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Bill: Religious Choice Act
Details
Submitted by[?]: Majatran Socialist Party
Status[?]: defeated
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: August 2182
Description[?]:
| We wish to propose a new way of dealing with religion in Al'Badara. Instead of either banning it or endorse it, we feel we should instead choose a middle path in letting the people choose themselves. As part of this choice, we feel it is absolutely necessary to stop any one religion from getting too powerful, and to stop religions from brainwashing people into joining. This Act aims to make people join a religion because of their own free will, not pressure or brainwashing. This Act grants increased power and freedom to the individual citizens of our nation, but takes power away from the religious organisations which is the way we feel the balance of power should work. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change Government policy concerning the visitation of foreign missionaries.
Old value:: The government determines which missionaries are permitted to visit on a person by person basis.
Current: The government requires foreign missionaries to register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Proposed: Foreign missionaries are not permitted to enter the nation.
Article 2
Proposal[?] to change Government policy towards evangelism and religious advertising.
Old value:: Religions are required to obtain government approval before promoting themselves or advertising in any manner.
Current: Religions are required to obtain government approval before promoting themselves or advertising in any manner.
Proposed: Religions are not permitted to promote themselves or advertise in any manner whatsoever.
Article 3
Proposal[?] to change The governments stance on religious schools.
Old value:: Any religion may set up a school, but they are strictly regulated.
Current: Religious schools are allowed, but are strictly regulated. Only recognised religions may set up religious schools.
Proposed: Religious schools are not allowed.
Article 4
Proposal[?] to change The government's policy with respect to prayer in schools.
Old value:: Teacher-led prayers in schools are forbidden, except in religious schools.
Current: Teacher-led prayers in schools are forbidden.
Proposed: Teacher-led prayers in schools are forbidden.
Article 5
Proposal[?] to change Government policy concerning religions.
Old value:: There is an official state religion, but membership is completely voluntary.
Current: There is no government policy concerning a state religion.
Proposed: There is no government policy concerning a state religion.
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 18:44:03, February 04, 2006 CET | From | Al'Badaran Conservative Party | To | Debating the Religious Choice Act |
| Message | Forgive me but are current policies are "brain-washing" people and forcing them to accept a religion? |
| Date | 18:46:21, February 04, 2006 CET | From | Al'Badaran Conservative Party | To | Debating the Religious Choice Act |
| Message | We feel that since the majority of the populace do follow a certain religion (notably Islam) shouldn't we -as their represtantive government- represent their beliefs? |
| Date | 18:50:25, February 04, 2006 CET | From | Al'Badaran Conservative Party | To | Debating the Religious Choice Act |
| Message | In the description: "This Act grants increased power and freedom to the individual citizens of our nation". We see that the proposed acts do not give any "increased" freedoms but rather limits the freedom of the religous to open religous schools. |
| Date | 18:16:50, February 06, 2006 CET | From | Revolutionary Socialist Council | To | Debating the Religious Choice Act |
| Message | We support this bill. We dont see how the majority of people support Islam, many times in the history of Al'Badara the government has been formed of mostly secular parties. This would suggest either there are huge fluctuations of the population every few decades (unlikely) or that the people are not very religious and so dont cast their vote based upon the parties religious policy. |
| Date | 21:25:09, February 06, 2006 CET | From | Union of Progressive Ulama | To | Debating the Religious Choice Act |
| Message | We suspect the majority is Muslim, but many of them are nominal Muslims only, and do not practise their religion actively. Obviously there are differences of opinion over what weight to give religion within the government coalition. It will be no surprise that the UPU prefers to err on the side of empowering observant religious communties as much as possible and therefore opposes this bill. As long as no one tries to ban religion or make it compuslory, we should be able to agree to disagree. |
| Date | 00:25:33, February 07, 2006 CET | From | Majatran Socialist Party | To | Debating the Religious Choice Act |
| Message | The need for this legislation comes about because of the power of organised religion. We have no problems with personal religion, but the massive amounts of power, wealth and influence these undemocratic and obsolete institutions have is worryingly high and disproportionate to what it should be. This bill will give the individual more rights, more freedom and more choice but takes power away from these authoritarian groups instead, which we feel is the only way to grant religious freedom. (DRP, how many individual people, religious or otherwise, decide to open a school, especially with our state of the art public education system? This is not a freedom that any individual has, but the institutions have) |
| Date | 15:08:48, February 07, 2006 CET | From | Al'Badaran Conservative Party | To | Debating the Religious Choice Act |
| Message | Well, usually institutions are made of and represent individuals. I wouldn't worry about the power and wealth of the religous schools and other institutions, since they are under strict regulations and are taxed appropriately. As long as current policies are kept and upheld we do not feel that it is nessecary to take an extreme policy towards religon. |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes | Total Seats: 250 | |||||
| no |
Total Seats: 423 | |||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 77 |
| Random fact: Players must never be asked for their Particracy password. This includes Moderation; a genuine Moderator will never ask for your password. |
| Random quote: "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." - Howard Zinn |