Religion
In reply to the discussion: What do DU Atheists want of DU believers? [View all]trotsky
(49,533 posts)but legitimizing beliefs as a reason for that political action, we create more problems. We empower the religious right.
"Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke Gods will. Now this is going to be difficult for some who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, as many evangelicals do. But in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice. Politics depends on our ability to persuade each other of common aims based on a common reality. It involves the compromise, the art of whats possible. At some fundamental level, religion does not allow for compromise. Its the art of the impossible." - Barack Obama