thepope1986
Likes Dirt
Just wondering how many people are going to have bike riding as their religion of choice?
quoted for truth. If you list something unofficial, you don't really know what category you'll end up in.Better still, list no religion. If we get a big enough majority for that, we can push for separation of church and state!
quoted for truth. If you list something unofficial, you don't really know what category you'll end up in.
So if all us ireligious Aussies mark no religion and all our new Australians mark (let's say, with no prejudice) Muslim, doesn't that mean that state and federal governments will make funding available in accordance with the increase in Muslims in society? So instead of what we have now we may get public prayer areas for midday prayers and increased funding for Muslim schools and bans on alcohol on Muslim holy days etc. Read Jedi, Hindu, Greek Orthodox or whatever for Muslim if you want.Better still, list no religion. If we get a big enough majority for that, we can push for separation of church and state!
So if all us ireligious Aussies mark no religion and all our new Australians mark (let's say, with no prejudice) Muslim, doesn't that mean that state and federal governments will make funding available in accordance with the increase in Muslims in society? So instead of what we have now we may get public prayer areas for midday prayers and increased funding for Muslim schools and bans on alcohol on Muslim holy days etc. Read Jedi, Hindu, Greek Orthodox or whatever for Muslim if you want.
Isn't denying the religion you were born into like denying your history of drug use? No-one hears about your safe and ordinary life and only the adverse outcomes become public knowledge and hence the subject for misguided public funding and support.
I'm not so sure about this one. A census is supposed to be a register of what is, not what you want it to be.
Because if the government structure is not an accurate representation of the general public and their interests then it will be easier to push for separation... geez thought that was a pretty easy one to figure out...What I am asking, is if you wish to separate state from church, why do you think de-identifying yourself in the census helps that goal? Walking away from an argument hasn't won too many in this country. It just lets our baby-sitting, lowest common denominator-imposing government and every "socially-responsible", government-funded group make decisions for you, based on the funding you gave them.
I really don't get what you are trying to say here.What I am asking, is if you wish to separate state from church, why do you think de-identifying yourself in the census helps that goal?
The Alex Jones style conspiracy rant did nothing to answer my contention that you are not born into a certain religion, it's a learned idea. If a person grows up and starts thinking that it is all bunkum and becomes agnostic/atheist as a result, it becomes their correct answer at that moment, does it not?This is not a question about being over-run, it is just a question. I'm not questioning anyone's religion, nor revealing mine, or what I listed on the last census or few I did. I am also not questioning your right to have no religion, or placing religion against science in some moral Pokemon match.
What I am asking, is if you wish to separate state from church, why do you think de-identifying yourself in the census helps that goal? Walking away from an argument hasn't won too many in this country. It just lets our baby-sitting, lowest common denominator-imposing government and every "socially-responsible", government-funded group make decisions for you, based on the funding you gave them.
And, not asking but stating; governments totally do make decisions about public funding based on your 30 minutes next Tuesday night. Hands are already rubbing together in lust of it.
So, if you are going to make a point in the census, then think about what it really means, not just what you think it does. If my simple drop of the line caught you fish, how many more are waiting open-mouthed to be caught by a system made to take advantage of us in the guise of a Tuesday night in?
It's because identifying as non-religious, rather than a humorous answer such as "Jedi" which is what I identified as in the last census, pulls numbers, funding, and as a result power away from all religious groups. This helps to lessen the leverage of all religious parties in influencing governments, and helps reduce government funding directed toward religious organisations as part of planning policies of governments. How could identifying as not religious do anything other than help separate religion and the state? How is identifying as non-religious undermining the argument that religious groups and their narrow beliefs, often violently at odds with other religious groups, should not be the major determinant of how our governments govern?This is not a question about being over-run, it is just a question. I'm not questioning anyone's religion, nor revealing mine, or what I listed on the last census or few I did. I am also not questioning your right to have no religion, or placing religion against science in some moral Pokemon match.
What I am asking, is if you wish to separate state from church, why do you think de-identifying yourself in the census helps that goal? Walking away from an argument hasn't won too many in this country. It just lets our baby-sitting, lowest common denominator-imposing government and every "socially-responsible", government-funded group make decisions for you, based on the funding you gave them.
And, not asking but stating; governments totally do make decisions about public funding based on your 30 minutes next Tuesday night. Hands are already rubbing together in lust of it.
So, if you are going to make a point in the census, then think about what it really means, not just what you think it does. If my simple drop of the line caught you fish, how many more are waiting open-mouthed to be caught by a system made to take advantage of us in the guise of a Tuesday night in?
It's because identifying as non-religious, rather than a humorous answer such as "Jedi" which is what I identified as in the last census, pulls numbers, funding, and as a result power away from all religious groups. This helps to lessen the leverage of all religious parties in influencing governments, and helps reduce government funding directed toward religious organisations as part of planning policies of governments. How could identifying as not religious do anything other than help separate religion and the state? How is identifying as non-religious undermining the argument that religious groups and their narrow beliefs, often violently at odds with other religious groups, should not be the major determinant of how our governments govern?
If you want an example of what religious groups may do when they have power and funding, Fred Nile's policy of vetoing state government policy in the upper house of the New South Wales parliament until the state government reneges on it's election commitment of the teaching of ethics classes in NSW schools as an alternative to religious classes is an instructive example. Nile has compared the teaching of ethics classes to children in schools to Nazism and Communism.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nazi-ideology-in-ethics-classes-says-nile-20110805-1ifft.html