IdleRich
IdleRich
Someone saw pictures on my socials of all the people here for the Pope and they said "I thought Portugal was a secular country?" - and it struck me that, for one thing, I didn't know if Portugal was a secular country or not, but more than that, I realised I didn't really know what it would mean if Portugal were a secular country. I believe that a country can have a majority in a particular religion without it meaning that that religion is official so there is more to it than that.
Also I know that some countries have an official religion (or more than one) and some countries don't, but if a country has no official religion does that make it secular or is there involved to make a country officially secular? I know that many countries have a separation of church and state, but does that mean that they are secular, or is it possible for a country to have an official religion but still separate it from the state?
I remember when we went to Morocco they told us that Islam is the official religion and so if you are born there you are Muslim by default, which is quite interesting as, that might lead you to think that Morocco is aggressively or intrusively religious, but as far as I could tell Morocco does not feel like that at all. But is this defaulting to the official religion something that is necessary or sufficient for the religion to count as official... or is it neither?
in short, my understanding of this is patchy and confused and adds up to very little.
please someone, change that for me.
Also I know that some countries have an official religion (or more than one) and some countries don't, but if a country has no official religion does that make it secular or is there involved to make a country officially secular? I know that many countries have a separation of church and state, but does that mean that they are secular, or is it possible for a country to have an official religion but still separate it from the state?
I remember when we went to Morocco they told us that Islam is the official religion and so if you are born there you are Muslim by default, which is quite interesting as, that might lead you to think that Morocco is aggressively or intrusively religious, but as far as I could tell Morocco does not feel like that at all. But is this defaulting to the official religion something that is necessary or sufficient for the religion to count as official... or is it neither?
in short, my understanding of this is patchy and confused and adds up to very little.
please someone, change that for me.