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> Would it be fair if England declared Catholics "unChristian" and banned their use if the term? I think it's slightly more nuanced than that. For example, Eng

by umvi 6y ago

> Would it be fair if England declared Catholics "unChristian" and banned their use if the term? I think it's slightly more nuanced than that. For example, England should be able to declare whether a given group of people are members of the Church of England (organization). Wherever a centralized authority exists, that authority should have the power to declare whether or not someone is a member of the organization. The Catholic church should absolutely be able to declare some rogue sect that claims to be Catholic "unCatholic". However, you are absolutely right, where no centralized authority exists no one should be able to classify others' high level beliefs. Whether someone is Jewish, Christian, Islam, Atheist, etc. is not up to anyone but the individual adherent. If you believe in Jesus Christ and believe you are following his teachings, you are a Christian and no government or conglomerate of sects should be able to say otherwise. If you believe in Mohammed and the tenets of Islam, no government or conglomerate of sects should be able to say you are not a Muslim.

vorpalhex 6y ago
Not everyone agrees with any given central authority. In religion especially this is often over relatively complex reasons that outsiders probably aren't in a position to try and navigate. You need only to refer to religious history and it's many wars to see this: the tri-part nature of Christ, the exact date of Easter, the shaving of heads in early English history, etc. Nor should we start allowing the Church of England to press Google into service putting it's agenda forward. We recognize that dissent is an important part of free speech!
CivBase 6y ago
> England should be able to declare whether a given group of people are members of the Church of England (organization). Wherever a centralized authority exists, that authority should have the power to declare whether or not someone is a member of the organization. The Catholic church should absolutely be able to declare some rogue sect that claims to be Catholic "unCatholic". They should have the power to declare whether or not they consider someone to be a member of an organization. Nothing more. This goes beyond simply declaring whether or not they consider Ahmadis to be Muslims. The Pakistani government is using "anti-blasphemy" laws to silence anyone who objects to their declaration.
ZanyProgrammer 6y ago
Ironically, the British government once claimed to dictate to non Anglicans that they couldn't hold the same names of bishoprics as CofE bishops. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Relief_Act_1829 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Relief_Act_1829 Hence why the RC primate of England is the Archbishop of Westminster, not a dual RC Archbishop of Canterbury.

by umvi 6y ago

vorpalhex 6y ago

Not everyone agrees with any given central authority. In religion especially this is often over relatively complex reasons that outsiders probably aren't in a position to try and navigate. You need only to refer to religious history and it's many wars to see this: the tri-part nature of Christ, the exact date of Easter, the shaving of heads in early English history, etc. Nor should we start allowing the Church of England to press Google into service putting it's agenda forward. We recognize that dissent is an important part of free speech!

CivBase 6y ago

> England should be able to declare whether a given group of people are members of the Church of England (organization). Wherever a centralized authority exists, that authority should have the power to declare whether or not someone is a member of the organization. The Catholic church should absolutely be able to declare some rogue sect that claims to be Catholic "unCatholic". They should have the power to declare whether or not they consider someone to be a member of an organization. Nothing more. This goes beyond simply declaring whether or not they consider Ahmadis to be Muslims. The Pakistani government is using "anti-blasphemy" laws to silence anyone who objects to their declaration.

ZanyProgrammer 6y ago

Ironically, the British government once claimed to dictate to non Anglicans that they couldn't hold the same names of bishoprics as CofE bishops. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Relief_Act_1829 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Relief_Act_1829 Hence why the RC primate of England is the Archbishop of Westminster, not a dual RC Archbishop of Canterbury.