ANSWERS: 2
  • Based upon the predication that there is a god: There needs to be a deterrent devoid of God, for those that disbelieve and/or don't care. Add to the fact that there might not even be an afterlife, if there isn't then they will get off scot free. In my opinion, your first question has law and religion the wrong way round. Laws were there before faith and religion. Morals have come to be by all creatures that live in packs, prides, groups, societies etc. look after each other because it benefits the society. If one is injurred then the others don't just let them starve, they bring food back so that when they themselves are injurred they will survive. They don't fight to the point of death in the society because that lowers their numbers, making them an easier target for predators or other animals wanting their territory. Us humans are no different. We do not murder, because that will hinder our survival against rival tries. We do not steal, because that will cause conflict and conflicts only hinder each other in battle. So by doing to others what we want them to do to us helps our survival, devoid of God. So we need to punish those that do not follow the rules, otherwise the entire tribe might be at risk of death from rival tribes. Religions only differ in rules because over the generations each tribe developed their own intricate set of rules, then the creation of 'God' came into existence. That wasn't what you asked but okay. What laws? Laws of foreign countries that they have immigrated to or build up upon their own laws in their own country?
  • Hi, Kabuki. I respectfully disagree with Farino's answer. Religious laws came first, then secular laws, and in the United States, religions have been trying to get the power to make and enforce laws back ever since. This answer begins with the establishment of religious law in the U.S., its replacement by secular law, and the motives of the people who attempt to use secular law to enforce their religious beliefs (the "why" part of your question). Here in the U.S., some of the first colonies were explicitly religious, such as the Puritans (Pilgrims) who came here because the authorities in Holland, where they settled first after leaving England, would NOT let the Puritans enforce their religious laws as strongly as the Puritans wanted to, particularly on non-Puritans. Continuing to use the Puritans as an example (although the same is true of most of the other colonial settlements), town governments collected taxes for their church, even from non-believers (for example, if there was a Jew or a Catholic in town), and punish people according to the rules of the Puritan church (for instance, for not "honoring the sabbath") Women and men were murdered by local governments after being tried for the religious crime of "witchcraft." Every colony had its own competing religions, and each one made the local government do its bidding, collect its tithes/taxes, and enforce its rules. See the life of Anne Hutchinson, for example, or the notorious witch trials in Salem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hutchinson Finally came Thomas Jefferson, who said that the writing of Virginia's statute on religious freedom was the proudest accomplishment of his life. Take a look at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Statute_for_Religious_Freedom Though written in 1779, it was not adopted by the state of Virgina until 1786. Three years later, based on the Virginia statute, the First Amendment was added to the federal Constitution, guaranteeing freedom of religion nationwide. The body of the Constitution also contains a provision in Article Six which states that no religious test will ever be required to hold public office -- a major departure from colonial practice. While most sects (especially the small ones) are grateful for the Constitutional protection from possible civil tyranny by larger churches, some of the larger churches in the U.S. are still unhappy with their loss of secular authority, and keep attempting to restore it despite the Constitution. In short, some religions would like to be able to use civil (secular, government) laws to control and punish people on earth. WHY these religions don't trust their god to do the controlling and punishing has to do with how they interpret their scriptures. Some stick to "judge not, lest ye be judged" and some prefer to believe that being their brother's keeper means excercising strong control over the choices people make in their lives. They believe their motives are honorable. People on the receiving end of their "help" believe that they are power-hungry and using their religion as an excuse for their basically political attempts to control their fellow citizens.

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