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 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 ...
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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♦
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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 ...
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Isn't acknowledging the existence of God, as a state, a contradiction of the separation of Church and State?
I'm not an expert in politics at all, but I have been wondering about this for a while.
If Church and State are supposed to be separated, isn't it a bit of a contradiction to have "God" so strongly "...
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What events led to the 2020 North East Delhi riots?
This article from the BBC describes appalling violence in the Indian capital, which has led to a death toll of 27 at the time of writing.
The article mentions that the spark that ignited the riots ...
CDJB♦
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Why is China primarily targeting the Uyghurs with their internment camps?
In recent years, Chinese re-education camps have become widely known in the Western press. According to Wikipedia:
As of 2018, it was estimated that the Chinese authorities may have detained hundreds ...
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Does the Taliban government of Afghanistan have a written legal code?
Since the Taliban took effective control of Afghanistan in 2021, I've been reading various sources claiming that they are restricting the movements of women and girls in public, but it is unclear if ...
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What are the advantages of an apostasy certificate to a Polish citizen?
There have been reports of an increase in Polish Catholics applying for apostasy certificates to leave the church.
I believe that some Islamic countries' laws are different for Muslims and non-Muslims ...
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Prayer at the Presidential Inauguration
I'm watching the inauguration of the 45th president and am stunned2 that three Christian3 clergy persons pray for the president and the country, obviously in order to give the incoming president the ...
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Why is China regulating religion?
Article 36 of the Chinese constitution says that citizens “enjoy
freedom of religious belief.” It bans discrimination based on religion
and forbids state organs, public organizations, or individuals ...
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Germany's Ladenschlussgesetz in comparison to Israel's business laws about the Sabbath
Currently in Israel, a big political question that stands is whether grocery stores or other businesses should be open on Saturday (Shabbat, holy day for a large portion of business owners). Currently,...
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Why is exorcism still allowed (legal) in highly developed countries?
According to this article exorcism still receives legal protection in US:
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday threw out a jury award over injuries
a 17-year-old girl suffered in an exorcism ...
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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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How does Russia define religious extremism?
Currently, Jehovah's Witnesses are banned from meeting or preaching in Russia due to accusations of religious extremism. Jehovah's Witnesses are known for being pacifists (they refuse military service,...
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What actions have governments critical of Macron's response to the murder of Samuel Paty called for?
Following the murder of Samuel Paty in France two weeks ago, Emmanuel Macron gave a speech [fr] in which he defended freedom of expression and said "we won't give up on caricatures". This ...
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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
...
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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 ...
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Why do the Dutch Euro coins have a religious inscription on their edge?
The euro coins for 1 and 2 euros allow for an inscription on the edge of the coin. Each country is allowed to use an inscription of their choosing.
(Euro coins allow for a national side as well, for ...
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Why is the Iran regime so obsessed with Salman Rushdie?
I'm trying to understand why the Iran regime considers Salman Rushdie such a problem that they put millions of dollars bounties on him over the years. From my vague understanding Rushdie wrote an ...
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How does the Pope influence politics in countries where there is a separation between Church and State?
I do not know how the Pope's activity is covered in Western media, but local media in my country (Romania) covers all the important meetings of the Pope. Many of these meetings are with important ...
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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 ...
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Are Pastafarians trying to undermine religious exemptions for identity photos?
Pastafarians have been successfully gaining the right to wear colanders in government identification photos such as those in driver's licenses, when they wouldn't otherwise be allowed to.
Are they ...
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Do any democracies with strong freedom of expression have laws against religious desecration?
Sweden is considering law change to stop public Koran burnings, Aftonbladet reports | Reuters
An Iraqi immigrant to Sweden burned the Koran outside a Stockholm mosque last week, causing outrage in ...
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Does the U.S. president have to disclose their religion to the public?
Does the U.S. president have to disclose their religious beliefs to the public? Let's say that the President is a member of an unpopular religious group. Do they have to disclose that fact to the ...
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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 ...
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Could the US legally adopt Indonesia's 'religion in schools' setup?
There have been recent news stories about Indonesia's plan to increase religious teaching in schools. This intrigues me, as here in the United States, schools can't force students to worship specific ...
