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Bill: Lex de Rei Publica Religio (Auroria Hosianitatis) (RP Law):
Details
Submitted by[?]: Factio Unitatis Patriae
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: February 4480
Description[?]:
| Senators, It is our party's view that our first step towards a more unified, better-governed nation has been achieved with the introduction of Rector as a single head of state and government. Now, we will propose further steps to ensure this Republic continues to heal the wounds of fragmentation and stands firmly behind a common good... and there is no more common good than faith in the one true god, whose holy church was first built in this nation and has spread around Terra. Therefore, I propose once again that this nation adopts the Aurorian Patriarchal Church as its most sacred state religion for symbolic, cultural and ceremonial purposes. Furthermore, to hep promote monotheism I believe now is the time to take steps to phase out the ancient and pagan rituals associated with Religio Seluciana by removing its recognised religion status and, similarly, removing Felinism as a recognised religion. Whilst we do not advocate outlawing the practices of these rituals, removing recognised religious status will help to eventually phase them out by removing tax breaks and other benefits. It will also ensure that anyone wishing to marry may still have the pagan rituals but will also have to complement these with a legally-binding civic - or other - marriage ceremony. Senators, I know some of you may baulk at this because you are fixated on secularism but I assure you that the way forward for our country is to encourage out citizens to understand faith in the one true god and through this we will find further unity as a nation. I have the backing of my party, the Praetors of Occidentria and Marestella and the support of millions of voters on this matter... it is the will of god. Articles: I) The State Religion of Res Publica Seluciae (henceforth referred to as Selucia) is the Aurorian Patriarchal Church. II) The State Religion will be granted special ceremonial, cultural and historical significance and status within Selucia but in all other ways will be treated as one of the country's officially recognised religions (See Article 4). III) In accordance with the articles laid out in the Bill of Rights, membership of the Aurorian Patriarchal State Religion will be completely voluntary and will not impinge on the freedom of other faiths to practice. IV) Officially recognised religions (including other denominations of Hosianism, Yeudism and Ahmadism) will continue to maintain their status within law and may, or may not, receive financial or other support, dependending on laws passed by the legislature. V) The pagan practices of Religio Seluciana and Felinism will be downgraded and will no longer be recognised religions. While they may still be practised without fear of persecution they will not receive financial or other support dependent on laws passed by the legislature in favour of recognised religions. Quintus Viridius Fabianus Senator; Party Leader OOC: This is a regular RP Law, as governed by Section 6.e. of the Game Rules (http://forum.particracy.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8088). This bill introduces a voluntary state religion in the form of the Aurorian Patriarchal Church and removes Religio Seluciana and Felinism from the list of the nation's recognised religions. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change Government policy concerning religions.
Old value:: There is no government policy concerning a state religion.
Current: There is an official state religion, and membership is mandatory.
Proposed: There is an official state religion, but membership is completely voluntary.
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 13:34:54, November 02, 2018 CET | From | Clara Aurora - COSIRA | To | Debating the Lex de Rei Publica Religio (Auroria Hosianitatis) (RP Law): |
| Message | Senators, Let's dive in the issue of God. Why does Mr. Fabianus think that Hosianism is the true faith? Through this interpretation, Factio Unitatis Patriae is carrying out nothing more than an imposition of its own ideology in relation to religion. From In Marea, we have always declared ourselves openly atheists and irreligious, but we have defended the religious plurality inside and outside our borders, as a way for each individual to face their own existence. This law not only, once again, induces discrimination against other religions, but also eliminates the right of citizens to feel truly represented in institutions, seeing that they are not separated for their religious reasons, and never a measure of these characteristics will unify us as a nation. There are no pausible arguments in this law that will convince In Marea otherwise. Irus Moraiti Orator of In Marea-Civis Sinistram |
| Date | 14:08:12, November 02, 2018 CET | From | Factio Republicana Socialistica | To | Debating the Lex de Rei Publica Religio (Auroria Hosianitatis) (RP Law): |
| Message | Senators, As a Cultor Deorum I strongly resent the implication that I and my co-religionists are somehow lesser citizens than Hosians and less deserving of governmental support. Do not forget, it is the Cultores that built the Republic, who overthrew Hosian theocracy so many times, and who, after centuries of discrimination, returned Republican government to Selucia in 3838. Not to dismiss the contributions of our Hosian citizens, but, what has Hosianism ever brought Selucia? Our ancient faith did not beatify men and women unless they were full of earthly glory, if they were not captains of armies and leaders of republics. Hosianism instead glorifies the humble, the contemplative, and the meek, and sees earthly life as a small and ultimately irrelevant part of human existence. How then can a Republic last with Hosianism as its state religion, when it requires its believers to turn the other cheek instead of seeking vengeance? How will our citizens fight and die for the fatherland when Hosianism dismisses earthly glory? How will they rise against tyranny when Hosianism teaches men to obey earthly authorities? Senators, I have no qualms with Hosianism or with the Aurorian Church. It has in time come to embrace Republicanism and move beyond its spiritual and otherworldly origins. Hosianism has learned something that we knew from the beginning: any Republic needs a single religion, but it must be a religion that embraces earthly glory and vengeance and demands of citizens the exhaltation of the Fatherland. For this reason we once again call for the establishment of a Civil Religion, one that can be put to good civic purposes and guarantees religious toleration among all citizens, one that demands a ferocious defense of liberty coupled with a belief that all men are created equal. Those elements can be found in the Aurorian Church, but not in it alone. If we are to use religion to unify the nation, we must demand of it religious tolerance. Otherwise, we shall return to the dark days of the Imperium, when liberty had died and Hosianism was interpreted as a spiritual religion. Cyprianus Tiburtius Numitor Senator |
