Discussion
As much as I believe in freedom of religion, I also believe society should be secular.
When I see American states using Christian churches for polling places, I think that sends a non-secular signal. And I cannot help but wonder if American Christians would like to be forced to vote in a Muslim mosque.
In Denmark we use community halls, schools and sports centers when we vote, to show every voter that all faiths are equal, and atheists and people of faith are equal too.
This is the way.
@randahl
What must be said is that every system has its drawbacks. Secularism may be used to restrict religious freedom, and this is completely wrong, but using religion as a political tool is an even greater mistake. There should be universal religious laws that everyone agrees upon. In short, my point of view is:
You should make politics religious, but do not politicize religion.
#Religion #Politics
@randahl who cares as long as religion do not influence the state and vice versa it doesn't matter what people wear or where we votes
Au Danemark, nous utilisons des salles communales, des écoles et des complexes sportifs pour les scrutins; cela permet de montrer à chaque électeur que toutes les croyances sont sur un pied d'égalité, et que les athées comme les croyants sont, eux aussi, égaux.
Voilà la bonne approche.
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( I was so in sync with this post that I replied with a French translation of it. )
Tout en étant attaché à la liberté de culte, je considère que la société doit être laïque.
Lorsque je vois des États américains utiliser des églises chrétiennes comme bureaux de vote, j'estime que cela envoie un signal qui n'est pas conforme à la laïcité.
Et je ne peux m'empêcher de me demander si les chrétiens américains apprécieraient d'être contraints d'aller voter dans une mosquée.
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@randahl the amount of interference with free and fair elections in the USA is just mindboggling.
@randahl
I agree! Come think of it, I will check where my county's 230 polling places are located. The last times I voted, it was in a Community Center or school.
@randahl As a committed Christian, I would have 0 problem voting in a Mosque. I would respect those people for opening their place of worship for this purpose. To me the signal that it sends is that this place is conveniently located for voters in this area, nothing more.
@j but do you agree that there could be both people of faith as well as atheists who might not find it appropriate for them to visit a house of worship of a faith they do not belong to, in order to cast their democratic vote?
@randahl However, I think that not using any places of worship would likely create serious logistical challenges. We use many community centers, schools, etc as well. But there are so many precincts that there aren't enough of those available. Places of worship fill in those gaps.
@randahl I agree that their could be people who would be uncomfortable with that, yes. I know Christians who would be appalled to vote in the Mosque. I've pushed back and eventually distanced myself from Christians who don't even want Mosques in their neighborhoods.
@randahl Same in Australia. Sometimes, church halls might be used, but never the actual place of worship.
@Perfidia just to understand your point: So sometimes another room like a lobby in front of the most holy chamber of the church will be used?
(I apologise, but I have very little knowledge of houses of worship in Australia.)
@randahl @Perfidia i cant remember the last time i saw church grounds used for voting, but im sure they are. I would expect that the attached hall would be used - i would be completely and absolutely shocked if the actual church was used #australian
I don't know what Perfidia's seen here, but I've voted in churches. It was just the main room with pews removed.
I've also voted in in person at schools, volunteer fire stations, a rented shop, & a hall in the civic centre/library building. For early voting, in person in a rented shop & by mail.
According to
https://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/ways_to_vote/ there are even more ways to vote than I've used.
@scooter don't you have sports facilities at schools? Like an indoor basketball court?
Here in Vejle We use a badminton court.
@scooter can you freely choose which location to go to? In other words: Could an atheist choose the community center instead of the church, if she preferred?
Here in Denmark each voter can only go to the specific polling location assigned to that person, because that location will have that specific voter listed as being allowed to vote.
In my country, voting polls are placed in public schools, embassies, and jails. Which is secular enough, and reasonable.
@randahl Australia has compulsory voting so the government has a "duty of care" to make voting accessible. Schools are popular choices, but there isn't one handy they will do just about anything, including renting a shop.
@davedave both voting AND renting a jack hammer for the basement bathroom renovation, all in one go — I love it! 😀
@randahl if we had community halls…
@aardvark point taken. But if I was the mayor, we would use the local grocery store before we used a house of one specific faith.
Neutral ground for democracy. Always.
@CorvidCrone glad to hear that. @aardvark
@randahl @CorvidCrone used to be able to walk to the elementary school and use their multipurpose room. That really disrupted school, because it was used daily for meals, assemblies, music, drama, etc. Small towns aren’t well equipped and there’s precious little desire for everyone to spend money to buy land and build and maintain and operate a structure.
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@randahl I tend to agree but I also think religious institutions should be forced to make their spaces available for public good when needed, as shelters for example.