Originally Posted by hkkmr

It's does not matter whether or not anyone understand your religion, perhaps you're the one that does not understand your religion. As such the punishment for apostasy is still death and not was. However, in most societies, it is not a enforceable because thankfully the people that wish to do this are not in charge.



In some western countries, there is only a ban on religious expression within a governmental school or other governmental buildings typically. I do not agree with the full public bans, but this is just not the case. As some government are a secular institution and cannot promote one religion or another, it's participants cannot overtly display and make these expression when participating in government, either as a citizen, student or employee. This is the interpretation of some governments, by no means all.

You are not allowed freedom of speech in all government functions or government processes. Your practice of religion is not necessarily protected in this location, but neither is a practice of another religion enforced.

Just as you're not allowed to speak out of turn in the Congress or a court room, in some governments, one is not allowed to promote their religion.

In the Muslim nations, there is sometimes a strain of sectarian violence that relates to differing interpretation of Islam. This sectarian violence is sometimes is avoided by the ban of sectarian forms of dress within public areas.

Religious rhetoric as a whole against these bans are typically motivated by deep political motivations and they have no interest in the freedom of others and typically no ethical restraint against enforcing harsh and uncompromising practices upon dissenting groups when they get into power.

Secular society is not here to promote your religion or allow a podium in the government for religious indoctrination. It is mostly to prevent groups from enforcing their practices upon other groups. As a whole, religious practices are not protected in the majority of secular constitution. Religious beliefs are protected, but not practices such as polygamy, killing people for apostasy, animal sacrifice and in some places the wearing of sectarian garb. In most cases, the rules in western society are not in contradiction with these precedents.

In the case of religious garb, it is only banned within the operation of the government and the governmental education system in France, which is a narrow context for your criticism. The criticism being levied against some Islamic nations is that the entirety of a female's day to day life is being restricted without context. Irregardless of their status or choices in life, their dress and expression is restricted. This is fundamentally different then the creation of neutral areas of interaction within schooling and government.

Is the practice of religion being restricted in these neutral areas, certainly in some secular states, but this is not necessarily wrong or improper to the function of a secular society.

In no case is the enforcement of dress upon gender lines and in all areas of life the same nor would such a system of oppression be tolerated under most secular societies.