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I'm not exactly sure of what you mean by 'the truth', for me its a matter of live and let live, living your life according to your own moral compass/belief systems and allowing others to do the same, within reason and herein lies the difficulty.
Many religious practices/customs are morally abhorrent to me, the subservient position of women, the maltreatment of homosexuals and minorities being some examples. Afghanistan, Iran and fundamentalist Islam spring to mind when one hears of such abuses however I think it’s important to remember that other religions have influenced, if not directly controlled, other societies. Almost every aspect of life in my own country including some of its polices/legislation was until relatively recently 'governed' by the Catholic Church, no divorce, media censorship, banning of contraceptives (I can still remember the news headlines when condoms were legalised), criminalisation of homosexuality being a few examples. There was a saying among Unionist's in Northern Ireland that 'Dublin Rule was Rome Rule' and to be honest they weren't far from the truth.
Hence I'm strongly for keeping a line firmly between religion and politics, to protect the 'minority form the tyranny of the majority'. However, having said that, I'm also strongly of the belief that religion is not above the law; acts deemed criminal should remain so even though many would consider them to be legitimate under their religion.
I agree with you that religious ethics are echoed in non religious ethical systems, and for me, that is where the line should be drawn.
Regarding the quote I used in my original post, using humankinds intellect to improve human existence, I'm of the opinion that it is ethic's which should govern these endeavours and legislation regarding them should be ethically and not religiously based, after all laws are there to govern us all regardless of what, if any, religious beliefs we hold.
I think the following quote taken from Obama's 'The audacity of hope' sums it up.
'If I am opposed to abortion for religious reasons and seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or invoke God's will and expect that argument to carry the day. If I want others to listen to me, then I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths'.
Its great to hear this from the perspective of someone like you, having grown up in that context, watching it change.
I think it is really difficult though when so many of these religions feel it absolutely necessary to their OWN standing, to bend the will of all towards their ethic, believing it is prescribed in their religious texts. A lot of this is rooted in interpretational differences however and this just makes it that much more questionable.
Funny you mentioned Obama (and in this thread). I bought that book and loaned it to my mom the day I did. Still waiting to get it back lol. Just last semester I took a course on British Imperialism and I got a much deeper look at how things unfolded in Ireland. I think it is wonderful that the conflict has finally been given the time to heal and eventually fade away. Gotta say, IM very excited that George Mitchell was appointed to help with the Middle East conflicts.