Quote:
Originally Posted by budwieser
Chris, I don`t deny anyones right to worship whatever they believe, I was just making a point about how this country has been brought up for thousands of years believing one thing and living by that and then to have another religion from another country take presedence (spelling) in our own country take over, just seems wrong. In their country we have to abide by their rules be it Islam or whatever.
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I hear what you're saying. There are a number of reasons why I take a different view though.
1. I don't believe it amounts to 'taking precedence' if, on occasion, we decide to do something that accommodates someone whose religion is not Christian. Actually in the specific case in this thread, it's a private school so it's an issue between the school and its customers, who pay the bills. In many ways a simple commercial decision. I really don't think it's the major, culture-redefining issue that some are making it out to be.
2. I don't think it's fair to talk about 'their country' when referring to Muslims who were born here, and whose parents were born here. It's not 'their' country. And in any case, not all Islamic countries are equally strict. Turkey, for example, is positively laid back.
3. One of the reasons I'm so vocal about defending freedom of religious expression, and the rights of all religious people to express a view about how we live in this country, is that Christians in the UK are becoming a minority. The number of people who bolster the numbers of Christians by claiming adherence, while not actually practising, is dropping dramatically. The country as a whole is becoming agnostic, if not outright atheist. It is not a good idea at this point to be suggesting that followers of any particular religion should quiet down and let the majority get on with it.