religious intolerance

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I can't think of any countries in the world where Christianity itself is strictly speaking illegal, although I can think of some countries where people would easily think that would apply.

Christians and their persecution complex (I'm only talking about the UK - there are extremely serious and ongoing cases of Christian persecution elsewhere in the world) are as irritating as hell. We, in Western Europe especially, have generally been moving towards secularism. Some Christians in particular hate this with a passion because there is becoming an increasingly free market in religious opinion. Some people are fundamentalists (though Christian fundamentalism seems like very much a minority sport nowadays in England), a few people occasionally still bother folk at 10am on a Sunday morning (I obviously don't envy their job), some people go to church every now and again, many Christians simply behave how they like and are essential agnostics, and a lot of people don't give a toss either way. Have you noticed how no-one uses the word Christianophobia though!

The reason why they often feel that way is that often, they cannot foist their ideology on others any more.

Being a Christian is legally and practically very difficult in China and North Korea, I believe, and there are plenty of pagan and Muslim-dominated states where it is legally feasible but dangerous because of the sentiments among the local population.

Anyway, in a world that's gradually secularising, discrimination of Christianity is hardly imaginary. Try meeting a group of people your age (any age works I think, at least from my experience) and mention your agreement with whatever Christian views or rituals; you'll most likely be laughed at. Nobody's (usually) hanging you on the cross for it, so at least that's good news.

Good point about North Korea. All religions (apart from the personality cult of the leader) are essentially prohibited there, although the state does 'support' some 'official' organisations as a figleaf.

I have absoluteley no problem with churches. What I am saying is that even though there are churches on every corner and church shows on every fifth channel on tv, that christians still cry that they are being persecuted. How can they claim persecution when evidence of their beliefs are everywhere the eye looks? You cant escape their influence yet they still want to slam it down your throat. Also, chrisians themselves will persecute and even lie about other religions and denounce atheists as immoral and evil.,

Can't say they face no stigma or oppression unless you've been in their shoes.

The problem is that I did not used to identifymyself as an atheist. I am buddhsit that does not believe in a God(creator) but lately have found myself being threatened with bodily harm for not believing. Not for talking about tearing up christian literature. Just for the simple act of not believing I have had my life threatened and had christians tell me that when they get power back that atheists will be eradicated from society.

There is a dare on an athesit feed from facebook that says a chrristian should wear an atheist shirt for a day while the atheist wore a christian shirt aroound for a day to see which of the two feels more presecuted at the end of the day.

There is a brand of shoes called Atheist shoes which ships from Germany with packing tape emblazened with the word Atheist. People ordering these shoes have found their wait time for delivery to be as much as ten days longer than delivery in Canada, and many orders were simply "lost" altogether in the USPS. No, Christians are not being persecuted. It is christians who are doing the persecuting.

What are you talking about?

Christianity is indeed stigmatized, and even oppressed in certain corners of the third world.

But surely you're not making the absurd claim that christianity is stigmatized in the USA!

Atleast not Protestant Christianity.

Wouldn't know well enough to argue about it with actual americans, but it seems to be the situation could vary depending on the state. Anyway, I wasn't speaking specifically (or indeed at all) of the United States.

Hypocrisy stinks.



Which "Christians"? Let me guess, you're one of those ignorant bigots who believes that all "Christians" are identical and belong to one, monolithic group. Would you like it if everybody started calling you "Rainman" and treating you like they expect you to behave like that character?




Golly, I didn't know I was doing that? Let me guess, you're one of those ignorant bigots who believes that all "Christians" are identical and belong to one, monolithic group. Would you like it if everybody started calling you "Rainman" and treating you like they expect you to behave like that character? (Repetition intentional, for emphasis).





Okay, but you are equally required to KEEP YOUR OPINIONS TO YOURSELF and tell NOBODY ELSE about what you believe, or are you as filthy and miserable a hypocrite as those you pretend to denounce?



Paranoid delusion much?

Which Christians? Pay attention. I am referring to those Christians who are screaming about being persecuted because people want them to follow the Constitution. I am talking about those Christians who want to ignore the separation of church and state and shove religious teachings down the throats of children in public schools. I am talking about those Christaians who open a Creation museam and teach in that museum that all of the evils of the world exist because of the teaching of evolution in our society. I am talking about the Christians who want to denounce the science which shows that the biblical version of our world timeline is incorrect. The Christians who want to denounce science yet sit on computers typing characters into the internet. Those ZChristians who want to take advantage of all the good things in life that exist becuase of science yet deny the truth of the science that proves that the bibilical timeline is not correct.

Now please pull your thong out of your asscrack and take your xanax. If you are not one of those Christian extremist hypocrites then you dont have anything to worry about. I live in a city that is exactly as I say, with churches on every street corner, twenty channels of christian tv on antenna tv, putting christian pamphlets all over the tables in my apartment complex. Stuffing christian literature inside the pages of nonchristian books in all the local bookstores, tey are all over the media whining about how THEY are being persecuted, yet they threaten my life simply because I do not believe what they believe.

That's your example of persecution? a failed delivery of shoes that you can't even prove wasn't an accident?

And you're complaining that christians are making mountains out of molehills?

That said, was this person who threatened you being series or just running their mouth? Plenty of atheists have ranted to me about how I'm "stupid", or "weak", or "inferior" for not believing what they believe. It's annoying, but not exactly what I would call persecution. I don't think an obviously idle threat is any worse. However if this person was serious there is a plethora of christian scripture about the importance of non-violence and compassion on non-christians in a christian lifestyle I would direct their attention to.

I don't believe either Christians or atheists in the United States experience anything both severe enough and widespread enough to warrant being called "persecution".

You do have a point. To claim that Christians are deliberately causing the delay in delivery of "Atheist" shoes is the same as blaming NTs for deliberately causing delays in disability benefits for Aspies.

@ khaoz: Were there any Christians caught in the act? Have there been any Christians taking credit? Are Christians the only group that would do such a thing? You can't assume that any Christians are at fault just because their attitudes toward non-believers, you actually have to have material evidence - mere opinion from circumstance simply will not do.

Furthermore, "You can't prove that they didn't" is not material evidence; it is ignorance.

Evidence, please?

FU. Its obvious you are just a troll who only wants to argue. Go chew on your rancid tail.

Pointing out that you have no evidence to back up your claim does not make anyone a troll; nor does posting a conflicting opinion.

Re; the atheist shoes. The company had been getting complaints from customers in the United States about orders being lost or delivered late. The company decided to run an experiment and sent a number of packages out with the aformentioned packing tape emblazoned with the word "Atheist" and compared it to an equal number of packages with regular packing tapes with no loogo. They even tried the experiment with other shipping methods besides USPS and found that the packages with the company logo going through the USPS were consistently late or non delivered as compared with packages with or woithout thye logo being sent through other companies such as FEDEX and UPS. The discrfimination seemed only to regularly occur in teh USPS sample group. The company has since offered customers thye option of company logo packing tape or not