No, we are not a "Christian" nation......

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Tvash

climber
Seattle
Sep 17, 2014 - 01:17am PT
the first federal income tax was levied in 1861. The Founding Fathers werent involved.
Wade Icey

Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
Sep 17, 2014 - 09:11am PT
Churches are tax cheats same as any other Corporation.
HighTraverse

Trad climber
Bay Area
Sep 17, 2014 - 09:32am PT
Right about the Income Tax.
So for once I'm going to let someone else dig out the facts.
When were religious institutions in the US first absolved from tax liability? After all there were taxes and levies from day one of The Republic.
Which taxes do they pay now, if any?
HighTraverse

Trad climber
Bay Area
Sep 18, 2014 - 11:22am PT
Well well.
The Air Force has seen the error of their ways and corrected it. Atheists may again join.
The US air force has allowed an atheist airman to re-enlist after initially refusing to process the his paperwork, because he refused to sign an oath that contained the phrase “so help me God”.

The service announced the policy reversal after the American Humanist Association threatened to file suit by 19 September .

“After fighting for our rights, non-theists now again have the status quo in the Air Force, a secular affirmation consistent with other branches of service and our Constitution”, said Jason Torpy, president of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, in a statement.

The unnamed airman, stationed at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, was allowed to sign a secular affirmation to the service. Initially, the airman struck the phrase “so help me God” from his paperwork, and refused to say the phrase during a verbal oath when attempting to re-enlist on 25 August.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/18/us-air-force-atheist-airman-reeinlist
The Air Force was standing alone
Other American armed services, the army, navy and marines, all allow servicemembers to swear secular oaths if they object to the references to God.
Air force secretary Deborah Lee James said the air force has since been instructed to allow airmen to swear a secular oath.

“We take any instance in which airmen report concerns regarding religious freedom seriously,” said James in a statement. “We are making the appropriate adjustments to ensure our airmen’s rights are protected.”
WBraun

climber
Sep 18, 2014 - 11:31am PT
yes

There's no difference between atheist and theist except atheist is unconscious of God and theist is conscious of God.
Tvash

climber
Seattle
Sep 18, 2014 - 11:32am PT
The Catholic church's tax exemption has given enough financial advantage over other entities to gobble up hospital after hospital. Currently they own 20% of America's hospital beds, and 45% in WA. The problem is - they deny their patients (who often have no other options in rural areas) family planning and end of life services, as required by law, due to their Ethical and Religious Directive (ie, purely religious reasons).

This is a problem the ACLU is going to take on - but the landscape has become more difficult in the wake of the SCOTUS Hobby Lobby decision.



HighTraverse

Trad climber
Bay Area
Sep 18, 2014 - 12:23pm PT
the deny their patients (who often have no other options in rural areas) family planning and end of life services, as required by law, due to their Ethical and Religious Directive
My wife, an oncology nurse has seen this happen in a Catholic hospital. She could not even give her patient's family the recommendation to seek hospice counseling. It disturbed her greatly.

However her Catholic brother in law just died of cancer in a Catholic hospice. He was treated with the greatest respect and allowed to die in the natural course of his disease. That is compassionate Christianity.
It does exist in enlightened hospices.
Tvash

climber
Seattle
Sep 18, 2014 - 12:35pm PT
A society needs to explicitly decide where, exactly, the separation of church and state lies in cases where entities, like the Catholic church, willfully flout the law (everyone else has to follow).

One solution is to pass legislation that differentiates between institutions whose primary purpose is to serve the general public (hospitals), and those whose primary purpose is religious education and indoctrination (churches and religious schools). The former would be required to offer all the survives required by law in a manner required by same.

This constitutes new legal ground, and is therefore a somewhat risky strategy to pursue.

BLUEBLOCR

Social climber
joshua tree
Sep 18, 2014 - 09:09pm PT

The Catholic church's tax exemption has given enough financial advantage over other entities to gobble up hospital after hospital. Currently they own 20% of America's hospital beds, and 45% in WA. The problem is - they deny their patients (who often have no other options in rural areas) family planning and end of life services, as required by law, due to their Ethical and Religious Directive (ie, purely religious reasons).

Are you kidd'in me??? Business is Business. Remember, Democracy?

The "family planners" and "end of lifers" can start their own business then!

Next u'll want to mandate Mcdonalds sell tacos.
BLUEBLOCR

Social climber
joshua tree
Sep 18, 2014 - 09:14pm PT

A society needs to explicitly decide where, exactly, the separation of church and state lies in cases where entities, like the Catholic church, willfully flout the law (everyone else has to follow).

i'm not on the catholics side mind you. i'm on the free- enterprise side.

What is the difference between Hooters only hiring big busted women?
thebravecowboy

climber
hold on tight boys
Sep 18, 2014 - 09:15pm PT
Next u'll want to mandate Mcdonalds sell tacos.

and yes, this would be a real travesty
Spider Savage

Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
Sep 18, 2014 - 09:20pm PT
A society needs to explicitly decide where, exactly, the separation of church and state lies in cases where entities, like the Catholic church, willfully flout the law (everyone else has to follow)


But we are a Christian nation:

7 day week with Sundays off. (Jewish, then picked up by Christians)

If it were up to me we'd be on a 12 day week with 2 days off.
dirtbag

climber
Nov 2, 2015 - 04:53pm PT
This Louisiana public school is essentially a theocratic institution:



According to several students and the Shreveport Times, Bibles were thrown at kids who refused to accept them. Rowland took no disciplinary action after the incident, saying he hadn’t had complaints.
...
Lucy, the Airline junior, told me that they’ve had assemblies where guest speakers have “given their Christian testimony” and mentioned a specific instance where the founder of a local gym, the Christ Fit Gym, gave a speech about overcoming post-traumatic stress disorder through his faith in Jesus. “We were required to go to it,” said Lucy.


There are many other examples in the article.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/11/christianity_forced_on_public_school_students_in_louisiana.html
thebravecowboy

climber
The Good Places
Nov 2, 2015 - 05:09pm PT
isn't Louisiana known for it's stellar cragging? what a shame....
Byran

climber
San Jose, CA
Nov 2, 2015 - 05:22pm PT
But we are a Christian nation:

7 day week with Sundays off. (Jewish, then picked up by Christians)

If it were up to me we'd be on a 12 day week with 2 days off.

Jews worship on the Sabbath (Friday night to Saturday evening), as directed by God in the 10 Commandments. Christian mythology adopted Sunday as the holy day (celebrating the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday) probably because it was already the normal day of worship for most of the pagan converts which made up the early church.
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