first off, i agree with the common statement that worship and prayer should be allowed, (so long as it doesn't interfere with health regulations. do the chicken killing at home)
but it should not be required.
now, i wanted to comment on the '10 commandments in the courtroom' thing, but i realized idon't actually KNOW what the 10 commandments are, so i had to look them up. which is proof that at least one person didn't have a religion he didn't want shoved down his throat.
so here we go...the 10 Commandments as laws...or basis for law:
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
whoop, civil liberties straight out the window already. does this commandment mean "you must worship THIS god or none?" or "Above all others" it's this sort of talk that leadfs to the death of 'infidels'
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."
more 'my way or the highway' where's these moral origins of our law?
"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."
apparently, this one actually has nothing to do with swearing at all. it's more to do about 'contracts' made 'in the name of the lord' sort of a sacred oath. again, totally irrelevent to anyone who does not worship this god, who's a sinner (and a criminal?) anyway.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."
many people work on sundays. and it's certainly not illegal. on another note...does that seem like a lot of words to say "you get sundays off. worship me."?
"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."
the essay i'm getting the commandments from (which i'll credit and link at the end of this boring post) has some things to say about this commandment promising that those that look after their parents and elderly will have a long life. it's a nice sentiment (with no basis in fact) but doesn't have much relevance, apart from care for the elderly in nursing homes or whatever.
"Thou shalt not kill."
ok, so now wer'e finally getting to commandments that laws can actually be based on. but really, this statement is WAY too broad to be a defining law, in my opinion. but it IS a begginning i suppose.
"Thou shalt not commit adultery."
i'm not clear, do people still go to jail or get hung for this one? insome religions divorce is illegal, and any relationships that occur afterward is still adultery. this one sounds outdated too.
"Thou shalt not steal."
Ok, so now we are talking. this one we can most likely reach some consensus on. however this commandment doesn'treally define theft at all, but it is a basis. did we really need god to tell us this one to figure it out though?
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."
ok, so this one fits as well, according to my reference. it's about not commiting purgery. this does directly relate to courtroom laws, if that's the case.
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's."
does this mean 'do not have desires or feel envy'? i'm lost on this one. the essay mentions stuff about the commandment shifting the word slave to man/maidservant, to keep up with the times. is this pertinent to Law?
so, i'll total up. and bear in mind these are all opinions i have reached based on the information i hunted down. here we go:
pertinent to law: 3 commandments.
not pertinent to law: 6 commandments.
undecided: 1 commandment.
this post was terribly long, and likely boring. but i must say that i learned something about how lucky i am to grow up in a country where i can reach the age of 24 and not know the basis of a religion i'm not part of, and not be forced to know. yay us!
now to credit that article, which listed the ten commandments, and had some explanations which were helpful and enlightening in some respects. whether it has any truth...like i'd know...
the link!