Adiuvo
Active Member
@Joey;
Most religions have multiple doctrines that fall under the banner of their initial label. For example, Catholicism falls under Christianity, but you would never say it's the same as a Baptist variant even though they're both technically Christian. Due to that you really can't blame the entire label for the actions of a specific sect, since they're entirely different. It'd be clearer if they were referred to differently, but they aren't due to ease. Muslims with the Sunnis and the Shiites are another example of this, and within those branches there are even more sects. It may not seem to be much of a difference for a casual observer but to a person who participates in religious services the distinction is pretty large. I've even been to a few churches where they slam other branches of their host religion (specifically in this instance Catholics hating Protestants, go figure) despite them both believing in the same book.
As for legislation, I don't like that either. I'm not for separation of church and state to the point where I get antsy if a religious group endorses a particular candidate or if there are religious symbols on public property (this was an issue a few years back with a few war statues), but I hate it when religion falls into the law. Your example is just as despicable to me as it is to you. As for Christians as a whole insisting on inserting their beliefs in law, since Christianity isn't a hive mind with only a single variant that's not really a fair criticism.
Most religions have multiple doctrines that fall under the banner of their initial label. For example, Catholicism falls under Christianity, but you would never say it's the same as a Baptist variant even though they're both technically Christian. Due to that you really can't blame the entire label for the actions of a specific sect, since they're entirely different. It'd be clearer if they were referred to differently, but they aren't due to ease. Muslims with the Sunnis and the Shiites are another example of this, and within those branches there are even more sects. It may not seem to be much of a difference for a casual observer but to a person who participates in religious services the distinction is pretty large. I've even been to a few churches where they slam other branches of their host religion (specifically in this instance Catholics hating Protestants, go figure) despite them both believing in the same book.
As for legislation, I don't like that either. I'm not for separation of church and state to the point where I get antsy if a religious group endorses a particular candidate or if there are religious symbols on public property (this was an issue a few years back with a few war statues), but I hate it when religion falls into the law. Your example is just as despicable to me as it is to you. As for Christians as a whole insisting on inserting their beliefs in law, since Christianity isn't a hive mind with only a single variant that's not really a fair criticism.