[Buddha-l] is america christian (was: pinker)

[jkirk]

 At the very least it is obvious that America
> was, and remains, intolerant of all religions save Christianity -
> and that seems to me to be a pretty good definition of Christian
> nation. That other religions do indeed exist in the US does not
> diminish the fact that the society is intolerant of those religions.
> Just as the fact (if, indeed, it is) that Lincoln was gay does not
> in any way diminish the intolerance toward gays that existed
> in the 1860's and that still exists (possibly - but also possibly
> not) to a lesser extent today.
> - Curt
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Weeelllll..........I'm not sure you are right about the degree of US 
intolerance for non Xtian religions. Look at all the high and mighty 
temples, synagogues, mountain retreats, chortens and stupas, and mosques 
from times past and exponentially increasing. Until the Rove machine revved 
up the ignorant Xtian right-wing, I'd been under the impression --having 
lived for years on both coasts but I admit not in the center--(I refuse to 
refer to that as the "heartland"--yuk) -- that most US people were 
indifferent to others' religions and even spared little time for their own 
"native" brands.

The twin towers disaster gave an extreme jolt to all the fanatics--of all 
the main brands of religion in this country. It afforded the neocon 
administration the golden opportunity to prey on people's fears and 
paranoia, influencing them to turn back the clock to the middle ages and 
passive reliance on god or gods for protection, solace, and better business. 
It gave impetus to a new brand of evangelical preachers to turn on the 
bubble machine, go back to preaching fire and brimstone and energized fake 
healing, solicit tons of money for gigantic new churches, and also pay for 
illegal participation in politics as they enjoyed their tax-free real 
estate.

If Xtianity is dominant as you say, it has only become so recently with a 
lot of help from their, er, friends in high places.
Best, Joanna
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