28 ms·
I find it amusing/insane that a government gets to decide what is and is not an allowed religion. Q: Do you worship someone? A: Yes. Q: Good! Does he live in
by mkramlich 15y ago
I find it amusing/insane that a government gets to decide what is and is not an allowed religion.
Q: Do you worship someone?
A: Yes.
Q: Good! Does he live in the clouds or in some Great Beyond?
A: No he lives in Palo Alto.
Q: Sorry, that's not allowed. We reject your religion on the ground of not being spooky/irrational/superstitious/ambiguous enough. Next please!
A: I believe in faeries!
Q: Too late. Plus that's not a serious religion. Faeries aren't real. Don't be silly.
- michael_dorfman 15y agoI find it amusing/insane that a government gets to decide what is and is not an allowed religion. The government gets to define everything for government purposes. I'm not sure why this should surprise you.
- electromagnetic 15y agoThe government doesn't decide what religion is a religion. It decides what religions are permitted government benefits that include tax-free recognition (if they believe you're a true non-profit agency this isn't hard, furthermore why claim to be a religion to get this status than simply form a non-profit). Furthermore Buddhism and Confucianism are recognized as religions in the US for census and other purposes, yet both don't worship deities. Confucianism is a life-philosophy based around the teachings of Confucius and Buddhism is a life-philosophy based around the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama.