Originally posted by noobfun
it isnt, it never has been atheists are disbeleivers in ALL religeons other wise we wouldnt be athiests we would be
hindu/muslim/jewish/christian/flying sphagetti monsterists
if you mean why are we so knowladgable about the bible ... simple we were brought up in a scoiety where its the most promoted religeon
I don't know, I'm not entirely sure I agree with that. Yes, there is some Christian influence in Britain, but really, how much? Sunday is the new
Saturday, the shops are open nearly all day, multi-channel programming ensures the day isn't taken up with Songs of Praise &c. There's no tax or
social pressure to go to church.
Even the major Christian festivals in this country as so thickly covered with consumerism that you now need a spade to dig down to any real Christian
message.
How many people have their children Christened these days as a religious insurance protection against infant mortality? How many people get marriage
because they see it as some kind of religious duty?
How much real input is there from the Church on our laws? We're hardly practising a Church of England version of the Sharia.
Yes, I can appreciate the idea of school hymns as possibly being a bad thing, similarly class-based religious education. However, what always seems to
be amiss in all this is the fact that adults decrying religion in schools are obviously missing the fact that it didn't actually brainwash them. Or
is it they think they're the intelligent ones (after all, they're the 'Brights') and somehow they're only worried about the thick people in
society who can't think for themselves? That's a bit condescending isn't it?
It's funny, I'm 40-years-old now and when I was younger I went to a grammar school with mandatory religious education
and classical studies.
Yet, out of all the pupils in my year, I'm not aware of one that identifies as Christian, let alone regularly goes to Church and nor am I aware of
anyone becoming a pantheist who worships Greek, Roman or Egyptian deities.
As for specifically Christian influence, I'd debate that too as increasingly in what time is allotted on a curriculum for religious education,
Christianity jostles for any coverage with Muslim and Hindu festivals as well as other religions in the name of 'inclusivity'. I know this from
children in my own family that have recently gone to school.
Also, over the last decade, there's been only one religion that has had much genuine bearing over British life in terms of impression on society and
that's Islam, not Christianity.
I truly believe that the Brights focus on Christianity is a cop-out. Out of all the religions in this country, Christianity has little with regard to
'militancy'. The bulk of vociferous dissent from the clergy seems to be aimed at other clergy over issues such as women bishops and gay marriage.
There are some genuine fringe elements to Christianity - such as recent stories as to exorcisms and witchcraft - but these seem to have a foundation
in the ethnic communities. However, as with Islam, it almost seems treated as a secondary or minor issue whilst the Brights seem more interested in
attacking the white, flabby underbelly of a general, middle-ground Christianity.