religous rights in schools and public places

to make it so everyone intergrates and can communicate i will ban all religous objects in schools

1. no Islamic clothes in schools, (head to toe burkas) they may were scarfs which doesnt cover their face (this is for general public areas and not schools)
2. no scull caps
3. no crusifixs

this is so people can interact with each other more easily and not be tied down religous diffrences. this is also to make sure that all religios stuff stays out of public areas

i will add more tommorow

I see I've found my polar opposite in you bodrul.

Do you recognize the right of people to keep to themselves and live in the way of their choosing?

I support the first amendment and as such I support the right of people to express their faith through religious symbols in public. They may not force me to practice their faith nor may they harrass me, but I may not attempt to make them stop either.

There are other things that separate us besides religion too. Should we have to hide our sexual preference, even our gender? Our marital status? Skin color? Political affiliation? Taste in music? Income? How about this, I know a garb that would make us all look exactly the same and hide all of the differences that divide us:



Is that what you had in mind, or did it look better on paper?

We're gonna have to grow up and learn to tolerate eachother, not hide from eachother.

So, is this just a thread where you are stating your thoughts on the
matter exclusively, or is it meant for all candidates to state there points
on the matter on?

So, bodrul, your first act as President would be to tear up the First Amendment?

I really don't see how you could even promise this, as it seems totally removed from the powers granted to the President and even the Congress by the Constitution.

I don't know DJ, the current administration seems to be pretty adept at ripping up the constitution. So much for reform though, eh?

Originally posted by iori_komei
So, is this just a thread where you are stating your thoughts on the
matter exclusively, or is it meant for all candidates to state there points
on the matter on?

this is more of my thoughts not something i would follow if people backed it! this is not something i would force down peoples throuts.

The Vagabond and djohnsto77 firstly hope you dont mind me grouping botn your replies into one?

1. only reason i brought this up is religous diffrences seem to seperate alot of people and in my opinion by taking down this barrier it would be easier to interact with each other.

for example the muslim teachers who refuse to show their faces to 5 year olds? do you agree with this?

i wanted to break down these barriers to improve relations thats all

as i stated before this is just my idea and opinion and if people like it or ask for amendments to it to make it acceptible then i would do that.

and i state again i would not force this on anyone unless people ask for it

and if they do i would then take it to congress to pass as a bill

just for the record i am muslim and asian

[edit on 23-4-2007 by bodrul]

Originally posted by bodrul
this is more of my thoughts not something i would follow if people backed it! this is not something i would force down peoples throuts.

I'm glad you have clarified that. That's not what it sounded like to me at first based on your use of the word "ban". I think it would be unwise to "ban" such things even if a large majority favored the idea, because it still runs contrary to our bill of rights. If you'd like to encourage or give incentive for more openness, that's another matter, providing of course that there is no disparity that could be interpereted as a sanction of any particular religion.

1. only reason i brought this up is religous diffrences seem to seperate alot of people and in my opinion by taking down this barrier it would be easier to interact with each other.

I happen to agree with you, but I don't consider it a problem that can be solved by policy alone. I think we're talking about a social change here, and that's something that has to flow from the acts of individuals upward, not from acts of government downward.

I cannot deny that a considerable challenge to communication is presented when someone is expressing their adherence to a system of values not compatible with my own. But even if they weren't expressing it, they would still hold their beliefs and that would still be the real barrier for us- I just wouldn't know it at first. Whether or not I see a cross around someone's neck, if they hold a strict interpretation of the bible they are going to disapprove of some of my conduct and perhaps think very little of me, and that's their right. They shouldn't have to be forced or even asked to respect the choices I make, much less to conceal their faith so that I won't know that they disagree with me- that wouldn't be very affirming for me anyway.

for example the muslim teachers who refuse to show their faces to 5 year olds? do you agree with this?

No, as a matter of fact I do not agree with it, but it's not something I see a dire need to change. I am willing to bet that somewhere in this universe, there is a culture that would be completely baffled, perhaps even offended that humans refuse to show their sex organs in public, but if we were to encounter such an alien race, would we have an obligation to take our clothes off so as to diminish that barrier of difference? Maybe if they gave me a few months notice so I could start working out I would change my mind, but for now I'm gonna have to say no way.

In my mind religious icons in school (not public places in general, that is a matter of civil liberty) is a matter of crowd control.

Give the kids a reason to fight, no matter how foolish or irrelevant and they will, because they enjoy it way more then classes. And by far the best possible fight-inducing subject is religion, simply because no one can ever be right, and you bet every kid will be sure he's right if he wears he's religion's symbols in public just like that.

Removing religion from school is simply a more efficient means of maintaining order then trying to teach the kids to be tolerant towards others. Sad but true.