Freedom of religion

I gather Barry O'Bama is about to visit Ireland. I wonder how his visit will compare with that of the Queen who completes a four day visit today? It's a hundred years since a British monarch has visited and by all accounts the visit was a great success.

Of course we have had nearly a century of troubles between the two largest islands of the British Isles, troubles of a largely religious nature. Although many of the early Irish nationalists were protestants what kept the two nations apart was the aggressive Roman Catholicism of Eamon Devalera. Ireland was a severely priest-ridden country which oppressed its people in an unacceptable way. No wonder the North wanted to have nothing to do with it. The pedophilia scandals that have since come out proves that they were right.

Freedom of religion is something we should all aspire to. No country that favors one particular religion over another is behaving honorably. I would favor the disestablishment of the Church of England. Disestablishment of the Anglican church in Wales certainly has not harmed the Christian church there. As for the so called Islamic states that forbid people from changing their religion, what are they afraid of? If Islam is so great who would want to depart from it?