Huh....? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Do you mean you stop drinking just to respect those who did Ramadan? That is really kind of you! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
The church isn't a "major cultural backbone" in the Netherlands, though. It's actually a minority in this case. Given your criteria for morality, it would be moral for the state to show porno on public TV. Did you know that the Dutch legalized prostitution before Columbus discovered America? Amazing.
The Church is a major cultural backbone... ...it isn't a major governmental backbone... ... I said cultural backbone. The Church and the Papacy are the major backbones of all of Europe, even in highly nonreligious areas, they are the "cultural authority" until a state becomes officially atheist.
The reason is because modern European culture is derived from Christianity and established by Christianity, and thus Christianity is the authority. Quite simple: tradition always has authority over nonconformism.
How is a minority a majority, again? [edit] Tradition? By that reasoning, then, prostitution is perfectly moral for the Dutch. The majority favor it, they're mostly atheist, it's governmentally legal, and it has something like a 700 year tradition.
Did I say it was the majority? No. And anyway, I think belief in God is a majority in the Netherlands. I could be wrong, but I'm quite sure. The Netherlands, compared to its neighbors like Sweden or Denmark, is actually still very Christian Even if it is very liberal
Who's talking about prostitution? Legalization or criminalization doesn't suggest whether or not the people support it. I know about prostitution in medieval Europe...it was frowned upon, but tolerated because prostitutes were seen as a "necessary slum of society" Atheism isn't the majority in the Netherlands. And it isn't a tradition
Wiki puts non-religious affiliation at 43%. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_Netherlands#Demographics Substantial. Lots of Muslims, though. Of course, their beliefs don't matter, since they have no tradition there, and should be disregarded out of hand- right? And has been, traditionally. Actually, depends on the place. Furthermore, you've expressed in previous discussion that the rule of law has some bearing on morals. All I'm saying is that, given your set of moral rules, prostitution is morally acceptable in the netherlands. So because atheism is not a tradition, and christianity used to be important there, christianity should be used as a moral compass for dutch people, despite them being overwhelmingly liberal and actively rejecting your archaic, middle eastern value system?
Since when is 43% a majority? Regardless, what is important is belief in God. Wiki puts a belief in God at 34% and belief in a "life or spirit force" at 37%, together far more than the lack of belief in God or a spirit force. I'm not denying this. What I am saying, however, is that legalizing or tolerating something doesn't mean you think it is OK No, it isn't! Law isn't based on public consensus.. Furthermore, being tolerant of something doesn't mean you think it is acceptable. Liberalism has little to do with religiosity, so you can't connect the two. Christians were there before atheists...therefore they have the backbone of the country. It is their country first. Now obviously we can't just say "well, pagans were there before Christians". Paganism was systematically replaced by Christianity. Until Christianity is replaced by atheism, if it is, Christianity is still the backbone of current Dutch society (well, if you count the nation a society)
It's not a majority. I thought it was, I looked up, and showed you that I was wrong. ...so? If you tolerate something, it means that you don't think it's ok to persecute someone because of whatever you're tolerating. Definitionally. In most Western democracies, it is. Consensus being what everyone can generally agree on, different than majority rule. But it does mean that you're not going to persecute, eg, criminalize, that behavior. That would make you intolerant. I'm trying to find a graph, but so far, none have been found. And pagans before that. Backbone implies "support". The Church isn't really supporting Dutch culture. Not for awhile, at least. The Christians? Don't you mean the Dutch? Just like atheism, or at least liberalism, has systematically replaced archaic christian values. How can something be a "backbone" in a metaphorical sense, when it has grown so... vestigial? So are you saying that majorities don't matter, but the first religion to show up in a place should dictate cultural mores?
Ok Perhaps. No guarantees, though. No, it isn't. Western democracies are not absolute democracies. They have one flaw: constitutions, which limit the power of the "majority" or actual dominant culture, and that's a bad thing. It means that you can't and won't, not that you don't want to. Besides, "intolerance" is one of the characteristics of any true society. It built it. Every society requires common ground, especially among aspects such as social morality and ethics. The Church has, for a long time, provided such ground and is the backbone of such ground for the West. The Dutch Christians Liberalism has nothing to do with religion, I already said this. There are liberal theists and conservative atheists. And atheism has hardly replaced Christianity in most of the West. Not "religion" only, but the major cultural influences and the true society. The only real society in the Netherlands, today, is the Christian group. The reason is because they have cohesion. A liberal society isn't a real society because there is no "one way"
Sex doesn't require love. Love is an evolutionary offshoot of sex, but not necessary to its faculty. ~String
you stfu. those people have as much right to show porn as those assholes have the right to preach their retarded religions. besides those channels are largely paid by commercials, sponsors and members of the organization that organizes the tv time that they get on public television.
