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Re: More Politically Correct Religious Tosh

Tom Sacold wrote:

>  From this weeks New Statesman:
> 
>  Objects of religious significance are being removed from museum cases
>  across the United States and the United Kingdom. Artefacts are being
>  hidden away - in effect placed in deep-freeze. Public access, research
>  possibilities and academic freedom are being curtailed and closed down.
>  In the US, at the new National Museum of the American Indian in
>  Washington, material is removed and segregated if the objects are sacred
>  or have ceremonial status. Some may be seen only by certain privileged
>  individuals in a specific tribe. The public may thus view only some of
>  the material held in what is supposed to be a national collection.

If they choose to separate and exclude religious items from public viewing,
I fail to see any problem. In fact, some would say it is a step forward.
Then again, I am on uk.philosophy.atheism so my point-of-view and
interpretation might differ from others'.

>  Curators will not display part of the collection at the Hancock Museum in
>  Newcastle. Behind closed doors, they have separated parts of this hidden
>  trove into segregated boxes. Only men may look at the set of churinga
>  totems, given to young men of the Arrernte tribe in Australia when they
>  became adults. Any female researchers who make a special request to
>  examine the material will be "actively discouraged".

This shows quite prominently the controversial sides of religion in general.
Sooner or later, collections with a religious bias might be allocated
different sites, thereby catering for those with interest in religion and
for those with none.

Roy

-- 
Roy S. Schestowitz
http://Schestowitz.com

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