There's a Lady Who's Sure All That Glitters Is Gold
First, I support church/state separation. I oppose school prayer and would approve of the Ten Commandments on public buildings only with other documents of historical importance for a proper context. I have no problem with block grants to religious charities, but the money must be going to charity rather than proselytizing. The same would be true of an actively atheist charity (if such a group exists). Government money shouldn't go to encouraging or discouraging religion in general nor any particular religious or non-religious belief system. I do support school vouchers to both religious and secular schools to prevent poorer parents from being forced to give their children a non-religious education, but that viewpoint goes against my grain on church/state issues. I support gay marriage, oppose blasphemy laws and think that public education about carnal matters should simply teach the biological facts without a pro-abstinence or pro-contraception agenda. I've even ignored my initial instincts and decided that pornography should not be censored unless children are likely to see it.
Having stated that, I am a Christian. As for whether Christianity and other religions are myth or reality, there is no rational way of knowing. Experience is unreliable, moreover. A religious experience could be genuine or it could be a hallucination. All affirmations or denials concerning anything religious or supernatural are inherently unverifiable. In other words, all of the following statements are equally "likely" to be true:
1. There is one God.
2. There are 100 gods.
3. There is no god.
4. There is an afterlife.
5. There is no afterlife.
6. All cosmic forces are contained within a giant Brussels sprout.
In other words, all statements about religion, whether supportive of it or opposed to it, are rationally meaningless. Therefore, I readily concede that I am a Christian based solely on non-rational faith. Accordingly, I certainly have no right nor any desire to enforce the beliefs that come from my "leap of faith" onto others.
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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)
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