Old-time religion steers United States toward old-world mistakes

The Rice Thresher ^ | August 19, 2005 | Ames Grawert

[Right_at_RiceU]

Expressions of a single religious belief in the civic sphere — prayer in public schools, religious monuments outside courthouses, government subsidization of parochial schools (vouchers) — create a culture of exclusion and risk relegating believers of non-sponsored religions to the periphery of politics and life in America. This is both morally questionable and potentially dangerous.

The July bombings in London, to which I was uncomfortably close as an intern at the British Parliament, should compel Americans to re-examine the effects of continuing to marginalize social and religious groups. It is now obvious that a mono-religious culture can do more than simply offend; it can create its own enemies, and America is morally and practically bound to do all it can to embrace a diversity of religious viewpoints to prevent this outcome.

[Right_at_RiceU]

This is the sort of leftist garbage that we have to put up with at Rice and the sort of liberal bias the newspaper has, and it keeps coming all year long. These leftists just don't understand that there are solid values.

[RaceBannon]

A genuine God Fearing nation that is honoring God rightly has no need to worry abot false religions.

[Texas_Jarhead]

Just another pusher of the sacrosanct multiculturalism.

[a_dem_no_more]

Hey Ames....

BITE ME!!!!!

[michaelbfree]

diversity of religious viewpoints to prevent this outcome.

Right, like that certainly prevented the bombings in merry old England - nothing like encouraging cultural diversity /sarcasm Left wing drivel...!

[Fitzcarraldo]

America is morally and practically bound to do all it can to embrace a diversity of religious viewpoints to prevent this outcome.

This it already does in spades. We are by far the most religiously tolerant nation on this planet.

[exDemMom]

We have all the tolerance in the world.

It is the other side that tolerates no dissent.

Idiots like this author need to realize that, in this situation, it is not the tolerant who need to change.

[Old Professer]

I agree that religion doesn't lead to peace but I am curious as to where the author of this piece gets this notion that we should concern ourselves with non-sponsored religion.

In case anybody hasn't noticed, we are currently embroiled in a religious war with only one side, so far, behaving in that manner.

If things don't change soon, we are going to lose.

[SteveMcKing]

Fringe is fringe for a reason.

Why do they seek to be mainstreamed? To get the benefits with none of the cost, of course.

[COEXERJ145]

No different than any other university. The newspaper here at Texas A&M is almost as bad but they do allow a conservative op-ed every now and then just to show they're "balanced".

[buckeyesrule]

****Expressions of a single religious belief in the civic sphere — prayer in public schools, religious monuments outside courthouses, government subsidization of parochial schools (vouchers).......The July bombings in London.****

So let me see if I understand this....because we have school vouchers so that low income parents can take their children out of their horrible governemnt schools and put them in a better school the terrorist attacked London. And it's all out fault. Right? OOOOOOOKAY!!!

[woofie]

The left does not seem to understand that Jihadists hate coca cola, mini skirts , and gays

[eleni121]

Did this moron actually read what he wrote?

People immigrate to the US precisely because of the dominant Judaeo Christian society... they'd stay in their native hellholes if Mooslems /Taoists/Buddhists/Secularist/satanists ad nauseum dominated.

[RightWhale]

This it already does in spades.

Right on!

As somebody or other used to say in the hazy 70s.

[nosurrender]

blah blah blah blah.

Who cares either way? Just live and let live.

Have whatever superstition you wish.

[cpdiii]

If my memory serves me correctly the bastards attacked us first. If we were intolerant of the Muslim religion we would not put our soldiers at risk in fighting them house to house but simply nuke them. The author of this article is one of the leftist that repeat the mantra, "it is our fault that they came into our countries and murdered us."

[guitarist]

Rite@Rice: 2 things:

-Don't you have a good conservative contingent at Rice? (Christian/Republican/Pro-life etc.?)

-This is a bunch of chicken little stuff, that if you get pro-evolution teaching in school mixed with some doubt-evolution/intelligent-design that it will cause us to fall behind the Europeans and Asians. It is whole cloth, and absurd to suggest that. No truth to it.

[bd476]

From the article: "I submit that American liberals, myself included, react against religion’s entrenchment in our politics only because it is symptomatic of our government’s factual recognition of the Christian God as an important guiding force. It’s a serious problem we need to fix..."

A more serious problem is how the writer managed to be admitted to Rice University bereft of common sense.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

...and America is morally and practically bound to do all it can to embrace a diversity of religious viewpoints to prevent this outcome.

Allow, yes up to a point. Embrace, no. Why is there an obligation to embrace any religion? Bound? Absolutely not!

This guy is an idiot but simultaneously a genius in twisting thought. Makes him a perfect leftist.

[Terpfen]

The July bombings in London, to which I was uncomfortably close as an intern at the British Parliament, should compel Americans to re-examine the effects of continuing to marginalize social and religious groups.

And which groups are being marginalized?