Quote:
Originally Posted by Snakeeye
None of the Mormons I know have been forced to give every penny of their savinngs to the church.
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Mormon's are expected to give up to 10% of their income to the church... now this is not required.... but you are pretty much pushed out of the church if you dont....
if you want to see where this money is going.. take a tour around the Temple grounds in Salt Lake city...
In the grand scheme of things..... all religions have varying levels of control they like to impart on their members... Scientology and Jehovahs witnesses tend to be more strict... while anglican and other protestant sects tend to impart less control.
I beleive the point Cheese i making is that religions tend to corrupt those in power and lead those underneath to beleive that they are protected from their sins they commit... so... as a religious leader with power over a large population you can make them do immoral acts and rationalize it easier than if you have a population of secularists/atheists who will be harder to control.
Personally, i beleive that one can have faith in a higher power without resorting to being involved in a religious group. However some people like the community involved with being in a church... which i can understand as well... you meet new people and you are part of a community....however i dont beleive that someone who goes to church is any holier than someone that chooses to believe on their own.... or even any holier than the normal atheist. A religious person that commits a crime is no different than an athiest that commits a crime.... a crime is a crime is a crime...
Sure church groups do a lot of charity... but are the people there doing it because they feel it is the right thing to do... or are they doing it to advance their standing within their church/peers ??