"Why Believe in God" ad campaign

[David E]

Originally Posted by flippyshark

It was Tokyo. (Which, I guess, falls somewhere around category 4 - essentially secular, with ceremonial observance of Shinto and Buddhism.)

See, but I don't think the Buddhist influence is just ceremonial. It's the basis for their sense of morality. And the fact that there is ceremonial participation indicates that there is more of a connection than in a more secular place where you would worry about your wallet, like Detroit. And the difference between these two cities illustrates that there is not a common biological morality that doesn't need nurturing, as Gouhlish Delight thinks.

Originally Posted by flippyshark

Willingness to defend seems important to your value judgement of a society, and I guess I understand that. It has to survive if it is going to continue to offer value.

But it's not just self preservation. If you see someone being mugged or bullied, don't you think the right thing to do is to help them if you can, even though you yourself are not being threatened?

Originally Posted by flippyshark

So, I don't see why a country couldn't be officially secular (tolerating all religions and beliefs within it but not endorsing any of them)

I totally agree. That's the idea of the US. The founding fathers envisioned a secular government and a religious population. (Federal government to be exact. States were allowed to be set up according to how people saw fit with Maryland being Catholic and NH Protestant, there was more religious endorsement at the state level, but it was not so much through laws as ceremony).

Originally Posted by flippyshark

The monotheistic religions carry a great deal of cultural capital (even with godless folk like me), but I can't find a fixed set of values (personal or institutional) in any of them.

You mean that makes sense for you right? You are not denying that each has a known set of values (I pointed some out in my 1-5 list.)

Originally Posted by flippyshark

Endless wars have been carried out within these religions, endless splits and schisms, reforms and reactions. Have you yet specified which values, and if fixed, by whom?

Here again, these splits have been more over theology than values, and I am not arguing for any particular theology.