This is basically a response to the "Should homosexuals be allowed to marry" thread. In my view, religion being linked to the state brings up a contradiction.

1. Basic Christianity outlaws homosexuality.
2. The state shouldn't discriminate.

As long as religious organizations receive public funding and some religious rituals affect your relationship with the state, it has to conform to government policies where a private organization can do as it pleases. This leads to compromises, undermining the foundations of said religion and/or state.

As well as forcing people to pay for something they see as absolute nonsense.


Before this turns into "does God exist", this is not about the validity of religious beliefs. It is about the relationship between state and religious organizations.

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You know, you come from nothing, you're going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!
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I don't support homosexuals. Against religion and humanity.

Would you like to discuss the topic now that you've made a worthless argument about the example?

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You know, you come from nothing, you're going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!
- Monty Python

You never cite your funding claims.

Where does the government fund religion? The government taxes and funds come from church members.

I believe churches get tax breaks, tyro.

Fair enough, but breaks don't equate to money earned, just to reduced money taken, and, if churches who were strongly opposed to the idea of gay marriage were pressured to recognize it, I'm sure they would abandon the discount.

Church members; Tyro is subjecting.

Religions can hold any sort of rituals they want. They still have no right to change the constitutional meaning of the separation of church and state.

There's absolutely no contradiction in marriage. Churches can refuse to marriage gay couples because they are prviate, but the state cannot refuse gay marriage for religious reasons only.

I agree with what he said, churches do not need to pay property taxes like other builds do. so in reality a small group of people can easily fund the church without too many problems. And im thinking that its just socially unacceptable to tolerate homosexuality..however in this day in age its not as unacceptable as it used to be

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Money saved is money earned. What makes the church so special it shouldn't pay tax like every other private organization?

American system aside, let me tell you the situation here in Norway. The church do receive public funding, and the church recognize gay priests in fear of discriminating.

You tell me the church doesn't care about money

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You know, you come from nothing, you're going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!
- Monty Python

.....

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You know, you come from nothing, you're going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!
- Monty Python

At my grandmother's church, the state is offering to buy them their own church. As long as it's ran the way the state wants it to be ran. I think it's suspicious...

Edit: My grandfather is a preacher and my mom is a sunday school teacher. I don't know much about the religion and I only go like twice a year but these are my sources for knowing this.

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Church and State should be separate.

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On what pretence/bais do you have when you make that statement? And who is at fault for the need to be seperated? The church or the state? Could it also be a struggle for power?

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