Poll: Secularism In The UK & USA
My recent article deals with the misconception that the UK is a “secular nation“. A secular nation does not depend on the public view of secularism, but on how the country is run. It doesn’t matter if the majority of or even the total populace agree with secularism, because if the country’s constitution somehow includes religion, the majority opinion is null and void. Likewise, a completely religious country could indeed be very secular if they didn’t mention religion in their government.
So after taking in this information, which do you think is more secular? The UK or the USA?
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The USA wears a hat that says “I’m secular.” while standing in a church holding a cross and smoking crack with a gay prostitute. The UK, on the other hand, is wearing a shirt that says “I’m a Christian Nation.” while holding an autographed copy of The God Delusion.
@Sisyphus Fragment
Yet we define secularism by how the country is run, not how it presents itself!
I think it really depends on what you mean by “secular nation”. I don’t agree that it all depends on, say, having a state religion. For instance, Portugal has one (Catholicism) and yet I’d say we’re much more secular than the US. Our money doesn’t have religious sayings, there are no “10 commandments in court rooms”, school prayer, and evolution / creationism controversies, and the religious are mostly older people who go to church on Sunday.
Oh, and our previous president (which served his two terms) was an atheist, and that was never an issue, he won both elections easily. Granted, here in Portugal the president is mostly a ceremonial figure, but do you imagine such a thing happening in the US?
Now, I don’t know how secular the UK is compared to Portugal, but, state religion aside, I’d say it’s more secular than the US, because people seem to be mostly free from religion (which is NOT the same as “mostly not-religious”, which is related to atheism, not secularism).
I believe things are less secular here in the US because, despite the first amendment, laws are still passed in this country based on religious doctrine. For example, the ban on funding for embryonic stem cell research and the ban of gay marriage. I’ve never been to England though, so things may be crazier over there.