Religion unchecked has a deadening effect on thought and reason. With the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire the Dark Ages settled on Europe. The early centuries of Islam were enlightened. Muslim universities allowed Christians, Jews, Buddhists and other non-Muslims to attend and teach. Averroes, Avicenna, the Jewish Maimonides and other great philosophers and scientists of the Muslim world contributed their thought and discoveries. The Muslim states in those early years did not pressure the conquered peoples to become Muslims. Christian universities of the time only admitted Christians and were subservient to the church. however, with the Renaissance and the Enlightenment European thought became freer and great minds such as Newton, Leibniz, Spinoza and others made their contribution. At roughly the same time the clerics in Islam took over, and Islam entered their Dark Ages, discouraged speculation in science and other areas and forced Islam on non-Muslims. Unenlightened minds in the West still deny science to accept the stone age myths of the bible. However, they have limited power to force their ignorance on others. It is different in Islam. Apostasy can mean imprisonment or death. One can hope for freedom of though and speech to appear in the Islamic countries. Kemal Ataturk has had some success in Turkey, but most Islamic countries are still in the Dark Ages.

Separation of religion and state has gone along with democracy and science. What supernatural mumbojumbo people choose to believe should be no business of government. Those who believe in supernatural mumbojumbo should not have the power to use the state to put it on others.

The recent victory of Ron Williams in getting the Commonwealth to stop funding chaplains in the public schools represents progress in the separation of religion and state.

The problem is not with true religion: it is to do with anger and intolerance of difference.
In the 1940's I lived in a small country town on the East mid coast of NSW we had recent Irish settlers settle in our street. These kids now attending the Catholic School wanted to fight us because we attended the Public school. This was my first encounter with the Irish.

Suse,

Ten years difference probably made a difference, sounds as if you were in Connemara!
We might be distant relatives.
By 1988 I was back in Australia and on Australia Day of that year I was at 'Larpers' (La Perouse), as an invited guest, I stayed for a while and while I was with some of the Aboriginal notables felt OK but from the glances, I soon became conscious of the fact that I was one of very few Europeans among the thousands gathered there, not a good feeling to be odd-man-out, so as soon as I decently could I got the driver of the Commonwealth car to take me back to the Domain.

ConservativeHippie, as I understand it, you are advocating the reading of the Koran by Australians, to have a better appreciation of the situation in the Middle East.

But I am unclear as to why you think that the Koran is not 'religious': guidance on how to live one's life is what religion is about. The Koran is not the only religious text written a long time ago and so needs interpretation for today (the Tanakh, Bible, and the Āgama of Buddhism are also not new). Unfortunately, the followers of many faiths have used religion as an excuse for committing inhuman acts, but we should hold the individuals to account for their actions, not their books.

'Religion unchecked has a deadening effect on thought and reason. '

actually David G I have found the 'progressives'the most dead head reasoners on earth. Many actually believe order came from chaos. Your dogmas do get in the way of reason.

Dear AJ Philips,

<<How do you know I’ve had no experience of what you describe?>>

I don't.
---

Yes we are referring to two different things, but it's not my fault:

I am using 'religion' in its original meaning: 're-ligare' to bind with God. Myself and many others believe that this is a very real process, which while we all go through it regardless whether we know it or not, can be accelerated by using certain methods consciously.

If you believe that we are wrong, or hallucinating or have a problem with our temporal lobe, then the honest thing for you to say is "religion does not exist".

Once you make that statement, then we can begin discussing scripture, my own experiences, other people's experiences, neurology, physics, etc., disputing whether religion exists or not.

However, for someone who does not believe the very existence of religion, looking at the culture of those who do believe in religion, observing their customs - what they wear, what they eat, what and how they celebrate, what and how they mourn, what they say, what they believe, whom and what they respect and whom and what they despise, etc. etc. and then calling it "religion", is dishonest plagiarism.

Among those who believe in religion, it is valid to discuss whether a specific food, a specific habit, a specific dress, a specific belief or a specific ritual is helpful or detrimental to the common goal of coming closer to God. You could have very original views about it, perhaps very strange ones too, or even conflicting ones - but if you don't believe in the whole process to begin with, then you have nothing to say about it except that it doesn't exist.

Let us deal with your other questions once we are clear what we are talking about.

Dear Tom,

<<guidance on how to live one's life is what religion is about.>>

How to live one's life FOR THE PURPOSE OF REACHING GOD.

If your goals in life are different, then you should listen to others: doctors, dieticians, financial-advisers, architects, government, car-mechanics, travel-agents, etc.