Quiet Atheist vs Militant Atheist

[Cephus]

(This is my opinion on stuff)

My compromise is all religions are stupid and potentially dangerous, let's neuter them.

It would be literally impossible to abolish all religion, since anyone can come up with a religion anytime (and even not tell anyone about it!) The most you could do is abolish organised religion, and I wouldn't advocate that. I'd say instead to remove their special treatment and try to minimise the harm they do. Anywhere where money is being taken in, unless they apply successfully for charitable status, should be taxed as a regular business. I don't like exceptions for intangible products.

In my opinion, taxing churches isn't violating "state/church separation", it's enforcing the laws of taxation that apply to everywhere money is being taken in. Crime can still happen in a church. Being allowed to keep their books secret is also bollocks. This is again standard law, in my opinion. Religion does not require the exchange of money in order to be practiced. It also does not require churches/other buildings, so if you want to maintain them as part of your religion and pay people to work in them, it's become a business. If it's actually a charity, then apply for charitable status.

In the western world, we already have neutered religion.  It isn't that Christianity is any better than Islam, it's that secular society has told Christians that they can't act that way and has forced them to play nice with others.  If given the chance, there are plenty of fundamentalist Christians who would be out there doing everything ISIS is doing, maybe even worse.  It wasn't religion that changed in the west, it was secularism.  That needs to happen in the Middle East too.  It's time for them to grow up.