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Yes, I knew a girl who was raped and her mother would only allow her to talk to their priest rather than medical and/or mental health professionals. People in t

Yes, I knew a girl who was raped and her mother would only allow her to talk to their priest rather than medical and/or mental health professionals. People in the thread are talking about how astrology, religion, psychics, etc. are all ok because they don't cause harm but I believe they can and do cause harm in many cases. Of the people I know that strongly believe in things like astrologists, psychics, or religion a large percentage also believe other absurd conspiracy theories such as vaccines causing autism, the moon landing being fake, etc. I think we set a dangerous precedent by allowing people to blindly buy into things like astrology, without calling them out. I of course don't believe these kinds of things should be made illegal/regulated as people should be able to make their own decisions, but I also don't think they should be humored and blindly tolerated by the rest of the population.

TomMarius 7y ago
If Nazism is illegal, so should be Catholicism and other religions. Either go full freedom of speech/thought or not, no in betweens. The amount of suffering Catholicism and Christianity in general has caused is probably comparable to Nazism anyways. To me, it's selling lies to vulnerable people; and not just that, it's lies that not only steal money, but directly make the lives (especially its mental side) of these people and their families including (especially!) children considerably worse. Despicable, way worse than selling shit vacuum cleaners or life insurance.
- authoritarian 7y ago
  While I personally agree that religion overall has a major negative impact on society, and has throughout history, I still don't think they should be made illegal or regulated. People can believe what they want to believe, and trying to control thoughts and ideologies is absolutely not something I would ever support. It would set an incredibly dangerous precedent
  - mattigames 7y ago
    They should at least pay taxes just like anybody else, but most countries don't even have that.
    - authoritarian 7y ago
      Yes, I agree that religions should have to pay taxes. When I said regulate, I meant regulating peoples right to practice
      - skissane 7y ago
        Tax laws vary from country to country and even within countries, but it is possible to exempt religious groups from taxation without giving them special treatment, simply by applying the principle that non-profit groups aren't taxed. So, the local church doesn't pay taxes, but the neighbourhood sports club doesn't pay taxes either, since both are non-profit entities.
        mattigames 7y ago
        Yeah no, after the billions the catholic church has nobody can claim with a straight-face they are a non-profit.
        skissane 7y ago
        What about your local synagogue or mosque, how many billions do they have? What about some small non-denominational Christian church, how much have they got? Even with the Catholic Church, sure the Vatican has billions in the bank, the parish around the corner definitely doesn't.
        TomMarius 7y ago
        Last time I went around the local church, they still had a lot of gold on the building
        dragonwriter 7y ago

TomMarius 7y ago

If Nazism is illegal, so should be Catholicism and other religions. Either go full freedom of speech/thought or not, no in betweens. The amount of suffering Catholicism and Christianity in general has caused is probably comparable to Nazism anyways. To me, it's selling lies to vulnerable people; and not just that, it's lies that not only steal money, but directly make the lives (especially its mental side) of these people and their families including (especially!) children considerably worse. Despicable, way worse than selling shit vacuum cleaners or life insurance.

authoritarian 7y ago
While I personally agree that religion overall has a major negative impact on society, and has throughout history, I still don't think they should be made illegal or regulated. People can believe what they want to believe, and trying to control thoughts and ideologies is absolutely not something I would ever support. It would set an incredibly dangerous precedent
- mattigames 7y ago
  They should at least pay taxes just like anybody else, but most countries don't even have that.
  - authoritarian 7y ago
    Yes, I agree that religions should have to pay taxes. When I said regulate, I meant regulating peoples right to practice
    - skissane 7y ago
      Tax laws vary from country to country and even within countries, but it is possible to exempt religious groups from taxation without giving them special treatment, simply by applying the principle that non-profit groups aren't taxed. So, the local church doesn't pay taxes, but the neighbourhood sports club doesn't pay taxes either, since both are non-profit entities.
      - mattigames 7y ago
        Yeah no, after the billions the catholic church has nobody can claim with a straight-face they are a non-profit.
        skissane 7y ago
        What about your local synagogue or mosque, how many billions do they have? What about some small non-denominational Christian church, how much have they got? Even with the Catholic Church, sure the Vatican has billions in the bank, the parish around the corner definitely doesn't.
        TomMarius 7y ago
        Last time I went around the local church, they still had a lot of gold on the building
        dragonwriter 7y ago