There`ve been plenty of religious wars over which laws are God`s laws. But most of them have been fought for economic and political advantage, using religion as a pretext. And even more have been fought without even the pretext of religion.
There`s been plenty of vicious oppression from laws that make no claim to be God-based, in North Korea, Kampuchea, East Germany, the USSR, China. On a percentage basis, atheistic regimes are worse than theistic ones.
More important, liberal democracy requires religion. Liberal democracy is based on the supposition that every individual human being is of infinite worth. Thus each is equal before the law, and equal in the state. That supposition of individual equality and of individual infinite worth derives from the idea that each person was created in God`s image.
For an alternative view, read atheistic philosophers like Peter Singer. He argues, reasonably from an atheistic viewpoint, that a healthy dog is of more value than a disabled child. |
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