question about secularism ?

[AcrobatMan]

In a secular society, should a banner stating

1) XYZ is the only way in life
2) ABC is the only way to heaven

be allowed in a "public place".

Frankly speaking , because I find that quite irritating.

I dont have any problem if the word "ONLY" is removed from both the banners.

AcrobatMan

[Kieran McConville]

Depends what you mean by public spaces I guess. I only have a problem with that sort of nonsense when it is presented in such a way as to suggest it has the backing of the State.

[DrTeeth]

Unless ¨public place¨ means a government building or something like that it should be allowed. Even though it's irritating (like the McDonalds sign), a secular state should give people more freedoms not less.

[A_Wanderer]

We must be carful to place liberty in the context of secularism because in the liberal democracy the two go hand in hand. It is one thing to have a state sepertate from religion but it is another thing altogether to have the freedoms of worship that we have.

In this case I would say it is allright, unless the organisation was some type of cult (that includes scientologists).

If you are really annoyed about it maybe you should ask them to prove their advertisment is true.

[Angela Harlem]

Haha anyone from outside Australia seen the movie "The Man Who Sued God"?
The church had to prove...nevermind, it was funny

[A_Wanderer]

Hell yeah, Billy Connolly was great in that one. Sue God for an Act Of God, I loved it.

[indra]

In my area a school district allowed a group (the county ministerial association, I think) to place big granite grave marker type things with the Ten Commandments etched on them in front of each public school in the county (on school property and where the students had to walk by them several times a day). They were finally removed after a rather lengthy court battle (with the school board actively fighting against the removal), and I can't help but wonder what that school board members were thinking when they approved it in the first place.

Placing that on school property is a clear violation of the separation of church and state. I wonder if the members of that school board were so poorly educated that they didn't even know one of the most basic provisos of the US Constitution. I would hope that their main focus was on the education of the students in their district and not a religious indoctrination.

[nbcrusader]

Originally posted by indra
Placing that on school property is a clear violation of the separation of church and state. I wonder if the members of that school board were so poorly educated that they didn't even know one of the most basic provisos of the US Constitution. I would hope that their main focus was on the education of the students in their district and not a religious indoctrination.

Before you look down on the school board too much, go back and re-read the Constitution. You will not find the phrase "separation of church and state".

[FizzingWhizzbees]

Originally posted by AcrobatMan
In a secular society, should a banner stating

1) XYZ is the only way in life
2) ABC is the only way to heaven

be allowed in a "public place".

Frankly speaking , because I find that quite irritating.

I dont have any problem if the word "ONLY" is removed from both the banners.

If by public place you mean, for example, a public street or public park, then yes it should be allowed. While you may personally find those banners irritating, you can't go around banning things for no reason other than your personal dislike of them. I personally don't like members of the SWP trying to sell me their newspaper when I'm walking across my university campus, but my dislike of their political beliefs isn't a reason to ban them from distributing their literature in a public place.

[AcrobatMan]

Ok I will get tolerant about it

[A_Wanderer]

Or you could setup a rival statement

[AcrobatMan]

Originally posted by A_Wanderer
Or you could setup a rival statement

no no

for that the original statement should be good enough to rival with

[A_Wanderer]