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If denominational religious propaganda is allowed on a public death memorial, than all religious and non-religious propaganda should be allowed, if religious has special exceptions for oppressing non-religion, then all religious propaganda should be allowed on public death memorials. The religious will rue the day they established that organized hysteria needs to be respected... They will see that the non-religious can organize hysteria also (like they did in France).
I haven't heard of a school demanding that only Christian memorials are allowed. The only exception should be religious symbols that carry a message of hostility or hatred of others like an ISIS flag.
I haven't heard of a school demanding that only Christian memorials are allowed. The only exception should be religious symbols that carry a message of hostility or hatred of others like an ISIS flag.
I have, many intolerant Christians that other Christians aren't vocal enough against always say that Atheist or Wiccan memorials are trash and raise hell if ever any are allowed.
Location: East Central Pennsylvania/ Chicago for 6yrs.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffbase40
Sounds to me like the Catholics are doing just fine:
"Church membership in 2013 was 1.147 billion people, (17% of the global population at the time) increasing from the 1950 figure of 437 million (17% of the global population at the time) and the 1970 figure of 654 million. On 31 December 2008, membership was 1.166 billion, an increase of 11.54% over the same date in 2000, only slightly greater than the rate of increase of the world population (10.77%). "
With 1/3 of all Catholic Churches consolidated in my state of PA and other Northeastern States, the last 3 decades something is off? Philadelphia Diocese in recent years had mass closings and last year, mass closings of schools. The Diocese my Hometown is in was one of the first in PA to do consolidations in the 80s, when I still lived there. It had 5 now 2 and 5 Masses each Sunday each.
The Harrisburg parishes that were closed back then, by the late Bishop Dattilo. Almost all were debt free and financially well endowed. The closings were opposed by the parishioners. The churches were sold very cheaply to both Protestant and Moslem organizations and the monies confiscated by the diocese.
My Father's Church of well over 200 members was closed and sold to Moslems for a Mosque. Its virtually abandoned today. The existing 2 Churches then got re-remodeled. The Church that fought the closure in a nearby town, had to wait another decade to get remodeled. They kept the Bingo Hall building though.
Other Diocese have had more recent closings. Scranton Diocese was hit hard a few years go with almost half of its Churches closed. Shortage of Priest mainly? God must not be finding enough worthy to call upon?
Protestant Churches would love to have congregations in the hundreds in small towns. The Protestant Church my wife and I married in survives paying bills and a shared Pastor with under 40 members. Less that are actually active.
Sounds to me like the Catholics are doing just fine:
"Church membership in 2013 was 1.147 billion people, (17% of the global population at the time) increasing from the 1950 figure of 437 million (17% of the global population at the time) and the 1970 figure of 654 million. On 31 December 2008, membership was 1.166 billion, an increase of 11.54% over the same date in 2000, only slightly greater than the rate of increase of the world population (10.77%). "
That's not my point of all. Your examples have to do with the establishment of religion. Such as forcing people to participate in religious practices. Freedom from religion in the atheist agenda sense has to do with erasing or scrubbing any public display of religion to the point where Christians must only display or practice their faith behind private closed doors. This agenda has already been taken to extremes where there have been examples of school kids being punished for praying out loud at school. That has NOTHING to do with establishing a religion. If I want to say a prayer to Jesus Christ on the courthouse lawn, I should have the freedom to do so, but your side distorts the Constitution so much that somehow you claim this is government favoring a religion.
What is this "your side" stuff that you keep posting about? Is this about distorting the Constitution? Who picked sides? What do the sides represent? Who's in charge of the "sides?"
If I want to say a prayer to Jesus Christ on the courthouse lawn, I should have the freedom to do so, but your side distorts the Constitution so much that somehow you claim this is government favoring a religion.
Distort the Constitution? You don't even understand your own rights under the Constitution. You want to say a prayer to Jesus on the courthouse lawn? Knock yourself out. You have the right to do that under the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Though were I you I'd stay on the sidewalk. If there is a sign that says "Keep Off The Grass" you could be in violation of local codes.
Please.... for the love of James Madison..... take a civics/American government course.
Sounds to me like the Catholics are doing just fine:
"Church membership in 2013 was 1.147 billion people, (17% of the global population at the time) increasing from the 1950 figure of 437 million (17% of the global population at the time) and the 1970 figure of 654 million. On 31 December 2008, membership was 1.166 billion, an increase of 11.54% over the same date in 2000, only slightly greater than the rate of increase of the world population (10.77%). "
That is world growth, not U.S growth. That same link you gave shows that the number of people identifying with Christianity fell by over 10 percentage points from 1991 to 2008. Out of that the Catholic Church has lost 1.2 percent of their members. Cherry picking your data per usual .
There is no misrepresentation. There is NO issue of establishment of a religion involved. It is a memorial to a beloved teacher. The fact that it is an ex post facto attack on an existing memorial is probative.
Mystic come on, there is definitely an establishment of religion, the cross says it all. There are all sorts of memorials to be had that don't have religious connotations
Sounds to me like the Catholics are doing just fine:
"Church membership in 2013 was 1.147 billion people, (17% of the global population at the time) increasing from the 1950 figure of 437 million (17% of the global population at the time) and the 1970 figure of 654 million. On 31 December 2008, membership was 1.166 billion, an increase of 11.54% over the same date in 2000, only slightly greater than the rate of increase of the world population (10.77%). "
That is world growth, not U.S growth. That same link you gave shows that the number of people identifying with Christianity fell by over 10 percentage points from 1991 to 2008. Out of that the Catholic Church has lost 1.2 percent of their members. Cherry picking your data per usual .
A lot of that fall is attributed to cultural Christianity so they were Christian by name only. Doesn't count. Show me some concrete proof that it has dropped drastically from 2008- 2014 and maybe you have a point.
Regardless, doesn't sound like atheism is winning worldwide.
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