I think the religions should be taxed just like anything else. After that I see no reason to regulate them beyond watching for cultish behavior which I believe is already done.

Is someone jealous? 

Don't worry . Whatever the goverment is losing to religion doesn't affect you at all . 

An amazing thread as always Spurgeon.

OP: No.

The problem with religion is that its adherents are human.

Fully automatic rifles have been banned in the US since the 90's.  Semi-automatic   Also, life ending guns?  Is that supposed to instill fear?  Of course guns end lives.  For example, they will end the lives of home invaders in the event of house invasions.  But of course, we should all just wait for police right?  Also, they end the lives of crop destroying pests https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89UliEiQQyU for instance.

It's all about context really.  A just people don't need to have freedoms taken away but I guess religious and self-defense rights end where your feeling of security begins.

Religion has lost most of its "real" power to opress people the West and the West is much better off because of it, it's why the standard of living in the West and countries like Japan is so much better.

To make an analogy religion in the West and developed countries like Japan is like a dog that has been neutered and had its teeth removed. Not so scary and really doesn't have any bite. So in the West and countries like Japan, I don't think regulation is neccessary. 

Unfortunately the Middle East and Africa is not the same thing.

It's fine to have religion, but it should be kept out politics and running a country, all the countries that are conservative religious states are disasters.

You can't run a modern country using ideology from the stone age written by goat herders.

I'm only speaking for America as I don't live in those other countries around the world. But the seperation of government and religion seems to make the most sense WW. 

That is just stupid.

The church or the people getting married have to fill out the relevant government paper work anyway. It is no different that doing the paper work and getting an elvis impersonator  marry you in las vegas.

They are both government weddings. The only difference is that with a church one you get a free bonus God DLC.

Ultimately the solution is not regulation, the solution is education and toleration. Religion is not a "hobby," it is an organization centered around a belief/beliefs. Of course there will always be those extremists in such organization that commit crime in the name of their belief, but this is no different than say an extreme feminist harrassing a male in the name of feminism. The best thing to do is to educate people. Have classes centered around religions and their beliefs, not to prove them wrong, but to have people accept different viewpoints on life and become tolerant of others.

It is different because we socially and federally grand religions privelages that feminists don't have. 

And we do not have to spend money on classes, nor do we have to accept any viewpoint not founded on reason and evidence, particularly when such viewpoints often have ideas that are detrimental to peaceful coexistence.  For instance, the idea that everyone who does not share your views is hellbound is an idea that is directly opposed to peaceful coexistence.  The idea that there is a book that contains absolutely true is directly opposed to reason.  There is no reason to accept this.  We should use all civil and lawful methods to dissuade people of these beliefs.