RE: Church and State
June 24, 2015 at 8:08 pm
(This post was last modified: June 24, 2015 at 8:08 pm by Metis.)
(June 24, 2015 at 8:01 pm)das_atheist Wrote: First off, all religions are treated equal so we are not just trusting the Catholics and Mormons for accurate record keeping and honesty.
Second, organized religion is notorious for scandals. They are going to abuse this power if they aren't already.
I suppose your first point is true in America. There any old hack can set up a Church and issue certificates but I dare wager when they say they accept baptismal certificates there will be some provisos. In Europe and Canada it's not even close to as easy, I don't think you're even legally allowed to issue any form of identity confirmation without the support of an established Church (i.e: Anglicans can but Baptists can't).
As for scandal, state departments get those too. Sure we expect more from the Churches/Mosques/Temples but the public services get their own share of creeps too.
