What Secularism Is...And Isn't
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-09-19/what-secularism-isand-isnt
America's domestic and foreign policies are shaped profoundly by our relationships with religion, whether it's a legislative battle over same-sex marriage or diplomatic challenge involving the Muslim world. Jacques Berlinerblau argues that America draws strength from its religious diversity, but that a return to a more secular tradition will keep religious freedom and diversity from "encroaching" on each other. We explore what secularism is -- and isn't -- in the modern world.
Guests
Jacques Berlinerblau
Professor Georgetown University
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Read An Excerpt
Excerpted from “How to Be Secular” by Jacques Berlinerblau. Copyright © 2012 by Jacques Berlinerblau. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Comments
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H.L. Mencken said: "I respect another man's religion the same way I respect his belief that his wife is beautiful and his children are intelligent."
Your guest miscast and inaccurately represented the Secretary of State's remarks after the death of our diplomats in Libya. She apologized for nothing. She deplored the content of the film, and as a caller pointed out, her remarks were about the film. I heard and listened to her, as your guest evidently did not.
What does your guest think would happen if there were to be a huge overload of anti Islamic cartoons and films worldwide? Might the outrage burn-out and fade?
I belive I'm threatened by others religion. I want the religious to acknowledge I have a right to live free of their religion and from having their values jammed down my throat. I'm not afraid of their God and don't care if they are as long as they don't try to force their fear on me.
I choose to live by the ideals found in The Family Virtues Guide by Linda Kavelin Popov 52 universal virtues from the world's religions and I might be more impressed by the religious if they did so rather than spending so much time justifying their judgements of others (yes a judgement).
And as was menioned on the show, the difficulity is where is the line when an individual asserts the very essence of who they are, their "truth," is threatened by another's essence? Tolerance of how much? Stupid movies vs. death?
And even harder, what is to be done when the very person you need to reason with, to discuss ideas with, is irrational?
Ron