Reply #235: there are many policies that most people agree on, whether they claim

[rurallib]

such a belief is based on religion is somewhat immaterial.
The 10 commandments have comparable edicts in most religions and systems of ethics including atheistic humanism.
I do not believe in the death penalty either, but I come from a totally different direction.
Basically stealing and harm to others are covered by most systems of ethics. It is when one specific group tries to impose their particular belief set on others that I have a problem. And their gods and their twists that have become part of their religion over the years.

I hope that makes sense. One doesn't need religion to be good or moral. So whether you come at a problem from a religious standpoint and I come from a humanist based ethic system, we can agree that this is a good thing.

I get the impression that many believe that in order to be good, to be moral a person must be affiliated with a religion. My personal experience has been that the good, moral people are often the ones most distanced from religion. And, at least in my life, the closer to the religion people are, the more they use it to excuse their behavior. I would offer the priest who molested me as an example. And my parents and the nuns who defended him and condemned me because he was a man of god. I have many, many more examples.