Relegion in politics.
 

This has been mentioned before in several posts but not I believe as a header. I've read about (but for obvious reasons not experienced) how laws in the U.S.A can vary State to State.

Are the various religious groups just noisemakers or can they by majority vote make State laws that say, close all shops on a Sunday? I believe in theory you've got relegious freedom but in practise?

Such a law on a State level would be quite possible. We are free from a "State Religion" but Blue Laws I don't believe are covered in the First.

I think in Tennessee and North Carolina "Blue Laws" are a local (county) decision. As at all times, I could be wrong!

Stores in Paramus NJ are closed on Sunday's. For those that don't know they are the retail capital of the country.

I had thought "Blue Laws" had become a relic of the past? If they haven't it's a damn shame.

And, NO. Not all of the "various religious groups" are just noisemakers. Some of them seem to have quite a bit of influence on certain parts of the country. The church itself, per se, cannot directly make public policy, but their members vote, their leaders are often quite vocal and many of our politicians like to run with religious overtones as part of their campaign platform.

So, to answer your question;

Yes, in theory we have religious freedom. (Which in my opinion includes the freedom to choose NOT to worship.)

In practice?

Well, a lot of folks here in the U.S. have twisted ideas what "Freedom of Religion" means. Some think it's their right to wipe religion out. Which makes no sense. Some think it's their right to force everyone to live according to THEIR religious beliefs. Which also makes no sense, IMHO. I think religious freedom is just that; The right to choose ones own spiritual path.

In summation, Yes. We still have freedom of religion. At the moment. I fear we won't for too much longer.

Dave

Interesting. By custom or law? Throughout her childhood my wife lived in Ullapool (small west coast Scottish fishing village on the shore of Loch Broom). Very few retail shops and until recently none opened on Sunday, but it went further than that. With one road in and one road out it was claustrophobic; everyone knew who you were and what you did.

"No work to be done on the Sabbath" was taken seriously. Clothes were not to be washed or hung on the line, food was to be prepared the evening before and either re-heated or served cold. Cockerel and hens to be put in different pens on Saturday night, and woe betide anyone caught washing their car on a Sunday.

I'm not knocking it. If people choose to live this way fair enough plus being an incomer, I knew when to keep quiet but these old customs only change slowly. When Averil's parents were young, anyone caught breaking the Sabbath would be warned; do it again and they could be shunned.

To be shunned was to be ignored. Not a finger would be raised against you but in a small village, nobody talking to you or even acknowledging your existence made for a steep learning curve.

When I was growing up in Quebec retail businesses not only closed on Sunday but also Wednesday afternoon, can't recall when the Wednesday bit stopped. Mind you cooking on Sunday was a given as Sunday dinner was an event.

I love the bit about the cockerels and hens. I wonder whether similar segregation was enforced upon the wingless variety of cockerel and hen. ;)

Our "Blue Laws" here are statutory but I have no doubt that they have their origins in the customary observations of the Puritans and Calvinists who pretty much ran things in earlier times. As Catholics, Anglicans, Jews and various and sundry other types of heathen began to make their presence felt here and revealed themselves to be disinclined toward observing such social conventions, the local or state Puritan/Calvinist power structures began to legislate various local religion-based customs.

This isn't restricted to the aforementioned Sunday closings. Another example would be the existence of "dry counties" where the sale of alcoholic beverages is against the law, usually just on Sundays but occasionally, at least in the past, at any time at all.

Note that these laws refer to the sale but not the consumption of alcohol. This led to the phenomenon of "brown bag" establishments where customers were allowed to bring their own booze (in a brown paper bag) to the particular restaurant or "club" and then buy "setups" into which they could pour the liquor they bought with them.

John

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...7322683758535#

all anyone needs to know about the effects of religon

A very under appreciated documentary. I know some Christians who watched it.
They had an interesting take on it.----In a good way. They now see Atheists and Agnostics as people who are still "seeking" truth, but not as "evil" people.

Imagine that?

Dave