Introduction

I have often been told that you should never discuss religion or politics in public, because it might start a fight.

I believe the reason those two subjects start fights so easily is because they are so important. Your own personal religious beliefs and political ideologies determine a great deal of who you are. Even if you have no particular belief, that determines much of your approach to life. Furthermore, the prevailing religious and political ideas of the country you live in and of the world as a whole are fundamental to determining the conditions of the country and the world as a whole.

I conclude that people with any real interest in the world or its future have to discuss religion and politics. Even if it starts a fight.