u/Crashed_teapot

How do you feel about regional (European) federalist movements like Volt Europa? Do you feel they could be intermediary steps to a world federation? The viewpoint within Volt (at least on Reddit) seems to be mixed, with some viewing a European federation as a step to a global federation, and some viewing it as an end-goal in itself (honestly some people in that sub come across as pan-European nationalists rather than cosmopolitans).

There is of course, from a European perspective (which is mine, since I'm Swedish) an immediate case to be made for a stronger EU as a way to stand up to Russia, China, and increasingly the US as well to defend democracy and human rights.

I know that pretty much all skeptical organizations have among their principles that they don't deal directly with religion unless it makes claims that interferes with science. I also know that Martin Gardner, one of the founders of the modern skeptical movement, was a theist. And I also know that religion is a spectrum, from the Young Earth-creationists to the Jesuits and the mainstream Protestant denominations (like the current and former state churches in many European countries), who are typically science-friendly. And there are of course atheists who are anti-science (like Bill Maher).

Still, my hunch is that if you are dedicated to scientific skepticism, it is hard to end up as something other than atheist/agnostic, at least after a while. There is no good reason to believe in any god, and the claims about history that we find in religious books fit poorly with what historical research and archaeology tell us about history. But I know that people can and do compartmentalize.

Have you ever met anyone who is (overall) a good skeptic, and who is also religious?

Secularism, religious freedom (including the freedom not to believe) might be taken for granted by Volt. But I think it could be worthwhile to explicitly state that out. If I remember correctly, the Vatican did try in the past to get references to Christianity into official EU documents.

Rather it needs to be spelled out that Europe has been the home to pre-Christian religions, Christianity, Judaism (even before the Jewish-Roman Wars), Islam, and that in modern Europe, also other religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. And that modern Europe has a sizable non-religious population, but that skepticism toward religious beliefs is ancient in Europe (for example the ancient Epicureans), not just a modern phenomenon.

I couldn't find any official Volt document related to secularism. Did I miss it, or is there none?