Re: abortion must be a deciding factor for voting???
ah i see. i was thinking we're actually on topic :p. there is no real relevance of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to the topic of influence of christian fundamentalists on American politics, unless we're extremely apologetic about discussing/disparaging such Christians, and cannot do so without saying "others are bad too, there there"
I started a the topic and my intent was to discuss the relevance of religious groups on politics. at may seem apologetic to those who are carrying some chip on the shoulder.
its rather amusing that while you get into it in post#8 now you are wondering whether we are on topic.
there is no apology its is giving other examples to say that undue inlfuence of religion on state in other areas has been negative as well.
if you see that as "others are bad too there thre" then you are not reading it right
the religious right in Pakistan hasnt politically shaped policy as much as policy has been shaped then religion-ised. the only significant success of the religious right as far as policy is concerned, is the banning of music on public transport in NWFP. on a larger scale, i dont think thats either positive or negative. i think it just "is". that and hudood ordinance.
however you slice it, impact of religous groups or policies religion-ised to appease certain segment, it has a negative impact.
thats it.