You know what we haven't had in a while? Some good old fashioned atheism drama. FSM is declared a religion in Poland, but /r/worldnews thinks it makes atheists look bad. Butter pours all the way down. (np.reddit.com)
SubredditDrama
69 ups - 25 downs = 44 votes
89 comments submitted at 09:10:43 on Apr 11, 2014 by awrf
> how can a government decide which is a real religion
That's pretty much the whole point, isn't it?
You can ask them to show genuine evidence of belief. Ask if there are members who have started to live in any different way due to this supposed religion's beliefs.
Well I guy walks around with a pasta strainer on his head. And sued to keep in on in his driver license. That test is just as worthless as any other. There are plenty of people who claim Christianity but besides there funeral there would be no real evidence they are Christian. It is like half my family.
That's enough for me. Not every member of a religion needs to be perfectly practicing, especially since faith is a lifetime journey for us all, but to be a legit religion there should at least be someone who is trying to follow it. Like if this guy wears this pasta strainer to better live his faith than that's a good example.
That is such a weak test though. Anyone could follow it long enough to make most people believe they follow a religion. Especially when it comes to religions already made up like Jedism. How long before people start following game of thrown religions?
> That is such a weak test though
The point is the government has no right to tell you what your beliefs can and cannot be. If the government wants to give special treatment to religions, they have tied their own hands in that regard
The point isn't to define real vs. Mock religions, but to give some bare minimum standard a proposed religion should meet before even entertaining the idea it may be a religion.
which would then either make hundreds of new religions or disqualify many major religions.
ain't no good reason to open that can of worms because it will end badly.
It doesn't make new religions anymore than being 35 years old makes someone president. It's not a definition, it's a minimum requirement.
any minimum requirement that qualifies all current major religions would qualify pretty much anything is the problem.
Why do you say that
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Religion isn't required to change someone's behavior. This is the issue, isn't it? You can define religion as being totally spiritual, existing only within one's own mind. It might deal with the afterlife, the spirit, and such things, and have nothing to do with how one lives one's life in this material world. And you have no right to say "well, that crazy crap you're into isn't really religion. I know cuz I've got a PhD in religion." Physics? Sure. Biology? Okay. Religion? Nope, you don't get to define what it is for me.
>Religion isn't required to change someone's behavior. This is the issue, isn't it?
It didn't seem like that was the issue to me. Why is that the issue?
You mentioned up above that a potential test would be showing "genuine evidence of belief" and seeing if a religion's members were living in any way different due to their religion. If there's no discernible difference between some one who doesn't practice a religion and some one who is a devout practitioner of a religion, other than what that person says about themselves, it would be pretty hard to meet that standard. Maybe we're misunderstanding what you're saying, though.
The notion that religion has to have some purpose or affect someone's life in order to be "real" religion. No one has the right to say that. Thus, religion can be entirely internal, thus religion can be damn near anything. Thus, I can be a complete asshole and call it "religion" and if you dare to criticize it you're a bigot... and probably a racist too, for good measure.
It wasn't a definition of a religion, it was a bare minimum standard for a religion. It's like the age 35 requirement to be U.S. president, it doesn't make every person over 35 years old into a president.
Doesn't matter is the person's life is visibly changed. No one can judge, it's not our place. We are all sinners struggling daily and fall short of his noodly goodness.
That may be true, but if everyone is falling short then that means people are trying at least.
They have "The Eight I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts".
http://flyingspaghettimonster.wikia.com/wiki/TheEightI'dReallyRatherYouDidn'ts
Wow, they even have some artwork and new writings I see. I'm glad they've found something higher that inspires them.
I eat pasta. It's as much evidence as the bread and wine from the eucharist.
Do you eat pasta because you believe in pastafarianism?
Ever ever since I'm a pastafarian.
Cool! Congrats on taking a step in your spiritual journey, seriously.
Lol, you're desperate to preserve your belief as rational. I love watching people slowly succumb to the realization faith is useless, and they live their life for a lie.