# Pew Poll: 44 Percent of Liberal Democrats Say Churches Bad for America **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 1, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pew-poll-44-percent-of-liberal-democrats-say-churches-bad-for-america/797699 "2017-10-01T03:05:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pew-poll-44-percent-of-liberal-democrats-say-churches-bad-for-america/797699/261 "2017-10-09T21:28:13Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > [Denmark also recently had a crackdown on Muslim schoo](https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10958/denmark-schools-islam)ls where it was found that anti Danish and anti Jewish curriculum was being taught. > A quote: > "Two former teachers at the Nord-Vest school described how the children at the school spoke of Danes in terms of “them and us”. I’m with **Urbanredneck** on this one. We HATE people who think in terms of “them and us.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pew-poll-44-percent-of-liberal-democrats-say-churches-bad-for-america/797699/262 "2017-10-09T21:55:25Z")
What the hell is there to be anti-Danish _about_? The cruelty of their colonial empires? Pastry? What?! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pew-poll-44-percent-of-liberal-democrats-say-churches-bad-for-america/797699/263 "2017-10-09T22:33:06Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Well at least some European countries have the sense to put a stop to this like Denmark which has [banned the burqua](https://www.rt.com/news/405946-denmark-burqa-ban-europe/). Also Belgium, France, Bulgaria, and Austria. Germany might be next. > > [Denmark also recently had a crackdown on Muslim schoo](https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10958/denmark-schools-islam)ls where it was found that anti Danish and anti Jewish curriculum was being taught. > A quote: > “Two former teachers at the Nord-Vest school described how the children at the school spoke of Danes in terms of “them and us”. In a school poetry contest, several of the children composed poems that detailed their wish to beat up and break the legs and hands of the “Danish pigs”.” And I take it you _approve_ of those responses, and would recommend them? And, I’m guessing, you’d recommend yet more stuff along those lines? Because, see, you’d mentioned how folks (a) have turned away from Christianity, and (b) now have to deal with Islam, and – well, I’m still not sure I see what you’re getting at. Is there supposed to be some _link_ between one and the other? Or could I, if I’m so inclined, cheerfully put every one of your Stop-Muslims-From-Taking-Over tactics into action even while of course still having no use for Christianity? The _you-dealt-with-this-now-you-have-to-deal-with-that_ bit means – what? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pew-poll-44-percent-of-liberal-democrats-say-churches-bad-for-america/797699/264 "2017-10-10T09:23:29Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Is that just Christian churches? Or do 44% of liberal Democrats say that mosques, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, Jewish synagogues, etc. are bad for America, too? > > If these 44% say that all such religious entities/organizations are bad, then at least they’re uniformly consistent. But if they only take issue with Christian churches, but are OK with giving mosques/temples/shrines a free pass, then it seems to be driven more by an anti-Christian sentiment. It’s possible that many of them also think the Church of Scientology is a bad thing. Maybe if people dislike your religion in particular, it’s something about your religion. Maybe something other than, “Well, of course we are awesome and have the One Truth, so apparently our haters are evil-hearted and or serve demonic forces.” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pew-poll-44-percent-of-liberal-democrats-say-churches-bad-for-america/797699/265 "2017-10-10T09:44:29Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Well you all seem pretty proud of your European ideas of being open and all but I still think you have something going on which you should not ignore. We’re not ignoring it. We’re just considering the problem to be the “extremism” part, not the “Muslim” part. Extremist Muslims, extremist right-wingers, extremist Republicans (the Irish kind) - those are what we worry about. Not just generic “others”. And your raising the point that the Mayor of London is Muslim as proof that “they” are taking over is a perfect example of the kind of mindless hysteria that Europeans mock Americans for. Khan is about as anodyne a politician as you can get in this country. You really need to work on your risk assessment skills. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pew-poll-44-percent-of-liberal-democrats-say-churches-bad-for-america/797699/266 "2017-10-10T11:32:16Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Well at least some European countries have the sense to put a stop to this like Denmark which has [banned the burqua](https://www.rt.com/news/405946-denmark-burqa-ban-europe/) So you’re saying you _don’t_ believe in the Constitutionally-guaranteed and God-given right to freedom of religion that we enjoy in this country? Could you please explain why you hate America so much? ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pew-poll-44-percent-of-liberal-democrats-say-churches-bad-for-america/797699/267 "2017-10-10T13:42:05Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > So you’re saying you _don’t_ believe in the Constitutionally-guaranteed and God-given right to freedom of religion that we enjoy in this country? > > Could you please explain why you hate America so much? You read far more into the posters comments than what I got out of it. We enjoy freedom of religion as well as freedom from religion in America, nothing God given about it, but man-made laws with heavy emphasis on separation of church and state. Having freedom of religion isn’t freedom to do anything one pleases. Lots of goofy religions/superstitions that people believe in are not going to get them a free pass with everything. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pew-poll-44-percent-of-liberal-democrats-say-churches-bad-for-america/797699/268 "2017-10-10T20:04:04Z")
I want to point out that banning full face veils is not banning Islam, or even hijab (that is, modesty). It is an encroachment on freedom of religion, in that some fringe schools of Islam espouse the face veil for women, but a head scarf is not a full burqa. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pew-poll-44-percent-of-liberal-democrats-say-churches-bad-for-america/797699/269 "2017-10-10T22:03:55Z")
I do think that it’s possible to ban face-coverings without being Islamophobic, but the ban should be for reasons of security (we need to see who you are, regardless of your religion or race or gender), not for reasons of somehow “saving” women from Islam. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pew-poll-44-percent-of-liberal-democrats-say-churches-bad-for-america/797699.md?page=13)