| Date | 18:35:56, November 02, 2018 CET | From | Factio Unitatis Patriae | To | Debating the Lex de Rei Publica Religio (Auroria Hosianitatis) (RP Law): |
| Message | Senators, Not so long ago I was being told that my proposal to place the combined power of head of government and head of state into the hands of one elected person would plunge us back into dark times and would hasten the return of autocracy or dictatorship. With this current proposal, as with the latter, I have faith that given time the other parties represented in this senate will understand the need for this piece of legislation, and will come to see it as I do: the next piece in the jigsaw of true national unity. I consider that there is already a majority in the Senate who believe that a Republic ultimately needs a single religion to act as a unifying force. But it is how to get there and what form it should take that is the main debate. I am a Hosian, obviously, and believe in the one true god. I have never hidden that and, in fact, I was elected on a strong Hosian platform and I feel privileged to be able to politically evangelise in this house and to use my position to promote the religion I believe to be the strongest moral guiding light in this nation. So I have no qualms in putting forward a pro-Hosian bill in the same way as one of my secular colleagues may put forward a bill discouraging teacher-led prayers in schools. Let me also say that the articles in this bill in no way, shape or form attempt to persecute or ill-treat anyone. The Aurorian Church will be given a ceremonial relevance to boost its profile home and abroad. But above and beyond that it will be treated as one of the other recognised religions that are acknowledged by the state. Nor will the practising of Religio Seluciana be forbidden - but I believe the ideas of pagan polytheism are ones that we, as a state, should encourage people to move away from overtime. Maybe under the proposal I have put forward this will take one or two generations - or more - but I believe it is a necessary shift. A Cultor Deorum follows an ancient belief that many would describe as being out of kilter with modern society. Yes there are many elements that are based on decency, honest and integrity but on the flip side there are issues. Ritual sacrifice, of animals - and, let us be frank, at time humans - is one such issue. Then there are the mystery cults which are incorporated in the belief - including the orgiastic mysteries, which, well, leave nothing to the imagination and often involve violent, sexual rituals. Despite this, these practices, while frowned upon by many in Selucia, have been tolerated because of nostalgia or links to our ancient past and specifically that it was the Cultores who built the Republic. Senator Numitor, for instance, suggests Religio is indelibly linked with the founding of our republic and thus is the very foundation stone of our being. I would argue Hosianism is also indelibly linked to ancient Selucia and its laws and principles. Read the classics and interpret our most revered philosophers - they all point to monotheism, not polytheism being at the centre of our republic and its values. (ooc- source: https://particracy.wikia.com/wiki/Religio_Seluciana). Beyond Selucia such beliefs and rituals may not be tolerated at all and could be viewed as cultist. There are many impracticalities as a result of this. Thus, for instance, if a member of the Religio Seluciana faith and his or her family travelled to live and work abroad, they may find their marital status not recognised and their rights stripped. This would not happen with a Hosian family or a Yeudish family - unless they were travelling to the most theocratic or authoritarian nations, of course. Under the system I propose they would have to to apply for a universally recognised civic marriage certificate, meaning they could be confident their marital status would never be in doubt in most countries in the civilised world. As for the persecution of Religio Selucian by the Hosian church, yes, there are unfortunate and regrettable episodes of this in our past. But, indeed, the reverse is true. The dreadful events of the 1800s when Hosians were not only persecuted but executed at the hands of pagans - just a few yards from this very place - is a bloody episode we should never forget. But I am not seeking revenge and certainly not bloody revenge! I advocate this proposal because it will ensure a slow, inexorable and peaceful shift and promote the unifying form of our most popular religion. Quintus Viridius Fabianus Senator; Party Leader |
| Date | 22:43:13, November 02, 2018 CET | From | Populares | To | Debating the Lex de Rei Publica Religio (Auroria Hosianitatis) (RP Law): |
| Message | Senators, As seen in the past, religious extremists exist in all religious and non-religious organizations. Such events have left scares into today's society. We, the Populares, will refuse such a bill as this due to the nature of extremism. I ask those senators, who do not want to have any religion involved in governmental affairs, to support those in opposition to this bill. Duccia Asina Senator |
| Date | 04:51:24, November 03, 2018 CET | From | Partis Communis Seluciae | To | Debating the Lex de Rei Publica Religio (Auroria Hosianitatis) (RP Law): |
| Message | Senators, Despite the moderate attitudes presented in this bill and by this debate, ultimately it still leads us into a troubled path. As fellow senator Duccia Asinia put it quite succinctly throughout the history of Seluciae and the world at large there has always been religious extremism, both caused as a result of legitimization of the religion and the importance placed upon it, as well as in response to the delegitimization of a religious belief by a power with a different religion to its own. By giving more power to the Aurorian Church (As even symbolic power still holds sway over the devout) we lead ourselves away from balancing the pendulum that is religious power and move towards swinging said pendulum. It does not matter whether the religious powers are Hosian, Religio Seluciaen, or even Ahmadist, the implementation of federal support is sure to upset the others. 24% of our population follow Religio Seluciae, and 25% have declared themselves to be irreligious. Only 44% of our nation's population are Hosian, and only 42% are Aurorian. It is not as if our nation is largely Hosian, we have a multitude of religious groups in our nation, and we have a duty to them to represent them all as proper citizens and to give no special treatment to one or the other even in a symbolic fashion. Such mistreatment would not be in line with the ideals of our nation. Tiberius Gaius Rector Rei Publicae OOC: Hope I'm not out of place for writing this as Rector, if it doesn't fit in I'll just try to retconn it. |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 177 | |||||
| no |
Total Seats: 573 | |||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
| Random fact: Voters have an extra appreciation for bills that actually get passed, so if you want to maximally take profit from your votes, make sure you compromise with others. |
| Random quote: "The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law." - Aristotle |