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Five criteria to be a citizen

By Valerie Yule - posted Wednesday, 6 August 2014


People lucky enough to live in such a democracy can do their best to make their  countries of origin and their religions share these democratic values.  It is shocking when people take the blessings of our democracies but their countries of origin seek to have laws that are the opposite.

All religions change over time, and people select from their scriptures what they agree with in their own time.

All religions in a democracy must skip over their outdated texts which urge hatred of others, and concentrate on their pacific texts. Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful, is more important than the murderous texts of the old Middle-Eastern tribes (of which texts there are far too many.)  The ideals of God and Guatama must fit their followers too, as more important than the merit gained by Crusaders who smote the infidel and the Buddhists whose monasteries were fortresses to oppress the masses. The Jews must keep the observances of Leviticus that made them care for the stranger and omit the ones about killing off the non-observant.

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Britain and Australia in past centuries had a situation where Catholics were pretty much where Muslims are today. Catholics had the same attitudes to the host country and to their religion as Muslims do today. They had to outgrow much that their institution had demanded of them, and the definition of those who deserved death – e.g witches and Protestants. The mainly Protestant host country had fearful attitudes to Catholics then that now there is a danger it will have to Muslims.

These Five Principles would taught everywhere within the democracy and made public to all outside it. It is time to enact these democratic safeguards, before it is too late.

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About the Author

Valerie Yule is a writer and researcher on imagination, literacy and social issues.

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