Laws Based on Religion

[Greenday]

With separation of church and state, I seriously do wonder why we have laws that are completely based on religion. This country isn't supposed to be run by religion, but it sure seems to be sometimes.

Here's my favorite example:
Laws making it illegal to buy alcohol on Sundays.

Why Sundays? Why not Mondays or Tuesdays? Let me guess. This law was made by...Christians? I knew it! Where's my prize?

[Slytovhand]

Wow!! Really?? That sucks....

While we don't have such a law over here, I agree that most laws seem to be based on a xtian mythology and law system.

One of the most obvious examples is public holidays... how many are religiously based?

[Greenday]

Oddly enough, at least in New Jersey, the most religious holiday of the year for christians, Easter, is not considered a federal holiday here like Christmas is.

[crazylegs]

It took a long time for the retail industry to get the right to open on a Sunday, it's only been in the last 10-15 years (?). They have recently campaigned to extend the Sunday Trading Hours.

I'm no christian by any stretch of the imagination (For the record I'm atheist) however I didn't want extended hours on a sunday. It wasn't for religious reasons but it's the one day where shop workers can get home a bit early or get up a bit later or spend more time with their loved ones. I think that is much more important than any religious aspect (IMHO at least).

[DesignFox]

I agree with you Crazylegs. It's nice having at least ONE freakin' day with earlier hours!

I think it is important for retailers to remember the mental health of their employees...most retailers already work their employees to the bone with little pay and little regard for their personal lives. Maybe though, it isn't totally the retailer's fault...afterall, if they didn't think those days would be profitable, they wouldn't want to extend hours.

Maybe we, as customers, need to stop shopping at those times!

[BlaqueKatt]

Oddly enough, at least in New Jersey, the most religious holiday of the year for christians, Easter, is not considered a federal holiday here like Christmas is.

that would be because it's on a sunday when federal offices are already closed. They actually had a lawsuit in WI from the Freedom From Religion group over Good Friday(most state/federal employees got a half or full day off with pay) the compromise was to give a "floating holiday" to be used at anytime.

[Slytovhand]

We in Aussieland are famously one of the most laziest on the planet... I think we're introducing a public holiday for dropping a hat

But we do have an Easter long weekend - Friday, Sunday and Monday (nice on the paypacket...), and of course Christmas and Boxing Day are public holidays as well.

The 'problem' with the idea of having more restricted hours is... when do the people who work those hours get to do their shopping (not that I disagree with it, of course...I'm on of those lazy people )

Slyt

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Marriage laws are also based on religious beliefs. Think about this---everyone who gets married has to go to the courthouse and get a government issued marriage license. Even if you got married in a church ceremony with all the bells and whistles, you still have to go get that license to be considered legally married. A marriage license is basically a contract between two individuals that has been sanctioned by the government.

But in most of the world the marriage laws are still completely based on religious ideas, which is why gay people can't get married in most US states, for example. The religious beliefs of the traditional religion here still hold sway over marriage practices.

The logical thing to do would be to separate legal and religious marriage. Then religious groups could define their marriage practices any way they wanted, and legal marriages could then be subject to federal discrimination laws and regulations.

but of course that will never happen...

[Rapscallion]

Well, we've had civil and religious marriages over here for quite some time. A couple eloping could always pop off to a registrar's office for a wedding on the cheap, or they could arrange for a church service etc. The license held by the person marrying them is the same, as far as I know, and only the service is different.

As for gay marriage, we've had that for a relatively short time, and it's a civil ceremony generally. I don't know of any religious group that marries homosexuals, and I've not really looked. I'm not gay and I'm not a romantic, so I don't really need to know

Rapscallion

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Here in the States, Raps, we have civil and religious marriages as well. The issue is that neither term has ever been properly legally defined, so they are still entwined with each other. This allows religious conservatives to attempt to influence civil marriage practices. However, religious authority figures who perform marriages cannot give out legal marriage licenses, IIRC. The couple still has to go get the legal license to get the legal benefits.

What we need to do is separate the two concepts completely, and then make civil marriages subject to federal laws.

[TheRoo]

At least in Wisconsin, the legal authority regarding marriages is exactly the same regardless of weather the officiant is religious or secular. When I got married it was by the county judge who came out to our cabin. I still had to go to the county courthouse with my then soon-to-be wife, and fill out all of the legal forms, and submit to a 5 day waiting period (this can be waived under extraordinary circumstances). After getting the license, we weren't legally married until the license was signed by the judge, me, my brother, my wife, and her sister.

My brother got married in a church, and the ceremony was performed by a minister. He and his wife had to got through the exact same procedure that we did, and the minister signed his marriage license in the exact same spot that the judge signed mine.

As an interesting aside, my friend got married last year, and the person performing the ceremony was a friend of his. To be legally qualified to do this, he got ordained on line, and registered with the Dakota county clerk (he did a great job).