Is it appropriate to pass legislation based on religious scripture?

I ask because I just read an old question that asked why people were against gay marriage and 2/3 of the answers were quoting the Bible. I don鈥檛 want to hear about why you are opposed to gay marriage. My question is, is it appropriate to pass legislation based on scripture?Is it appropriate to pass legislation based on religious scripture?While I fully support a persons right to believe homosexuality is a sin %26amp; to believe gay marriage is a bad thing, we should NEVER legistlate based soley or predominantly on religion. (But I would not blame a politician for feeling motivated to remind his christian voters that his position is not inconsistent with the Bible.)



Being a conservative (fiscally speaking) I often have difficulty explaining to my fellow conservatives (those who are socially concervative) that just because something is wrong does not mean it should be illegal.



In America we have a right to make wrong choices.

(I am not saying homosexuality is wrong, or a choice)



I often draw from other religious beliefs the person has as an illustration. The Church of Christ %26amp; Baptists believes in full immersion baptism, not just sprinkling %26amp; that the person must decide for themselves to be baptized rather than the parent having their infant baptized. So if I was talking to someone from either of those religions, I would say "Do you want infant baptism outlawed? WHy not? It is wrong, isn't it?"Is it appropriate to pass legislation based on religious scripture?
No.Is it appropriate to pass legislation based on religious scripture?Clearly not...
Sure it is, if the head of your country is an ayatollah.

But if you are in a country where democracy and religious freedom reigns supreme, then "HECK NO!" would clearly be the correct answer.



Not sure where people get the idea that morality is derived from the Bible, but that is simply not true. Religion emerged from values that cultures shared, instead of the other way around.

If religion came first, there would be no civilization. Gods were created by man to be the icons of shared values of cultures.

This can be traced from God's being considered the cause of misfortune in hunting to misfortune in agriculture, until monotheism emerged and one god was considered to be behind all things.

a general discomfort with stealing and murder was already around prior to monotheism, and in most cases laws opposed such things.Is it appropriate to pass legislation based on religious scripture?I think that the separation between Church and State answers this far better than I can. The framers wanted us to have religious freedom, and in order to provide the protection that was needed to guarantee that, they had to leave the Church out of the government and let it be a faith based and not government based entity. I think they got it right and so no, I do not want scripture defining our laws.Is it appropriate to pass legislation based on religious scripture?
No! Would you pass legislation based on "Little Red Riding Hood?" Of course not. So why would pass legislation based on middle eastern fairytales.
no because in our Constitution says that there shall be a separation from Church and state now about gay marriage there are states that allow it an there are states that allow civil Unions and there are state that have some kinda reconnection for then and there some that don't and so the answer would still be no it wouldn't be appropriate to pass a ban still cause it would put hate into the Constitution and if u haven't look in history at one time women couldn't vote and white people couldn't marry black people and so on. gay rights are human rights.Is it appropriate to pass legislation based on religious scripture?
No. It's not appropriate to pass legislation based on scripture. We're not a religious state, thank God ; )
NO! We are not a theocracy!
In my opinion... no. The constitution is very specific about separating state from church.



It is okay to use scripture to explain why you think that some legislature should exist... but only in the debate (and it should always be challenged if that is the only reason) before the bill passes. It should NEVER quote scripture... our laws should never be exclusive to any religion or lack of.
This country was taken over by Christofascists and they started passing laws based on their religion and they want to change the Constitution to suit them.
Separation of Church and State. That's not to say that someone religious has to totally cut off their faith from their policy making standards, since faith tends to be a strong influence in their lives... but they have to keep in mind that not everyone is cut from the same religious cloth, and not everyone agrees with what the Bible says about gay marriage... or might not. People in government are not leading a congregation, their leading a nation of diverse peoples... that's why there's Separation of Church and State.
There is a reason for the separation of church and state. Personal religious beliefs are just that and they should never come into play with the laws and governing of a nation. Separation of church and state constitutionally is very important. Its why when Huckabee advocated changing the constitution to adhere more closely to the scriptures I was so opposed.

All you have to do is look at Iran to see what happens when religion and politics are mixed together. If that isn't an example of a screwed up nation I don't know what is.



As far as gay marriage, I would rather use the expression gay union that has all the rights and privileges of a heterosexual marriage. But it would certainly be a different document from that issued to a man and woman.



So, No it is not appropriate for any one to pass legislation based on scripture.
No unless people want America to be like the Taliban or most Middle east countries. Probably all of those began small and now look what happened.

Laws belong on the books scripture belongs in the Bible.

Besides my beliefs may be different than yours.

There is no one size fits all religion.

Besides we do have freedom of religion in this country and

by passing legislation based on scripture essentially takes that freedom away.
Yes it is, but that's only if we live in the Sudan or Iran.



I guess we are lucky.
I just don't feel comfortable telling people what they can and can't do at home. I am appalled to think that our lawmakers feel the need to debate this while we are engaged in a stinking war and the economy is in a free fall.
It's inappropriate.
No. It is very wrong to pass legislation based on scripture.
well my response would be is it appropriate to campaign from the pulpit like obama's pastor did?
I know I will get slammed for this but the Founding Fathers based most of this countries forging documents and laws based on their spiritual views.



So, I guess I would have to say, Yes.
Appropriate is subjective.

Many of our laws are based on morality, most of it derived from the Bible...

The MANN ACT (that the government will use to prosecute the former NY Governor) originally stated that you could not cross states lines with a woman with whom you were planning to do anything immoral.



They changed the working in the 70's, but you get the idea.

Like it or not... Morality was very important thing to our ancestors...



EDIT : Now why would I get thumbs down for that?

I just stated a fact! :p
Certainly. Government is all about enforcing the norms of society. Society/culture is to a large degree based on peoples' religious background. What other criterion would you use other than your idea of what's right and wrong? Though the state has no authority to influence religion, it's quite impossible to say the reverse, so the metaphor of the separation of church and state being a "wall" is a poor one.
yes it is. Ours is a government of the people and if the people are religious then the laws will trend that way. Many of our laws are derived from Bible teachings.



To each and every one that said no,,, Marriage derived from the Bible and from no where else. The Indians didn't marry and neither do many other cultures, they simply bought a woman. Now whether you like it or not it is appropriate.
first lets get ready of all this separation of church and state stuff. our founding fathers put that in the Constitution to keep the church from running our government.This was to insure we would never have a king again and so that no one church would become the center of the country's thinking.This does not mean religious thinking can not be involved in government!only that no church or religion can dictate law. With this said, I say that if a law is passed based on Scripture that is fine. As long as the law is for the good of the majority of the people.