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What does India gain nowadays by continuing to give asylum to the Dalai Lama?
Can anyone tell me why India is still giving asylum to the Dalai Lama?
I mean, haven't the circumstances changed already after 70 years of the annexation of Tibet by the PRC? Isn't the Dalai Lama a ...
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How important is God in USA politics?
As European citizen (French), I have never been used to seeing biblical notions in politics, but in the USA it seems quite common. For example, former French president Jacques Chirac revealed that the ...
user4598
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How did Russia suddenly change from being an atheist country to being a Christian country?
I know that religious faith is a personal thing, some people have a stronger
faith than others, and for some people religion is more a matter of
cultural identity than personal conviction. Also how ...
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Is there any democratic non-secular state?
I don't know any democratic non-secular state. And I think that this is impossible.
Since if there is no separation between state and religion, it means that in such a democratic country the state ...
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Why exactly is Laïcité (the law on separation of church and state) not valid in Alsace?
I've read that
Due to the special historical situation (Laïcité is not valid in Alsace), there is a university with a theology faculty (Catholic and Protestant). In 2009 a Master's degree in ...
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Why is there a huge rise in Hindu Nationalism in India?
At its inception, the Indian constitution avoided the word "secular", though the founders of the constitution (and later the indian courts) affirmed that secularism was an inherent part of ...
user4514
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Does freedom of association give private organizations the right to discriminate on a religious basis?
Freedom of association "is the right to join or leave groups of a person's own choosing, and for the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of members." The right is ...
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Can Macron legally reform Islam in France?
In February 2018, french president Emmanuel Macron said :
"I want to lay the foundations for the whole organization of Islam in
France"
He plans to do this to diminish the number of young ...
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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, ...
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Why do Communist states (e.g. USSR, China) oppose religion so much?
Why did both communist people and Communist states oppose religion so much, sometimes with violence and arson. There are many other secular non-Communist states in the world that do not have such a ...
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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?
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What is the "religious organization" that motivated Abe Shinzo's killer?
Looking into the motive of former prime minister Abe Shinzo's suspected killer, Yamagami Tetsuya, not many details are being given in the press, but there is mention of an unnamed religious ...
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What are the crime rates by religion in USA?
Not looking for hate crimes. Looking for percentage of crimes per capita broken down by religion of the perpetrator. (Example: 1M Protestants in USA, 10k crimes by Protestants, rate of 0.01% per ...
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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 ...
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Why do people say the Indiana Religious Freedom Act will be used to discriminate against gays?
Indiana's recent Religious Freedom Restoration Act has cause a bit of a stir. Political leaders such as Clinton, business leaders such as Benioff and Cook, celebrities as well as protestors have all ...
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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 ...
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Is anarchism opposed to the concept of god? [closed]
Why the negation of God by plenty of anarchists? I understand the negation of organized religion, because it confines and subdues the masses if each individual does not think or questions the human ...
user15497
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Why do politics around abortion affiliate so heavily with religious status?
TL;DR: The political arguments on either side of the pro-choice/pro-life debate have virtually nothing to do with religion, so why are the politics and people's positions on this issue so correlated ...
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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:...
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Why does Indonesian identity card religion include only 6 religions?
According to Wikipedia, Indonesian identity card includes religion of the person:
The card requires identification with one of the six officially
recognised religions in Indonesia: Islam, ...
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What exactly constitutes a "religious test" as defined in the US Constitution?
Article 6 of the US Constitution states that no "religious test" can be required for any office or public trust.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several ...
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Why do some of the Druze oppose the regime in Syria?
I don't understand why some of the Druze are supporting the effort to overthrow the Assad regime in Syria.
The Baathists/Alawi in Syria, since they are a minority, have always been relatively ...
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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 ...
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How politically aligned with Moscow has the Russian Orthodox Church's position on the Russo-Ukrainian War been since it started in 2014?
The Hill's Pope blasts Russia’s ‘infantile’ war says:
Francis has to date avoided referring to Russia or Putin by name. But Saturday’s personalization of the powerful figure responsible marked a new ...
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