In Reply to: the proof is in the pudding posted by lydia on April 13, 2004 at 07:06:01:
I have yet to see a truly peaceful and tolerant Christian nation. I think any religion that gets in power tends to dominate and control. The only country that has what comes close to a peaceful surface is probably Japan, which is supposed to be Buddhist, but is about as Buddhist as most Christians in the USA are 'Christian', on other words, it's not really happening.
So, perhaps the lack of religion in Japan and the strong social and moral codes are what has given it some form of peace. Japanese are often born a Taoist, married a Christian and buried a Buddhist. They observe many of the ceremonies found in each, but it is mostly just that, a ceremony. They give gifts for Christmas, they visit the shrines for New Year and they chase the demons out of their house in February.
The country however is far from perfect and has many problems the nation is facing as a whole.