Questions tagged [religion]

Questions about religious influences on politics or political influences on religion. Consider using with religion-specific tags, including [islam], [judaism] or [christianity] where appropriate.

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Why is Hindu nationalism such a powerful political force in India?

I'm not very knowledgeable about Indian politics, save for the occasional news item on international media. From what I can gather, the word "Hindu nationalism" has really been the defining ...
QuantumWalnut's user avatar
22 votes
7 answers
11k views

Is it necessary for a communist to be an atheist?

Is it necessary for a communist to be an atheist? Have there been exceptions to this rule where a communist country or leader was comfortable with religion? Since all communist countries persecuted ...
Ever Think's user avatar
68 votes
6 answers
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Why is the US so religious compared to other Western democracies?

According to the Pew Research Center, around 88% of Americans had at least some belief in a God, with around 63% being "absolutely certain" of this. This is in stark contrast to other comparable ...
CDJB's user avatar
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Can an incoming President take power slightly earlier or later to avoid conflict with a Sabbath?

The President's term is fixed to a specific length. That means its start and end dates are not dependent on which weekday is most convenient (as opposed to a national holiday like Veteran's Day), and ...
JesseTG's user avatar
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Are clergy required to perform interracial and/or same-sex marriages in the United States?

In Loving v. Virginia, the United States Supreme Court invalidated laws against interracial marriages. This, along with laws around equal protection and non-discrimination made for a compelling ...
Affable Geek's user avatar
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12 votes
2 answers
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For the U.S. Christian Right, are Sunday store openings an issue?

In The Netherlands and many other European countries, stores are (or were until recently) closed on Sundays, and particularly Christian parties (strongly) oppose allowing stores to be open on Sundays, ...
gerrit's user avatar
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9 votes
3 answers
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In what conditions could a National Sunday Law be implemented? [closed]

There are religious groups supporting the idea that before the end of the time, as result of an eventual increase of the Church power received from the State, a National Sunday Law will be implemented:...
Ionică Bizău's user avatar
7 votes
4 answers
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Why is ISIS bombing Shiite mosques?

When reading about attacks by ISIS in the past year or so, I noticed that a lot of them involved attacks on Shiite mosques, in several countries. While I understand that ISIS hates Shia Islam, and ...
Andrew Grimm's user avatar
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127 votes
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Why does religion get a special treatment in anti-discrimination laws?

I am wondering about developed countries in general, but my experience (and the focus of this question) is the USA and Canada. There are laws in place to prevent discrimination. It is illegal, for ...
Kaito Kid's user avatar
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65 votes
11 answers
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"Terrorism has no religion." Why don't Moderate Muslims restrain their Radical counterparts?

There is a perspective, pretty popular in both mid-East and Western worlds, which says that the majority of Muslims do not share the radical views Provided this is true, why don't we see calls for ...
Be Brave Be Like Ukraine's user avatar
23 votes
7 answers
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What is the conservative argument against modern contraception?

I am asking this in the context of the Republican Party in the US being against contraception. That seems odd to me since even the anti-abortion Christian party in the country I live are for handing ...
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Why is there a significant difference between religious makeup of the legislative body and that of adult population in US?

According to this article there seem to be quite a difference between religion of Congress members and that of general population: The religious makeup of the legislative body is overwhelmingly and ...
Alexei's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
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Are there any atheist politicians in the Republican Party (GOP)?

I haven't seen any non-religious Republicans. Is it a present qualification for politicians running on the GOP ticket to be religious?
Brian Turner's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
814 views

Is there evidence of on-going legislation specifically targeting Muslims in France?

In 2004, France banned wearing conspicuous religious symbols in schools. In particular, this bans the Muslim headscarf, the Jewish kippah, and the Sikh turban. The turban has now been exempted as ...
otah007's user avatar
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Is there any contingent of Muslims who support the right to burn the Quran?

Is there any political group of Muslims who advocate the right to do things like burn the Quran, ie, because they believe in free speech, or that non-Muslims are not bound to the religious ...
Julius H.'s user avatar
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7 votes
7 answers
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How can a classless society exist with religion

Are classless societies and religion mutually exclusive? I believe that this is one of the major hurdles of communism; that the only way to remove socioreligious classes would be to ban religion, but ...
tox123's user avatar
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6 votes
3 answers
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Why list religion on an ID card?

For example in Indonesia religion is listed on everyone's ID card (many religious conservatives demand that) but I don't see why it should be. I've heard some claim that it's important so that when ...
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5 votes
3 answers
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Legal basis of religion for Citizenship Amendment Bill

According to the website http://www.prsindia.org, about the Citizenship Amendment bill that India recently passed in Lok Sabha is states that The Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make ...
Breakfastisready's user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
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Why is Russia Today largely unsympathetic to Muslims in western countries?

I don't read much Russia Today, but some of its articles aren't very sympathetic to Muslims living in western countries. (There may be better examples, but this article cites Breitbart and is roughly ...
Andrew Grimm's user avatar
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4 votes
4 answers
368 views

Does Hindutva have a concept roughly equivalent to Sharia and do they push for it to be included in the constitution?

In many countries with a Muslim majority the constitution mentions at least Islam or both that and Sharia. And inclusion of the latter is often a plank of some Islamist parties e.g. Contrary to Egypt,...
Fizz's user avatar
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5 answers
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What is the reason for the Shia-Sunni conflict?

Almost everyday we hear about Shia and Sunni Muslims fighting each other. It is said that most Muslims die every year because of religion. What is the reason for the Shia-Sunni conflict?
yoshizawa's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
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How often do elections occur on or near Yom Kippur?

Julia Gillard has indicated that the Australian election will be held on September 14, which is the date Yom Kippur falls. This article says that no election has fallen on Yom Kippur since 1946, which ...
Andrew Grimm's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
962 views

Is it illegal for a U.S. government to put up a "Christmas" tree?

I have occasionally heard that it may be illegal for a U.S. government to put up a "Christmas" tree. Is this true? If yes, what is the motivation for this? I have heard that separation between church ...
gerrit's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Is there an index of state support for (the official) religion?

There is more than one index of religious freedom published, but I'm curious if another dimension of state involvement in religious life has been quantified, namely how much state support religious ...
Fizz's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
479 views

Has Pakistan's Federal Ministry for Human Rights condemned the treatment of Muslims in China?

In the latest round of verbal slaps between France and Muslim countries: France’s foreign ministry has demanded Pakistan authorities withdraw comments made by one of its ministers that President ...
Fizz's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
227 views

Is enfranchisement the answer to the middle east problem, or is dictatorship necessary for stability in the region? [closed]

There are examples to show that the government acts to moderate the wishes of the population at large. In case of a democracy, the religious mindset of the people would translate into policies that ...
Gold Nile's user avatar
-3 votes
1 answer
270 views

Is Israel prejudiced against Jews that are atheists?

From this answer, (emphasis added by me) Whether a Jew can cease being Jewish is a controversial topic. In the eyes of the Israeli state it is possible, but probably requires a religious conversion. ...
Evan Carroll's user avatar
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-4 votes
2 answers
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Are there political movements that advocate using "Hinduism" as a basis for a society or state?

I know that, according to the West, Islam has a political aspect or agenda and that is called Political Islam. Political Islam can be understood as a political ideology that promotes the -- "...
user366312's user avatar