergent and confused they are and how commonly social and cultural issues are being passed as "religion".

You mentioned that "Viewpoints of individuals, who are not religious are a lot harder to find out about, as they are generally in most cases, kept within an individual", but in the case of religion, many do not even realise within themselves how religious they are, let alone tell others.

This is why the special mention of 'religion' in a constitution is not only futile, but dangerous: all the state needs in order to curb your religious freedom and forbid your religious practices is to slam the door in your face claiming "This is not religion".

Such a "religious" clause tends to serve large organisations that claim to be religious, even if it's been centuries since they were, while discriminating against small, unorganised and individual religions: it has no place in a constitution.

The answer is "PRAY TO THE VIRGIN-PRAY TO THE VIRGIN",-- OK youes barsteads, where is my medication.

Loudmouth, you have always had the right to be an agnostic, cultural christian, but have never had the right to be an atheist-communist.
you are just fortunate to not have been prosecuted yet. BTW, as an agnostic cultural Christian you could always be in the DLP or AF instead of Socialist Alliance.

Toni Lavis, Q, 6, absolutely correct, the church should not be building roads, bridges, ports, the NBN or buying their own aircraft carriers. That is state business, "Holy Matrimony" is church business & the state should stay out of it. As MT our PM said the other day we have freedom of movement "if you don't love it, leave". If you are a communist atheist then China & North Korea are open for business.

Yuyutsu, there are about a dozen major Protestant Christian churches & a grand total of about 30,000 minor Protestant Churches there is plenty of cultural differences between them after some of the Bible basics have been dealt with. Freedom of choice in the market place of ideas & Christian denominations. BTW, you are not defined by your chosen label but your actions. if you say i am north, but do south, then you are south & not north.

lockhartlofty, nobody is holding a gun to your head & forcing you to be Catholic, there are 30,000 Protestant churches to choose from.

//That is state business, "Holy Matrimony" is church business & the state should stay out of it.//

Bugger off, I'll get married if I want to and the god-botherers can keep their unwelcome noses out of my private life. Rude bastards. Who died and left them king? Last I heard it was the meek who were supposed to inherit the earth; not the pushy, nosy, loud, bible-bashing self-abusers from the religious right.

IACM,

You suggest that '... as an agnostic cultural Christian you could always be in the DLP or AF instead of Socialist Alliance.'

No, I think I'll exercise my right not to join any of those. It's one of the rights consequent on the separation of Church and State, on the one hand, and State and ratbags, on the other.

Rights are not compulsions: the right to do something contains within it the right not to do it.

Toni,

I'd presume that 'Holy Matrimony' perhaps refers to Church-sanctioned marriage. 'Matrimony' can refer to either civil marriage or Church-based marriage. Marriage is a right. It might be necessary but it's not compulsory.

Joe
www.firstsources.info