Religious based government

[Levis Pennae]

In the book I'm reading, the government and religion are one and the same. Do you believe this is a good idea? The book is "God Emperor of Dune" by Frank Herbert.

This series takes place in the far flung future. The government in the books after the first book has a government that is one with the galactic religion.
Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
God Emperor of Dune
I have not read these yet.
Heretics of Dune
Chapterhouse: Dune

Debate: is a religion based government a good idea?  

[Sanguvixen]

Well, that is kind of like asking if a Confederacy is a good idea. Look to the past, and look at human history. Judging by human history a government based on religion is not a good idea.

When you do that, you are just asking for the beginning of violence, instability, and war. It's self-destructive.

 

[Arios V]

Looking back at Human history, I wouldn't say having a Theocratic government is a good thing, it tends to lead to some problems.  

[Levis Pennae]

That's completely against what I think. Religion based governments had some of the longest reigns in history. The Greeks, the Romans, and the Babalonians(?) just to name a few off the top of my head. These governments were peaceful and long lasting because they were based on religion. But this was also in a day when science was the religion, so there was no questioning it. These governments only fail when the religion was undermined, mostly by outside invaders. This type of government would not be able to be done today because we now know more than religion can explain.  

[Cirosan]

While a theocracy in and of itself is not inherently evil, it can be corrupted extremely easily, as religion encourages blind obedience without any system of checks and balances.  

[Levis Pennae]

But isn't blind obedience the best thing for a government?  

[CaprinaePsi]

You're asking this in an Atheist guild? I'm pretty sure I can tell what the
results will be.

There isn't anything I can say that someone else here can say better, so I'm
just going to say that there's a reason why there's a separation of church and
state in the USA. Religion is usually too stubborn to change, but society is
always changing. Not only that, but as we should know all too much,
everybody has different beliefs, and no one religion can fully represent the
morals, beliefs, etc of everyone on Earth.  

[Oracle for Hire]

I think its a bad idea. More people have killed in the name of "god" than for any other reason. Also, when you base laws on the commandment or whatever your religious equivelent is, you become slaves to something that has no real power over you. For example, in many states it used to be illegal to sell alcohol on Sunday because they wanted people going to church.  

[Levis Pennae]

You guys are missing the point. In a government you want blind obedience. In our government we have no national religion, so therefore we need a separation. In the Dune series, each planet had it's own religion and it's own style of government. In this way they were able to have complete control over it's people. Once you read the Dune series you will get my points.  

[Baron von Turkeypants]

Sometimes a cigar...

No, in a government I want an agreement among the members of an organized society or between the governed and the government defining and limiting the rights and duties of each, not blind obedience.

...is just a cigar.

 

[PrezarioKaiser]

Is religion-based government a good idea... I'm going with no, simply because I have my own ideals in mind. I'm simply not one to just accept things the way they are (for example, "This is your god/reason for living, enjoy."). I'd probably still be Christian had I taken that mindset.

Of course, if I were ranked fairly high in such a government, perhaps even a leader, religion would seem absolutely ideal. Blind obedience? That's like ruling without having to try. Not having to work for appreciation (or anything for that matter) is always a thumbs-up in my books. But the idea of blindly obeying isn't as nice of a concept. People disagree. They worship different invisible men, follow different moral standards, or to put it bluntly, conflict. Applying religion-based government to today's society is a pipe dream.  

[Levis Pennae]

I'm not saying we should apply it to todays society. But in past societies this was a daily thing. Blind obedience to anything the head dude says is perfect for controlling large populations. And if you don't believe and obey, off with your head.  

[Dathu]

Well, religion precedes government, and was the first from of human organization, hense, nearly all early societies were religion based. However, in modern times, I think we can all agree that the idea of "seperation between chruch and state" is a sound one.  

[ProjectOmicron88]

I can't say how long something like that would last as long as there was debate about religion in a nation-wide arena. If everyone believed the same thing, then maybe it could work, but in the modern age where persecution is frowned upon, more skeptics and nonbelievers are coming out of the woodwork, and it creates more debate. I think unless religion eventually wins out, religion will never again be a solid pillar of any democratic government, at least not to the extent that we believe our president is a demigod. The fact that it can still influence public policy, however, is deeply disturbing.  

[Baron von Turkeypants]

levis pennae

I'm not saying we should apply it to todays society. But in past societies this was a daily thing. Blind obedience to anything the head dude says is perfect for controlling large populations. And if you don't believe and obey, off with your head.

Things will not calm down, Daniel Jackson.

Yeah, and look how far they progressed. Now look at societies like Athens and compare the two.

They will, in fact, calm up.