Reply To: Political Statements
Exposure is one thing. Establishment, i.e. theocracy, is another thing entirely. Opposition to established religion is not, in and of itself, intolerance of religion.
For the record, one place where I’m quite willing to criticize Israel is that I believe the Israeli rabbinate has too much temporal authority, and one of my specific concerns is that temporal authority has a corrupting effect on clergy. Temporal authority in the hands of corrupt clergy undermines respect for religion far more than non-establishment does. If non-establishment were inimical to religion, would America be such a staunchly religious country? Many European countries have state religions, and most people feel satisfied that by paying their taxes they’ve satisfied any and all religious obligations (which, as taxpayers, they may resent).