Is there really a global freedom of speech among Atheists and religious believers and the rest?
356738
Global? Are you serious? Of course not. There are countries where freedom of speech is a joke.\n\nAh, well if you are specifically talking about Yahoo, then no, there is not freedom of speech, there are rules and terms of use. I have no problem with them. There is no need to do any of the things that go against the rules of the site. There is a mature and respectful way to answer any question on this site while being both honest and within the guidelines of the site. Some have the ability to do that, and some don't.
223801
Printing such things about ANY prophet, Islam, Christianity, Jewism..... has got nothing to do with freedom of speech.\nIn Europe even a researcher can't say that my research has led me to the fact that the holocaust might not have taken place, it might be just a story, in France and other parts of Europe, girls can't ware hijab when they go to school, do you see any FREEDOM in this? Freedom of speech is just a tool!!
646980
No, actually it is growing in the West, despite the efforts of fanatics to block it from growth.  The numbers have been adjusted in the former Eastern block countries -- where atheism was the state "religion" for decades -- which may appear to cause a slight downtick overall -- but the key is to look at democratic socieites with freedom or quasi freedom of religion.  In those countries atheism has almost doubled, just since 1990.\n\nI personally, for the record, am a mainstream (Anglican) Christian.\n\nRegards,\n\nReynolds Jones\nSchenectady, NY\nhttp://www.rebuff.org
262936
All beliefs should be open to scrutiny, otherwise they just become dogma. Enforced dogma is totalitarianism and repression. It can happen anywhere where free (respectable) speech is stifled. To maintain that one can't ask a respectable question about another religion is simply engendering fear. To maintain that they MY god is above questioning but YOURS isn't, is essentailly a circular argument that takes us nowhere. To maintain that my question insults your god (and that this involves punishment to me) is simply barbaric. I am happy to discuss all of my views with ANYBODY that doesn't intimidate or threaten me.
405292
its waning, I'm not even aloud to talk about my God anymore, but that doesnt stop me.  freedom of speech is becoming a myth in this country
697020
This is sickening to say the least.\n\nUnfortunately the US isn't far behind.  Freedom of speech should be just that, the freedom to speak - period!\n\nUntil the special interest groups, political correctness and so called multiculturalism are eliminated from society we can expect to lose more than our freedom of speech.
868638
It isn't.... at all.   Read the book "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkings...  He deals with how religion is given an unfair status as undiscussable.  When only a few believe in some form of religion, observers are viewed as cultists and insane.. When the masses believe, it becomes taboo to talk about.  Is there REALLY anything different about believing that Flying Spaghetti Monsters control everything instead of the Christian view of god?  Many people will say yes, but just refer to my above comment.\n\n\n***Update***\n\nTo the people who rank down anything against religion:  Thanks for proving my (and the others') point.  Presumably you believe  in freedom of speech? Presumably you believe in democracy? So why do you take it upon yourself to infringe on others' freedom  of speech?  Why is your religion above my views?  Tolerance? Isn't that  one of the ideals that you are supposed to abide by?
950511
It is my belief that many Atheist have doubts about their belief and therefore have to bash religions in order to bolster their own weak belief in Atheism. Then some just find bashing religion fun as religious people find it fun to bash us. What difference does that make we are all just having fun. I am an Atheist but I am a strong believer in the US Constitution which gives freedom of religion. I think everyone should be free to practice their religion and believe as they please as long as it doesn't prevent others from practicing theirs. God bless kisses Betty.
949334
freedom of speech and free will are still alive and among us at the present time. GOD bless you, too.
1043197
There is no such thing as free speech. Freedom is an illusion.
