ForumsWEPRIndianapolis discrimination against atheists

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HiddenDistance
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HiddenDistance
1,310 posts
Peasant

Unreasonable Faith has done a story this last week about the Indianapolis public school system adpoting a policy that prohibits the viewing of atheist websites, along with some other alternative spiritualities (one should note, that apparently it's okay to view websites on major religious doctrine). Currently the FFRF is fighting the issue and urging people to voice their concerns.

Voice your thoughts - particularly if you're a person of faith. Do you think it's okay for religious discrimination like this to occur in public schools?

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German3945
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German3945
996 posts
Nomad

I never refuted that it was unsupported - just not entirely from personal experience. On the same argument, for all you know, it could be some bumpkin with more shoelaces then brain cells.

yet there's still no evidence, so it's not something you can bring into discussion.
Small differenciation though - you *think* the school considers atheism to be a part of mysticism. Whether or not that's how the school views the document, is something else, and given the wording of that section, there's no evidence to show that the school thinks atheism is anything other then atheism.

Let me go over this in a fashion where that paragraph I've put in each time isn't ignored.

Do you consider occult practices, and mysticism to be related through the definition/known examples of mysticism?

If so, then it is easy to assume the school connects atheism with mysticism.
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the first amendment does protect atheism here, but the first amendment has been overridden before with this law, and under certain circumstances this could be decently legal.
ComradeBear
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ComradeBear
1 posts
Nomad

Now that's what I call a free country alright.

German3945
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German3945
996 posts
Nomad

a free country that wants its' students to learn? yes.
a free country that freely sometimes abuses such a helpful law? yes.
evidence that restricts the identification of either? yes.

NoNameC68
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NoNameC68
5,043 posts
Shepherd

Now that's what I call a free country alright.


Discrimination happens all over the world.
Nurvana
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Nurvana
2,520 posts
Farmer

Sure, I mean if they won't let you practice the faith, why should you be able to practice the non-faith. I personally think you should be able to practice whatever

HiddenDistance
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HiddenDistance
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Peasant

If so, then it is easy to assume the school connects atheism with mysticism.


That's your assumption, one which you're making with no evidence to back it up, as the section clearly labels those items as alternative spirituality/belief, not that they're all mysticism.

Even in your own post, I quote:

yet there's still no evidence, so it's not something you can bring into discussion.
German3945
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German3945
996 posts
Nomad

That's your assumption, one which you're making with no evidence to back it up, as the section clearly labels those items as alternative spirituality/belief, not that they're all mysticism.

oh my GOD. the evidence is the document which i've quoted twice already, and there's a link to in the beginning post.

Occult practices is in the middle of the sentence, voodoo and mysticism are in the end of the sentence. those all are related through spells and magic (etc), and atheism is in the middle of them.
It is apparent, since the Board of Ed put atheism in the middle of other spell-related religions, that they believe or are trying to make it seem like atheism is a spell-related religion.
German3945
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German3945
996 posts
Nomad

occult practices in the beginning of the sentence*

sorry for the mistake and double post.

HiddenDistance
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HiddenDistance
1,310 posts
Peasant

oh my GOD. the evidence is the document which i've quoted twice already, and there's a link to in the beginning post.
Occult practices is in the middle of the sentence, voodoo and mysticism are in the end of the sentence. those all are related through spells and magic (etc), and atheism is in the middle of them.

It is apparent, since the Board of Ed put atheism in the middle of other spell-related religions, that they believe or are trying to make it seem like atheism is a spell-related religion.


Staggering.

The document does not say what you're saying. You're just making stuff up.
German3945
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German3945
996 posts
Nomad

The document does not say what you're saying. You're just making stuff up.

stop being juvenile.
Sites that promote and provide information on any religion such as Wicca, Witchcraft, or Satanism. Occult practices, atheistic views, voodoo rituals or any other form of mysticism.... influence of real events through the use of spells, incarnations, curses and magic powers. Includes sites which discuss or deal with paranormal or unexplained events.

There, again.
Atheism in the middle of occult practices and voodoo and mysticism. looking at the other content (all dealing with spells n such) if the Board really considered atheism to be apart from these, atheism would be at the beginning of the paragraph with the other main religions, not in the middle of a sentence riddled with magic.

and hey -- maybe they did that on purpose.
yielee
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yielee
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Shepherd

@HiddenDistance, I thought he was being serious all the time and it used to make me mad, so I just learned to ignore him. But whenever I HAVE to talk to him, then I just take away 10 points from his name everytime he's wrong, just so he'll learn. Besides, it just takes up to much of energy to correct the mistakes! It also maybe looks like he says he's just being a Troll on purpose, but what do you think?

"...insult them through superior knowledge of everything relevant they try to bring to the table...Someone tried to school me on grammar and failed horribly." German3735

German3945
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German3945
996 posts
Nomad

well hey, the school's grammatical placing of "atheistic views" was in relation to occult practices, voodoo, and mysticism.

and I'll say whatever I want about the people I debate with.

HiddenDistance
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HiddenDistance
1,310 posts
Peasant

stop being juvenile.


Says the child that hasn't even finished school.

Atheism in the middle of occult practices and voodoo and mysticism. looking at the other content (all dealing with spells n such) if the Board really considered atheism to be apart from these, atheism would be at the beginning of the paragraph with the other main religions, not in the middle of a sentence riddled with magic.


Again, the only relation those terms have is that they are alternative spiritualities/beliefs. Anyone with access to a dictionary knows that atheism has no other ties to mysticism, voodoo, satanism, the occult, or any other religion.

2 days ago you were vehemently defending the intelligence of the school board - now you're vehemently asserting that they're all morons who don't know the definition of atheism and don't know how to craft a sentence properly, much like you.

@ yielee - yeah, I lol'd at that. Was the point in the debate I stopped treating him with any respect. I mean, if you're in the right on something that's different - but when you get something so wrong, and hold onto the belief that you're right no matter what, that's just being intentionally ignorant.

German, if you need to tell yourself that's how sentence structure works in order to get to sleep at night, go right ahead; as far as the rest of the world is concerned though, you're a kid in the corner with a dunce hat on.
thisisnotanalt
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thisisnotanalt
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Farmer

Pathetic how a grammar remark can regress A 27-year-old man and a high schooler to the point of them slinging insults at each other. Even more pathetic, the fact that the 13-year-old middle schooler is feeling the need to tell the high schooler and the 27-year-old to grow up.

Soooo . . . .

OMGWTFBBQ GERMAN AND HIDDEN, GROW THE HELL UP BOTH OF YOU

/last 6 pages of the thread

HiddenDistance
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HiddenDistance
1,310 posts
Peasant

*cough*

On a separate note - the FFRF have also issued a letter to the superintendent.

Interesting how they read the document the same way I did.

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