The real drivers of this were / are historical violence / social injustice. I really hope that the Northern Ireland Assembly can learn from this & get on with fixing the problems. The punk era, with bands like SLF & the Undertones did a lot, as young people from both sides loved these bands & went to gigs together & saw that beyond sectarian divides they were all humans. I'm not a Blair fan, but his early government did a lot too to bring sides together. Everyone from Corbyn to Thatcher were also working on this back in the day. Without dialogue you can't move forward.
Education, education, education. The thing is many in power find it easy to play on religious bigotry. Modi, Erdogun & Trump are three, all from opposing religions, who use the same modus operandi.
Agree with all of that. You could probably have in depth arguments on the influence of the caste system in Indian society but I'm not sure we have the knowledge on here.
Exactly. The only thing that will move us all forward is education. Unfortunately it's not a short term fix.
But who or what created Physics? I believe in the one true God - see post above...... I mean the one from churtonred about winning goals at Swillsbro.
I agree with almost all of that JP. Dialogue, education and a willingness to accept another point of view are the foundations of progression.
That is too deep. I think physics was going before Ronnie Glavin. I started studying it at Holgate in '76 from memory.
That is the key. Not taking yourself too seriously sometimes helps, but I (maybe rightly so), at times take on people that seem to want an argument, not to overtly disagree, just to have a conversation. An example is on this thread, where I'm largely agreeing (I think). Not always a good idea. How anyone could want to kill another person over religion, skin colour, background, sexuality, support of a team or political party, or what else makes little sense to me. I don't want to get John Stoned.
I think religion is one of mankind's worst inventions. It has caused so many divisions throughout history and is still doing so. I agree with the point about it keeping order in years gone by, but I also think it's part of man's self importance to assume that not only do we have a life on earth, but there's also something waiting for us when we pop our clogs. I was brought up as a Catholic and went to RC school, but I fell off the wagon as soon as the opportunity arose. What's wrong with knowing right from wrong and treating others as you would expect to be treated? I don't think you need to worship a god or wear your religion as a uniform to be a decent person.
I wasn’t sure whether God existed or not until my 50’s then I had a ‘St Paul’ moment, and was sure he/she didn’t. It was carthetic. BUT, I wouldn’t deny anyone the right to practice a religion as long as that does not involve discrimination against others. I also don’t believe there is any role for any religion in the workings of the State. The UK still has some way to go to rid itself of the power of one of the branches of the Christian church.
To a degree yes , but we have to understand what has replaced faith in our secular Utopia . Unfettered consumerism . A bigger car , a bigger house and a throw away attitude to modern Life . Turns out that's not very good either . Of course we can pour scorn on country's like India and think we are the moral superior but just check the label next time you put your Cardy on to see where it was made .
People have always wanted to better themselves. I don't think it's necessarily replaced religion. It's human nature.
I am a totally atheist Green. Being non-religious doesn't automatically result in being an irresponsible consumer.
During a national census a few years ago when asked what religion people were the 7th most popular answer was Jedi.
Very wrong - you may be confusing Jediism with Judaism. (there is a school of thought that Jediism is a philosophy not a religion) And thought your homosexual 'joke' was a bit childish/immature.