In your opinion who is or was more intrusive in peoples day to day lives, religion or the government?

@SmashTheState, calling @SmashTheState. Please pick up the red courtesy phone.

Everything from regulation of cable companies to medications in your medicine cabinet to laws about the gas you put in your gas tank to labor laws that help you get overtime, breaks, etc., government easily has more influence than religion.

I’m confused. ;-p

I would say the Candadian government has never intruded in my life, whereas religion has appeared at my front door and intruded in the acoustic ambience of some of my days.

Religion.
It is far more insidious than anything the various governments have ever done.
The state may have spy agencies, snitches among the population, encourage some people to rat out their friends and families, and even turn schools into indoctrination centres.
But only religion has managed to convince people by the billions to freely and voluntarily internalise its perfidity, to embrace and love the mind control, and to actually look forward to to brainwash their own children and friends into their belief system, and betraying neighbours, friends and family to the inquisition, believing they are doing a good thing.
And religion can do this openly from the beginning, whereas the state needs to keep it secret, at least at first.

Religion.

But I’d have to say that it’s a close race.

Government based on religious laws.

Since I have no religion, I would say that for me, it’s the government. However, the government is generally intrusive in the kinds of ways I want it to be intrusive. And I appreciate the hell out of that.

Historically? Now? In what country? It’s not a simple answer. Sometimes religion is the government, or part of it anyway. For me I guess it’s the government since I’m a non-religious American living in America and I’m white, straight, and fairly average in most ways.

Religion, hands down. It affects people every day but politics, not so much.

@kritiper Not even in totalitarian systems?

@Sneki95 Yes.

As an adult, neither. Not unless I went to the government first, as in the case of applying to the Swedish government for a residency permit, or the US State Department for a visa to visit the Soviet East Bloc. The government pretty much calls all the shots, but it is a take it or leave it proposition. I did the intruding into somnolent bureaucratic offices.

As a kid, in my family and neighborhood, being sent to Catholic school was the natural order of things. The nuns were strict and fair and very dedicated teachers. I never felt intruded upon, though. Sometimes I was jealous of the public school kids. And as an adult, I wondered why the Catholicism part of all that schooling never took. I suppose some people are bad at math, and others are bad at buying into complicated catechisms.

Weird question. Today in the USA, religion is optional so the flock can blame itself for accepting the depredations and intrusions of their chosen congregation. Meanwhile the government here in the “land of liberty” is tracking our communications, movements, and transactions all the freakin’ time. See petition about the police raiding your cell phone traffic here.

In the past, in some places, religion was a contender, what with inquisitions and witch trials, and de facto obligatory belonging, excommunicated people being fair game for attack, etc.

Bad drivers.

As far as proselytisers? These are gnats. They don’t intrude upon me. When I lived in places where they are prone to operate, I used to have a lot of fun intimidating them.

Q: Have you accepted Jesus as your saviour?
A: Isn’t that kinda personal, pal? How many times a week do you fuck your girlfriend? Missionary style, doggie style, whips and chains? Is she any good at giving head?

Shit like that.

Some times I’d try to avoid the drama. I’d just tell them I was Jewish and their saviour’s blood runs through my veins. So, I don’t need saving. I’m automatically saved. It says so like a thousand times in the OT., for I am of His chosen people. Then the proselytizer would try to show me some place in the NT that nullified that promise and I’d tell him that is why we don’t do the NT: God doesn’t break his promises. Perfect beings don’t change the contract. And if that didn’t work, I go into the sex questions and get increasingly bizarre and step in closer and closer. That always worked. Fucking gnats.

As for the government shenanigans that @Zaku describes above: I’m aware of it, don’t like it and I catch myself sometimes before saying something really stupid on the net. But I don’t let it bother me. They aren’t interested in old broken down sailors or retired nurses quietly spinning off the mortal coil.

Government hands down. Religion is optional, government is forced at the point of a gun. If I choose not to give 20% to the church I don’t. If I choose not to give to the IRS, they come and get me. If I choose not to obey church doctrine I don’t. If I choose not obey government doctrine, they put me in jail. Seems pretty clear who is more influential.

@Jaxk – religion is not optional in some countries (and in some parts of the US, if you want to get along with people)

@elbanditoroso – Even where there is a Theocracy, it is the government that enforces the rules.

If it differs from one country to another, then you can’t objectively say who is more intrusive between government and religion.

@Sneki95 – Look up the definition of Government. According to Webster it is:

’ the group of people who control and make decisions for a country, state, etc.’

If you’re taking orders from the church, it is because they have taken over the government. There is no difference between countries on that issue.

@Jaxk What about the countries where the people stone your daughter to death if they think she did something their religion deems a stoning offense?

@Zaku – Seems pretty simple. If you want that practice to stop, do you change the law or the religion?
If it’s the law, that’s government.