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Isn't it really about something else, deeper than a simple demand that your culture stay the same as it is now?
I thought I addressed this. I'm not bothered about things staying the same. I want culture to get better. If Islam brought with it cultural enrichment, I wouldn't have a problem.
Christianity is going on 2,000 years old and these values you ascribe to Christian culture haven't even been around for 100 years, yet.
I don't ascribe recent tolerance of homosexuals to Christian values. I credit Christianity with forming the basis of our moral framework. Thankfully, in modern times we've begun to recognise Christianity is far from perfect, and have allowed our culture to evolve.
(in America. I think you guys are a bit more chill about gay marriage in the UK, so feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken.)
The Church here don't have nearly as much influence in state policy, compared to USA. Homophobia obviously still exists in the UK, but it's much better today than even when I was a child, I can see how much things have changed in my lifetime. Gay marriage certainly still has its opponents here, but they are in the minority.
Furthermore, it's Christian values that fight against women's right to abortion, it's Christian values that continue to persecute homosexuals.
Not here. I accept Christianity has some very serious flaws, I'm glad I live in a country where we have tended to abandon those flaws.
You can respect whatever you like. If you say you "have to" from a purely subjective, "otherwise I'm lying to myself" position, then I totally get that.
I have to recognise that Christianity plays a very important role in British history. Would I change that if I somehow could? It could be worse. We have a very long and varied history. Some of it I'm proud of, some of it ashamed of. But when I'm stood next to a 1000 year old church, imagining what life was like in my backyard back in those times, I have a tinge of respect for the role that Christianity has played through the entire existence of that church. It's been the focus of countless generations of villagers, still to this day.
This isn't just my national history, it's my local history too. So yes, I respect Christian influence, even if I struggle to respect Christianity itself.
"those people don't belong here because they don't want to assimilate into my culture, they want to inundate my culture with their own."
Yes, pretty much. If that culture just happens to be compatible with ours, it's not a problem. Many immigrants have come here and enriched our culture... Chinese, Carribean, Indian, Polish... they have all faced discrimination, but I am happy we allowed these guys in. I am only against mass Islamic immigration. I feel it's the least compatible culture with ours, we could pick virtually any other source of immigration and have improved cultural benefits.
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