3 ms·

Not only are your examples UK-centric, they are also Sikh-centric. Your first example was a British Christian woman wearing a visible cross "so that other peop

Not only are your examples UK-centric, they are also Sikh-centric. Your first example was a British Christian woman wearing a visible cross "so that other people will know that Jesus loves them." Wearing a cross this way is not a requirement of Christian faith. And a company can prohibit employees from proselytizing, even if that is part of their faith. Your second example, a Norwegian Christian woman, wore a cross for fashion reasons, not religious reasons. It doesn't seem relevant. The only other non-Sikh example was that Irish passport photo guideline "You can wear a head covering for religious or medical reasons." You have a problem with this because .... why? Passports are international documents. It would surely be odd if a Philippine Catholic nun, or American Hutterite woman (as two Christian faiths that require headgear) were allowed entry into Ireland when an Irish Catholic nun or Jewish man aren't allowed their photograph with veil or kippah, respectively. As you correctly point out, many places have been blown up "for religious reasons". This includes blowing things up in the name of Christianity. By your logic, you should therefore agree with the first two rulings.

Normille 5y ago
So, by your logic, "God told me to do it" trumps the law of the land which is supposed to apply equally to everybody? In a supposedly modern egalitarian and secular society, mediaeval voodoo and its associated fantasies should have no say in deciding the law of the land. And holding a set of mediaeval voodoo inspired beliefs shouldn't give you a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card, when it comes to disobeying the laws which everyone else is subject to.
- eesmith 5y ago
  I have no idea how you drew that conclusion. I explicitly stated a company could prohibit proselytizing at work. That includes even if "God told me to do it". Congrats! Your "medieval voodoo" made my eyes roll. Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity far pre-date the medieval era, while voodoo, as a mix of traditional West African religions and Roman Catholicism, post-dates the medieval era. > when it comes to disobeying the laws which everyone else is subject to Are you so naive to believe that laws cannot have a built-in bias for or against a specific population? As Anatole France wrote in The Red Lily: “For the poor it consists in supporting and maintaining the rich in their power and their idleness. At this task they must labour in the face of the majestic equality of the laws, which forbid rich and poor alike to sleep under the bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread. This equality is one of the benefits of the Revolution.” - https://archive.org/details/redlily00frangoog/page/n100/mode/2up?q=equality https://archive.org/details/redlily00frangoog/page/n100/mode... The same happens with religions. Normille's from the UK. The Church of England has been the established church of England since 1534 (just after the medieval era). Want to guess how many British laws have a built-in 'Get Out of Jail Free' card for the CoE practices that so strongly influenced British culture? Here's one, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_prayer#Countries_that_permit_school-sponsored_prayer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_prayer#Countries_that_p... > ... all pupils in state schools must take part in a daily act of collective worship, unless their parents request that they be excused from attending.[7] The majority of these acts of collective worship are required to be "wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character", with two exceptions Here's another - until somewhat recently abolished, blasphemy laws in England "only protect[ed] the Christian beliefs as held by the Church of England" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_the_United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_the_United_Ki... . Those wouldn't be allowed in the US. Where somehow the phrase "In God We Trust" is 'ceremonial deism' in the US and therefore not religious?! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_deism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_deism Or where Blue Laws, which are nominally secular, according the the courts, also happen to coincide with "the prohibition of Sabbath desecration in Christian Churches following the first-day Sabbatarian tradition" common in the US. Why is it illegal for most stores in Maine to be open on Easter? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_laws_in_the_United_States#Maine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_laws_in_the_United_States... (I presume that's the Easter of Western Christianity, not Eastern Orthodox.) Name a "modern egalitarian and secular society" in the West and I guarantee there are laws biased that favor the long-standing dominant local religious practices.

Normille 5y ago

So, by your logic, "God told me to do it" trumps the law of the land which is supposed to apply equally to everybody? In a supposedly modern egalitarian and secular society, mediaeval voodoo and its associated fantasies should have no say in deciding the law of the land. And holding a set of mediaeval voodoo inspired beliefs shouldn't give you a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card, when it comes to disobeying the laws which everyone else is subject to.

eesmith 5y ago
I have no idea how you drew that conclusion. I explicitly stated a company could prohibit proselytizing at work. That includes even if "God told me to do it". Congrats! Your "medieval voodoo" made my eyes roll. Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity far pre-date the medieval era, while voodoo, as a mix of traditional West African religions and Roman Catholicism, post-dates the medieval era. > when it comes to disobeying the laws which everyone else is subject to Are you so naive to believe that laws cannot have a built-in bias for or against a specific population? As Anatole France wrote in The Red Lily: “For the poor it consists in supporting and maintaining the rich in their power and their idleness. At this task they must labour in the face of the majestic equality of the laws, which forbid rich and poor alike to sleep under the bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread. This equality is one of the benefits of the Revolution.” - https://archive.org/details/redlily00frangoog/page/n100/mode/2up?q=equality https://archive.org/details/redlily00frangoog/page/n100/mode... The same happens with religions. Normille's from the UK. The Church of England has been the established church of England since 1534 (just after the medieval era). Want to guess how many British laws have a built-in 'Get Out of Jail Free' card for the CoE practices that so strongly influenced British culture? Here's one, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_prayer#Countries_that_permit_school-sponsored_prayer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_prayer#Countries_that_p... > ... all pupils in state schools must take part in a daily act of collective worship, unless their parents request that they be excused from attending.[7] The majority of these acts of collective worship are required to be "wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character", with two exceptions Here's another - until somewhat recently abolished, blasphemy laws in England "only protect[ed] the Christian beliefs as held by the Church of England" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_the_United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_the_United_Ki... . Those wouldn't be allowed in the US. Where somehow the phrase "In God We Trust" is 'ceremonial deism' in the US and therefore not religious?! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_deism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_deism Or where Blue Laws, which are nominally secular, according the the courts, also happen to coincide with "the prohibition of Sabbath desecration in Christian Churches following the first-day Sabbatarian tradition" common in the US. Why is it illegal for most stores in Maine to be open on Easter? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_laws_in_the_United_States#Maine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_laws_in_the_United_States... (I presume that's the Easter of Western Christianity, not Eastern Orthodox.) Name a "modern egalitarian and secular society" in the West and I guarantee there are laws biased that favor the long-standing dominant local religious practices.