mdpm99
11-13-2003, 01:29 PM
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Freedom FROM religion is a necessary part of freedom OF religion. If the government says we can believe in any faith we want, but we MUST believe, then we are not truly free. Athiests (and I am not one) must have the same rights as those of us who believe in God. If we deprive them of the right not to believe at all, that it's a very short step to depriving the right of a member of some faith that's considered a fringe religion by some (like Wicca or Rastafarianism) to practice their beliefs, and from there to outlaw Islam and Judiasm.
Only by protecting the rights of athiests, can we protect the freedom of all people to practice whatever religion they choose.
d.
You can fool some of the people all of the time. These are the ones we must cultivate.
-G.W. Bush
Freedom FROM religion is a necessary part of freedom OF religion. If the government says we can believe in any faith we want, but we MUST believe, then we are not truly free. Athiests (and I am not one) must have the same rights as those of us who believe in God. If we deprive them of the right not to believe at all, that it's a very short step to depriving the right of a member of some faith that's considered a fringe religion by some (like Wicca or Rastafarianism) to practice their beliefs, and from there to outlaw Islam and Judiasm.
Only by protecting the rights of athiests, can we protect the freedom of all people to practice whatever religion they choose.
d.
You can fool some of the people all of the time. These are the ones we must cultivate.
-G.W. Bush