That could make for an interesting conversation in a pub over a few too many beers in Lewes East Sussex…best not 
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‘‘Louis XIV and ReligionWith the 1685 Edict of Fontainebleau, Louis ordered the destruction of Protestant churches, the closure of Protestant schools and the expulsion of Protestant clergy. Protestants would be barred from assembling and their marriages would be deemed invalid.’’
Tip of the iceberg…non Catholics would take to what they called the dessert. Held their ceremonies in the wild. That way then they could get together for Baptisms, Burial Ceremonies and Marriages, We have bodies buried in peoples gardens here as they had no rights to a proper burial…
There is one in a grave in the woods within walking distance from here and it has a statue now with a cross on it. Back in King L’s time you would be stoned to death for that…around the grave is a metal fence…no flowers just weeds.
What happened a lot at that time…they Adured and agreed to give up their faith and become a real Catholic…that took many guts and when they refused they were then attacked by King L’s dragoones and often Murdered…Many thousand’s escaped France…
Louis XIV and the Huguenots | Western Civilization.
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trouble is that your middle name as well… 
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One UK survey puts “No Religion” ahead (from Wikipedia)
The only religion I know anything about is Christian. And I know a lot of people who say they are Christian are not really. I’m one of them, I was brought up to be a sort of pretend Christian. So I guess there are even more “No Religion” than these results show.
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Yeah but there is no sign of trouble brewing anywhere here in the UK, is there?
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No, this a a tolerant country, I suppose I was looking at the bigger picture. Just for the sake of discussion if I were going to travel (I’m not) then I’d much prefer to visit places that had a sense of identity, tradition and had retained their own culture.
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While i’m not religious at all in any way, probably due to my upbringing, i believe people should never be discouraged from following whatever path they wish to.
I do know that for many, religion is a huge part of their lives, and without it, would not have come through some very hard times.
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Never mind about all of the religions and their variants, just wait until Iran or N Korea produces a large viable fully nuclear warhead and then fires off multiples westwards.
Whatever is left with be residual and those surviving will have a very hard time.
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true religion is what belief is within onesself, not what others try and force on you. I have my own thoughts on what I believe in, and it is personal to me alone
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Culture and religion are not the same thing though CB. For instance in many religions you now see people wearing ultra-conservative ‘religious’ dress which is nothing like traditional cultural dress. Sadly it appears to be impacting women almost exclusively.
I’m all for culture and traditions (so long as they are positive) and very much against outside influences born out of the whims of religious ‘leaders’.
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Very true Azz, but to some extent isn’t culture often born of religion? I think sometimes it’s incredibly difficult to entirely separate the two although perhaps I’m just unwittingly nit picking? Probably the way my mind works, more questions than answers 
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I know what you’re saying, religion can sometimes become part of culture - but culture pre-dates religion, traditions were around before religious influences and will be long after it too (unless we annihilate ourselves 
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Some of the cultural things I like (not linked to religion) are things like food, dress, dance, hospitality etc 
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That’s an interesting chart especially for a country with a state imposed religion. You’d have to wonder what King Charlie is defending these days.
Australia is a secular country - Section 116 of the constitution deals with this. There are four prohibitions on the Commonwealth in this section:
- establishing any religion
- imposing any religious observation
- prohibiting the free exercise of any religion
- requiring a religious test as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth
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Attendance is totally voluntary nowadays
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Most likely the larger the local population becomes, the crazier it gets. One day the Crazy sheds will reopen and 24 hour Entertainment will run amuck ! Look at D.C. complete wackiness’ !
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Another Frenchman was wise about religion.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.
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Most religions and govts just want people to breed soldiers and slaves - they don’t care about people, just numbers - the more they have the richer and more powerful they are. I hope humanity will one day wake up.
Civilized to Death by Christopher Ryan could be a good place to start for many, while not directly related it might help people see what’s more natural (and that what govts/religion/‘society’ expect is far far far from what human nature does).
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