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Author Topic:   Atheism and freedom of speech
MangyTiger
Member (Idle past 6353 days)
Posts: 989
From: Leicester, UK
Joined: 07-30-2004


Message 17 of 108 (341567)
08-19-2006 10:30 PM
Reply to: Message 16 by nator
08-19-2006 10:15 PM


Re: Why not?
The British tend to be far more private (and much less arrogant) as a culture than us in the US.
We tend to use the description 'reserved' (at least my age/social group do).
Your observations about the differences between us pretty much mirror mine from living in central Iowa in the '80s and central Texas in the early '90s.
It used to amaze me when I was first in the States that I could meet a total stranger in a bar and within 10 minutes they were telling me things about themselves and their lives that I wouldn't share with anyone who wasn't a pretty close friend.
Correspondingly I got accused of being unfriendly, cold or aloof because I didn't treat people I'd just met as though they were lifelong friends.
In the '70s and early '80s the Brits tended to find the Americans loud, lacking in manners, uncultured and incredibly ignorant of the rest of the world. The advent of mass trans-Atlantic air travel combined with the Americanisation of our culture through TV and films has changed all that though. Whereas it used to be a real culture shock to meet Americans nowadays we just gawp at how how fat they are

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This message is a reply to:
 Message 16 by nator, posted 08-19-2006 10:15 PM nator has not replied

Replies to this message:
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MangyTiger
Member (Idle past 6353 days)
Posts: 989
From: Leicester, UK
Joined: 07-30-2004


Message 44 of 108 (341800)
08-20-2006 9:13 PM
Reply to: Message 26 by CK
08-20-2006 6:43 AM


Re: Why not?
Are you like me Mangy? Do you cringe when you see people on TV telling all and sundry their private business?
Yup - well for as long as it takes to change the channel
I just don't understand why people want to go on shows like Springer, Trisha and the rest. I understand even less why people want to watch them.
The other thing that baffles me is the recent phenomena of public outpourings of grief when people you don't even know die.
The obvious examples were Princess Diana and the two Soham schoolgirls. I have sympathy for their family and friends but no more than I would for anybody else who have a loved one die, but that's as far as it goes. Why people feel the need to leave flowers or whatever for people who are, in reality, total strangers is completely beyond me.

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MangyTiger
Member (Idle past 6353 days)
Posts: 989
From: Leicester, UK
Joined: 07-30-2004


Message 45 of 108 (341801)
08-20-2006 9:23 PM
Reply to: Message 32 by CK
08-20-2006 11:38 AM


Re: Why not?
I'm not sure how it (the English not talking about religion) started
I've heard people advance the argument that it is because of the history of Catholic/Protestant religous rule in this country and the bitter rivalry, persecution and intolerance that both sides displayed towards the other.
Given that for a century or two being the 'wrong' faith could get you executed you can understand why a reluctance to talk about it could develop.

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Replies to this message:
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MangyTiger
Member (Idle past 6353 days)
Posts: 989
From: Leicester, UK
Joined: 07-30-2004


Message 73 of 108 (342101)
08-21-2006 5:32 PM
Reply to: Message 62 by ramoss
08-21-2006 8:31 AM


Re: Why not?
ALthough, Jesse Ventura was an atheist
You mean the WWF isn't a religion?

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MangyTiger
Member (Idle past 6353 days)
Posts: 989
From: Leicester, UK
Joined: 07-30-2004


Message 74 of 108 (342105)
08-21-2006 5:38 PM
Reply to: Message 53 by anglagard
08-21-2006 12:30 AM


Re: Why not?
Back in the 80s when I was in the US Army, they did allow me to have Panthiest on my dogtags for religious preference, however my roommate at the time was not allowed to have Satanist on his dogtags. This is despite his sincere belief system based upon the writings of LaVey.
It made the news over here a couple of years ago when the Royal Navy offically recognised its first registered Satanist (who also based his belief on LaVey).
Needless to say, some on the Christian Right weren't best pleased.

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MangyTiger
Member (Idle past 6353 days)
Posts: 989
From: Leicester, UK
Joined: 07-30-2004


Message 100 of 108 (343156)
08-24-2006 10:25 PM
Reply to: Message 97 by Archer Opteryx
08-24-2006 7:04 AM


Re: Atheism and freedom of speech
I don't think it's related to the fact we have an established religion while the US has a separation of church and state, at least not directly.
It is more a reflection of the differences between the two societies.
As has been discussed earlier in this thread, by and large religion is regarded as a private matter in England (it can be different elsewhere in the UK but England makes up the vast majority of the population). I don't know that anyone really knows why - perhaps it is because of the long and bloody history of religious conflict in this country. Of course that conflict was between the Catholic and Protestant faiths and has its roots with the creation of the Church Of England by Henry VIII, so that gives you an indirect relation to the established church vs. separation idea.
It's also the case in my experience that not only are we more private about religion we are, by and large, nowhere near as religious as the Americans. The percentage of the population that are active, regular church goers is much lower here than in the US and we also have far fewer fundamentalists.

Oops! Wrong Planet

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
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