165281
Of course there are...just the same as there are many people who appear to be Jewish or Christian in public. \n\nI've met many-from various countries-several from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and other former Soviet Republics, just to name a few.  \n\nI think you will see a lot of this in individuals who live in a country where the government proclaims itself to be either an Islamic State, dictatorship or Communist.  These forms of government are so oppressive that it fosters tendencies towards atheism. \n\nLiving in a country where the tv programming(to include news, entertainment and educational), as well as every aspect of one's life, is censored and overly saturated with Islamic ideologies, is overbearing to the human spirit.  God wants us to submit to Him by our own free will, not because it's being force fed to us every where we turn...not because there's secret police watching to see if a woman's stockings are dark enough or if she's wearing nail polish(Iran).\n\nFor Jews and Christians, I believe their tendency towards private atheism would be more as a form of rebellion from overly strict/traditional homelives....one may ask why I say this, but one only has to look at the statistics, or see how full the churches are to see this.  When people are given freedom of choice, they tend to chose well for themselves.  When people are forced to chose something, they tend to question the validity of it as well as rebel against it.
338730
Freedom of speech is up there with freedom of religion in the First Amendment.  You think about why they wanted to put it first, and you have the importance.\n\nCivil rights generally refer to rights under the Constitution as Amended.  That is, generally about the amendments more than the body of the Constitution, except that of course it is the body that gives authority to the Amendments.\n\nSo yes, freedom of speech is one of the most precious rights we have, and we need to guard it with our lives, if necessary.  This is NOT the same thing as claiming the right to say any thing, any where, any time, at any volume.  It is a fundamental right that has to be measured against the other guy's equally fundamental right.  So we have endless case law detail on how, exactly, to implement the fundamental right of freedom of speech.  That's called Constitutional Law, and you get it in law school.\n\nI recommend going to law school to anyone who can.  Even if you never take the bar exam and practice law, the knowledge will serve you well in a variety of fields, most notably business, finance, non-profit foundations, and a host of others.
730636
It is more about the US than Europe, Japan and the more advanced Asian societies are equally secular and atheistic.\n\nIn Europe I guess it took the horrors of two World Wars fought on its soil to finally convince some that the idea of a loving god was a fairly sick joke, I wouldn't recommend that way of going about things.\n\nFirst thing would be to get religion out of politics, make references to god in a politicians speech a sackable offence. Unfortunately Europe's politicians seem to be becoming more like those in the US which is a very worrying development.
136997
Yes, it should be of unlimited proportions. Freedom of speech should not and cannot be twisted to the point where it is no longer freedom of speech.\n\nHowever, freedom of speech goes hand in hand with the idea of personal responsibility and accountability. Producing those cartoons was technically legal, but it was irresponsible. Surely the cartoonist knew that those cartoons would cause trouble in extremist countries.\n\nHowever, I also think that the Islamic world is greatly overreacting. They are ruining their credibility and making themselves look like a bunch of whinging little kids who riot at the most petty insult. Do you know how many "Jesus Christ" parody websites exist online? How many Christians burn down embassies for stuff like that?
963929
This is a very good point, and i have actually researched it before.  In the Freedom of Religion amendment, there are two clauses: the establishment clause, and the free excercise clause.  The establishment clause is the separation of church and state, or in other words, the government cannot establish or promote any one relgion.  In the free excercise clause, the government cannot ban any one religion.  Oddly enough, atheism is only considered a religion in the free excercise clause, and not in the establishment clause.  This is a sort of loophole that allows the religion to establish atheism in schools, without going against our rights to freedom of religion.  Pretty messed up, huh?
1169348
I'm pretty sure the capacity for starting fights is equally shared among all belief systems.  Certainly Yahoo Answers creates a forum for moronic, facile attacks on the belief systems of others, whether one is atheist, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Wiccan, Baha'i, Yezidi, Hindu, Jain, you name it.  Maybe what you mean is that your attention is drawn to atheist expressions of hostility to the beliefs of others.  Your own question does smach of anti-Catholic prejudice, for example, so perhaps anti-Catholic statements made by others don't offend you.  In all fairness, it is hard to explain the contemporary situation in the world of mutual hostility between, say, Jews, Christians, and Muslims by blaming the atheists, right?  I mean, the atheists didn't start the Iraq war and aren't playing a major role in perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.  I think you are right to advocate for a more civil dialogue (you can begin by examining your anti-Catholic and anti-Atheist prejudices, perhaps)--considered starting with the man or woman in the mirror?
758283
Yes, they have every right to condemn such a law. What a person wants to wear is up to a person's personal choices, as long as it levels to decency. That country is violating rights to religious freedom. No one has any right to interfere into other people's faith's.