Is atheism a liberating and good experience?

[naimless]

Wait a minute..... are you actually saying that the fighting in Palestine and Northern Ireland doesn't have anything to do with religion? Really? Have you paid any attention to either conflict? 'Cause from what I see, religious differences are a central theme to why the people are fighting each other in BOTH cases.

Vinny, you're either stupid or you're a troll who knows he's losing and doesn't want to admit it. Either way, it's really sad.

Not arguing Vinny's point but I grew up in NI and to be blatantly honest it doesn't have much to do with religion. Some of the founders of the original Irish Nationalist movements were Protestants and some of the people that wanted to remain British were Catholics and vice versa.

Men in high places in the early 1900s realised they could gain armies behind their political ideas by suggesting "Home Rule meant Rome Rule". In other words, Ireland would be ruled by the Pope if more powers were taken away from London. This was to strike fear into the Protestants and make them sign up to loyalism.

The ironic thing is 100 years down the line you can be a Protestant or a Catholic in mainland Britain and the Republic of Ireland and no one will give a shit. Yet still in Northern Ireland people fight over it. In fact, you can be a Muslim in NI as long as you are a Muslim-Protestant or a Muslim-Catholic depending on what area you are in.

It's a political and tribal symbolism - not many of the paramilitaries have even been to church. I have a friend that is a pretty militant atheist yet would still label himself a "Prod" [Protestant] when referring to his cultural identity or political beliefs.