Another Big Big Thread of Religious Discussion

[Mannix]

Originally Posted by CelesJessa

How is western Europe/America any more safe, stable, prosperous than successful Asian countries? Japan is one of the most modern asian countries there is, yet there are so many things that they haven't changed from ancient times. Shinto is still their #1 religion, even though their "god" was debunked forever ago. They visit the shrines regularly and pray to their anscestors. Women are still the "baby raisers", even today, older Japanese women won't walk next to their husbands, but maybe a step behind. I don't see preservations from their past beliefs/ethics holding Japan back any. As a matter of fact, Japan is one of the safest countries in the world, with a .4-.6% murder rate, while the US has a 6%




They do realize that people come from other places (and other religions). I quote from my textbook about Indian and Hindu culture: "...religions which recognize the existence of multiple dieties have traditionally been among the world's most religiously tolerant. Hinduism remains arguable one of the more tolerant of such religions."

And you shouldn't be telling what India "needs" to do when some could tell you that you need to recognise that different countries base their laws, culture, and such on different things, such as religion, tradition, etc. "Modernizing" society may mean one thing to me, and a million different things to someone halfway across the world. Who's to say who's opinion of "modern" is correct? If I'm not correct, Japan's society is VERY modern, yet they still place a ton of emphasis on their ancestors, and ancient traditions from forever ago. They still have tea houses where Geisha host, and only people who were recommended to the Geisha houses can visit (meaning no out-of-country visitors, unless you made a big impression) It doesn't make their society any more or less modern from our society.

American laws are just as based on our ethics and beliefs as any other country. We may not be as religion-specific, but if our ethics didn't reflect our laws, we wouldn't have them. So if we expect foreigners to abide by our laws, we'd better damn well abide by their laws.



No, it would only be equivalent if we actually had working laws in place forbidding people from doing such things. It wasn't just culturally insensitive what they did, it was against the law.

It would be more like if someone from a culture where taking someone's stuff out of their house was okay came over to America and stole something. Hey, it's okay there, but it's not morally, ethically, or legally correct here. Are we going to cut them slack because they were ignorant?

I don't think they should get huge prison time, like 42Petunias said, but they shouldn't get off just because of "ignorance" or lack of caring about that nation's laws.

You don't know as much about Japanese culture and history as you think you do. The emperor is no longer a god, there is no samurai elite warrior class holding power over a vast opressed peasantry, women have total and equal rights to those of men, their government is totally accepting of foreign cultures and people, and the Japanese themselves can be whatever they desire without persecution. Go back to 1850 and none of these facts were the case. While Japan is still quite Japanese, it is also highly modern and tolerant - it's basically the perfect example of what I'm talking about. They didn't abandon Japanese-ness, but they did move forward.

Would you be singing the same song were we talking about human sacrifice in Mexico? You may think this is an extreme example, but it isn't; it's another country's traditional culture, but that doesn't mean it's something that should be held onto and maintained indefinitely.

Also, no, my example is much more accurate. Both activities are culturally insensitive, but it just so happens that being a jerk is a crime punishable by jail time in India. My point was that she could do something equivalent in the US or Western Europe without facing criminal charges. People might be pissed off and stop liking her, but so what.

The dude pushing the charges is being a whiney dick. He wasn't forced to participate or even look at the fucking pictures, get over it. I doubt he'd be screaming for Liz Hurley's husband to be punished or ostricized had he broken some British taboos.