The World's Largest Coalition of Nontheists and Nontheist Communities!

Greece, my country, is broke but still paying the Church

My country, Greece, is broke. The government is cutting old people's 600 Euro pensions however, they are still paying for the Greek Orthodox Church to the tune of $250,000,000. All priests in Greece are government employees. This was something that has been going on since the early 1980s. Before that the church was not government run. So I do not understand how this can still be going on in a multicultural Europe and in a midst of an economic crisis. No government should pay for any religious group. The faithful can donate if they want, but why should I, as a tax payer, pay for something I am not interested and that is optional. On top of all these, the Greek priests demand tips to perform a service. I was the best man in my friends wedding and the priest asked me for 400 euro to perform the service (I will not go into the details because many other unethical things did take place in this occasion).

I am only a guy, I cannot do much. I need your help somehow. We need to make this change. What are your thoughts and suggestions?

Tags: Church, Greece, Greek

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Hiram on December 14, 2010 at 10:05am

Are there any atheists' organizations in Greece? You should meet with other atheists and speak to an attorney about this problem, so that you can legally challenge this paradigm but you need at least other atheists and people from other religions to come together on this issue. This can only be changed through struggle and through getting organized.

If the people are gonna be paying their salaries, then they therefore OWN the churches and should feel free to either sell them out to use the capital for more useful things like hospitals or schools ... or the people can FIRE the priests.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Meddlesome on December 14, 2010 at 10:48am

The faithful can donate if they want, but why should I, as a tax payer, pay for something I am not interested and that is optional.

Can you petition the taxman to transfer the portion of your taxes that would be sent to the church elsewhere ? (hospitals/ambulances/elderly care/nuclear weapons etc...)

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tam on April 22, 2011 at 4:38am

That is unfortunate, I think change will come slowly but surely. Times are changing science and progress move forward, the priests very much live in the past. I also think as citizens in debt high countries in Europe look at their budgets, they will not see the churches entitled to special treatment. It will be a challenge to change an entrenched and favored institution in the country. I think a good political goal to achieve is the separation of state and church, to push for religion as a private matter and not a matter of public funds. Normally Atheists don't have much to agree with with religious folk, but you can find common ground with religious groups who don't get free money from the government. Atheist groups that lobby the government are rare and often ignored, you may have better results if you worked with a taxpayer advocacy group that is seeking constitutional reform.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Secular Forces 2013 on April 22, 2011 at 8:53pm

and the Royal wedding honeymoon is heading there so...
it's typical of touristy places... that have that 'heritage' of holy whatever...

word is there's huge penalties for freethought pot there as opposed to tickets here..
can't have xitans thinking outside the box now right? rriiiiight

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Susan Stanko on April 22, 2011 at 9:21pm

and the Royal wedding honeymoon is heading there so...

How do you know this.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Robert McLean on April 23, 2011 at 12:33am

Err...$250 Million?? Sh*t!! Bugger looking after the pensioners who've paid tax all their working lives, and make sure the government looks after the least productive members of society, the clerics, that gaggle of dewy eyed vacuuous twits in nice robes. And they want tips to do what ever it is they are supposed to do! Maybe for Greece, start an organisation to get a new and improved constitution drawn up.