We grow up believing certain things to be true, and sometimes continue to believe them in the face of logic. Religion is like that, I fear. I think that most people, including those who attend church regularly, will admit to themselves privately that it doesn't make any sense, but by then, so much of who we are is wrapped up in our religious identities. And maybe we want to hedge our bets in the event that it is true after all.
There are some states that do... including yours... check out Article 6, Section 8: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/legislation/constitution/ncconstitution.html
I was thinking of the US Constitution where federal offices aren't required to be religious, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Religious_Test_Clause. But you're right, Janice, the States are different….which comes from our original writers of the state constitutions when our country was founded on religious principles. It's considered tradition. I've never known a state office holder to be forced to be a Christian though, other than taking oath by placing one's hand on the Bible.
We often talk about the separation of church and state, and what exactly is meant by that statement. Pretty much it is interpreted to mean that the government can't designate a certain religion which must be followed by everyone, which is how many governments used to be run. However, some interpret this to mean that Christians should not be involved in politics, and ministers and other church leaders often think that they should not try to influence people about candidates. I just listened to an interesting talk by a Christian minister about this subject, and he goes over what the Bible says about Christians being involved in politics, and even the subject of God using people who are not necessarily religious , but were placed in the position to further his purpose. He also talks about Donald Trump, and how he could actually be part of God's plan for America.
Hello Ren, I too am saddened you felt you had to keep your beliefs (or lack of them!) quiet until you were 56. I suppose I roughly identify with your views, although I think there might be something beyond all this, an afterlife. However I think the idea of god or gods is a totally human construct and we're probably not intelligent enough to understand what - if anything - has made life develop and become ever more complex in an apparently hostile universe. People can have any belief they want as far as I am concerned, but I am exceptionally wary of those who want to proselytize and seem convinced only their brand of religion is the true one. Human hubris!
I think that what bothers me is that candidates who say such awful things, and espouse intolerant views claim to be God fearing. I mean obviously, some of the stances taken by candidates would be intolerant and non Christian in both theory and practice. I just think that having these extremist viewpoints, are confusing people about what it means to be religious. I don't buy it at all really!
The thing is, that people who are extremist types of personality, and people who think that their view is the only correct one, are going to act and talk in extremist ways whether they are a Christian or an athiest, or indifferent to either one. On the other hand, people who are tolerant of everyone else's beliefs , may also be religious, or non-religious, and they will be tolerant of others views, regardless. It is not the religion, or the lack thereof that makes them act in either manner, it is simply that this is the kind of person they are and how they look at everything in life. It seems like the people who tend to be more of extremists are often the ones we hear about, simply because they are always more vocal about promoting their opinion and beliefs with their fervor, whereas the tolerant ones, which are probably most of us, just keep our thoughts and opinions to ourself, unless someone specifically asks us what we think about something.
I'm an atheist too and have been openly since my early teens. I won a scholarship to a prestigious Catholic school at age 11 and it was soon after I started there that I began to question what I had been told. My grandmother was shocked and arranged to meet with my parents, myself and the Headmistress who was the mother Superior of the convent. My parents were worried that I'd be asked to leave. She, the Headmistress, was superb. She met with me alone and discussed my questions with me. She treated me with great respect and told my parents that I could stay at the school. She said that the aim of the school was to educate young women to be independent and to take their place in the world. I stayed at that school for 7 years and the Headmistress met with me alone at least once a term (3 x per year). She never once directly tried to change my thinking but did encourage me to ask questions about her beliefs. My respect for her and her beliefs remains strong over 40 years later even though I cannot agree with what she believed in with such quiet and dignified strength. The self-respect that she instilled in me remains equally strong and is perhaps the greatest gift anyone could have given me. Conversely, my grandmother, whom I loved so much, was very bitter and negative about the Headmistress who had, according to my grandmother, condemned me to be forever stuck in limbo after my death. I disagree, of course, for me "limbo" does not exist.
I have had a relationship with our Father God and Jesus Christ for many years @Ike Willis, but like you Ike I find the closer I get to meeting my Maker and Savior, the deeper and more intimate my relationship has become with Them.
@Julie Stewart: Respect to you for keeping to your guns! It was easier for me as I went to a typically tedious English secondary school, where C of E really stood for agnostic or atheist. I can remember developing a strong interest in hypnosis and ASCs during the droning assemblies, with sanctimonious talk from people all we children knew was absent from less than virtuous lives. I think many Europeans are tired of the seemingly endless religious wars and disturbances and now have a much more secular mind set.
@Harry Kemp : I didn't find it hard because I was fortunate to have Sr Marie-Thérèse in my life at that delicate stage of my growing awareness of self. Any attitude other than hers could have instilled a much more negative reaction in me that would have informed the rest of my life. It was she who introduced me to The Golden Rule (or is it Golden Law?) which can be traced back about 4000 years and has been incorporated into most belief systems over the centuries. It is the ethic of moral reciprocity - "do as you would be done by". Sr Marie-Thérèses' gentle and unbiased guidance was a perfect example of this rule. As for school assemblies - I was allowed to join after prayers for the secular announcements and didn't have to attend the Friday morning one at all because it was a full mass. I benefited from the excellent standard of education that the old direct-grant Catholic grammar schools provided back in the 1960s and 70s and I treasure the value it has added to my life. For many years I didn't see her - but I sent the occasional postcard or letter and I received a birthday card form her every year. I visited her many years later when she was in a nursing home and nearing the end of her life. Over her last few months I visited 2 or 3 times each month and she remembered our earlier conversations of course. She wanted to know about my life, friends, boyfriends, studies, travels, husband, daughter, jobs. I asked her if she was disappointed that I had remained a non-believer and she said "No, I love you." As for my death and it getting closer and closer. I'm not afraid of "after" because there is none .... I've filled out the paperwork needed to donate my body to medical research after which it will be incinerated (maybe some parts will be pickled!) and return to its basic atomic form. No service, no grave, no marker. I will live on in the memories of family and friends who outlive me - eventually there will be no-one left who actually knew me. And so it goes. The cause of my death is an unknown of course and I have slowly prepared for however it may happen as far as I can. I have built good, strong, reciprocal personal relationships and invested in financial planning. If I have a long illness I won't be alone (unless I do something to drive family and friends away), if I need prolonged treatment I'm insured and if I need to be in a nursing home the cost is already covered. If I die or am killed suddenly in an accident, as the result of a physical crisis (heart attack, stroke) or an act of nature then that will be harder for those who have lost me than for me. I don't worry about it - it could happen this evening between me shutting down my computer and climbing the stairs to bed. Each morning I wake up and take a few seconds to heighten my awareness of what I want to achieve that day, who I will see, who I can help .... and each night I take a few seconds to assess the day I just lived, note what needs to carried over to be finished and if I did right by others.
Sr Marie-Thérèse sounds an exceptional and inspiring woman that she did not feel the need to attempt to indoctrinate you or try to threaten you with the promise of damnation. Certainly not the average religious person I have met! As for an afterlife, I personally think there might be one, but it will be lacking any gods needing to be worshipped or praised, purely an extension of this life. If there isn't, then it will just be like an interminable sleep and a release from some of the less pleasant aspects of this world.