Government and Religion
So I wanna do my research paper on if the government controls religion too much. Or does the government stick their noses in to where they shouldnt go?? What got my interested in the topic is the FLDS situation in Texas with the polygamy and all that stuff. The governement went down in there and took all those kids away from their moms. I dont agree with it, and I dont disagree....yet.
What are some of your thoughts on this situation? What other situations that you can think of where the government went in and either changed or put a stop to something that people thought was a religion?
I need some ideas!
Thanks
Interesting topic... My bf and I had a convo about this not too long ago. I wonder about our legal age of consent and how that works with religion. In our country you need to be 18 to get married (in most states anyway), but in many other parts of the world girls get married way younger. I understand why our government is taking a standing in an effort to protect innocent children BUT who are we (the US gov't) to say that 18 is ok, but 16 is not?
Also, with the polygomy aspect of - I'm torn on what to think. On one had I feel that people should be able to married whoever they want (meaning multiple husbands and wives are ok), but on the other hand I wonder if the women in this particular case are not brain washed and/or being held aganist their will (via threat aganist their loved ones).
Sometimes I'm pretty sure religion controls our government as much as our government controls religion. For a nation that's called a melting pot and prides itself on diversity, our governement seems to be very Christian-oriented. I'm not putting down Christianity; I just think our government doesn't give equal time to other religions. My schools were always closed for Christmas, but I don't ever remember days off for Chanukah, or Ramadan. If there's supposed to be separation of church and state, it seems all churches should be equally separated from government...just my opinion; not trying to push it on anyone, or insisting that I'm right.
I think that it's such a rocky subject...governments are damned if they do and damned if they don't. So they have to find what they think is a level playing field, but there will always be objections for and against. Ask yourself if they didn't go in and do something about the polygamy, and it came out some time later that there was abuse, women being held against their wishes etc. You would find that many who initially said they should keep their noses out would suddenly be saying "why didn't they do something"!
thanks for all your replies
Hhmm what was that one, the guy took them to a Forest in South America because he was under investigation and when the government arrived to take folk out who wanted to go he gave everyone poison to drink, only a few didn't drink it. Men, women and kids all died. They made a documentary about it.....tut what was it called 
very similar to Waco.
Oh got it I think was it the "Peoples Temple Jonestown Guyana"? CIA went in.
There's also the Amish exemption for education. The government tried to force the Amish to send all their children through 12th grade. They held fast to their beliefs that they would only formally educate through 8th grade. They were given the exemption.
I don't remember many of the details, I think the exemption was granted sometime before 1950. But this would be a good research item to look up.
While these forced marriages and subsequent child abuse are common within the FLDS, I have mixed feelings about this case. On the one hand, it seems to be somewhat common knowledge so something should be done but on the other hand, there are laws that have to be followed when it comes to removing kids from a home and it really doesn't seem like said guidelines were followed, which is why a few of the kids have been returned to the parents. I'm sure more will be returned as more of the parents start complaining.
Original Post by priceless7:
do you guys know of any other situations where the government stepped in to stop a certain something that was happening in a certain religion? i need more situations to go off of than just the FLDS
One of the main arguments against gay marriage is based on religion - that marriage is a sacred institution between man and woman, dictated by God, apparently. The California Supreme Court recently ruled that the ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, so it's been a hot topic lately. Not exactly an issue where the government is hindering a religion, but an example of the lack of separation between church and state nonetheless.
Original Post by mossyfern:
Sometimes I'm pretty sure religion controls our government as much as our government controls religion. For a nation that's called a melting pot and prides itself on diversity, our governement seems to be very Christian-oriented. I'm not putting down Christianity; I just think our government doesn't give equal time to other religions. My schools were always closed for Christmas, but I don't ever remember days off for Chanukah, or Ramadan. If there's supposed to be separation of church and state, it seems all churches should be equally separated from government...just my opinion; not trying to push it on anyone, or insisting that I'm right.
Great point. If you are still looking for help with this you should consider reading God Vs. the gavel it gives examples of several different religions and several different categories of dispute. I know it goes to the topic of medical regulation/intervention for minors in certain religions. For example, if a child has leukemia and the parents don't want medical treatment because of their beliefs but the child will likely die without the intervention.
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