They can't actually take away your right to believe what you want though. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion is a double-edged sword. People who are born into a 'bubble' where they aren't allowed to believe whatever they want to believe are the true victims.
I'm finding the pamphlets a lot easier to throw away personally, I find it really awkward and intrusive when strangers knock on my door for any ol reason.
Marcathonas:
| And nowadays, anyone attempting to scrutinize will probably be called anti-religious, not taken seriously, or told to leave. |
I'm pretty sure society isn't any worse now as far as squelching secular sentiment, compared to the 50's I'd say things aren't nearly as bad as they used to be. But 'polite society' still dictates a lot of what we can and cannot say at work, school, social functions and church. As religion has become less oppressive society has also become more 'sensitive', a sensitivity toward not hurting anyone's feelings that grew out of a real need but leads through an aire of paranoia about what discussions can and cannot be allowed.
Still I wouldn't be surprised if you were thrown out of a church for trying to critique or simply examine religious doctrine outloud. But if you look at conservative literature you'll see the same paranoia about having their free speech infringed. I was looking at a magazine that seemed to have a strong right-wing editorial slant the other day in the doctor's office (had nothing better to do), and a writer complained about a tenured professor whose answer to student questions was 'I've done the research, such-and-such is true, shuttup'.
My point is one of the arguments that helps sustain the conservative political movement is the belief that 'liberal society' and science is actually counter to free speech. How might they come across this? Perhaps encounters with people who were unwilling to explain why they believed X scientific theory, perhaps the people they encountered didn't have the depth of conviction and knowledge in order to argue and so put down their adversary instead of having a rational discussion. What you end up with is an adversary that is no longer willing to argue. (Of course, they might've also gotten this way from slanted media, but every 'camp' is guilty of that to some extent or another)
So what can you do? Know your stuff, have a solid understanding of evolution, of the creation of the universe as we know it, and any other scientific theory that you may feel like defending.
I think the religious faithful who are willing to have a civil discussion defending their beliefs are the only ones that actually know their stuff and =are= faithful.. and the same can hold true for 'rationalists'. If you only believe in evolution and the Big Bang because that's what you've been told then you're going to have a hard time rising above the arguments of people who only believe in magic old men in the clouds because it's what they've been told.
I've probably gotten way off topic. Spent way too long writing. Oh well
(edit) I think my main point with this post is that secular and religious, conservative and liberal people alike are encountering unwarranted hostility just for speaking their minds. Just like in any civil war of this kind the only way to calm things down is to communicate and to never sink to the level of bitter, pointless infighting. We're damned lucky that, by and large, we never get shot or blown up for speaking our minds and trying to make a positive difference in the western world.
