(sorry for the delay - this was typed out at home Saturday, but not submitted)
blah Wrote:I don't disagree that the girls should be given the choice. However my point was that at one time most of the above either were or are illegal. Did the acts themselves become different over time or did public opinion change over time?
As recently as the 1940's the average age for marriage for girls in India was 13. Now the average is almost 20.
First, I'll note that an interesting spin on one of your examples raises this question - if you lived in Saudi Arabia and wanted to belong to a Christian polygamist cult, would you build a ranch out in the desert and flout the law in your own little world? The kind of societies that outlaw religious expression (completely, as opposed to specific aspects - child rape, polygamy, virgin sacrifice being examples of ritualistic aspects) are also the kind of societies that will kill to enforce it. Germany outlawing the "Church" of Scientology could be considered an exception if the Church of Scientology could be considered a religion.
I also think your wrong on the facts of Saudi Arabia - my understanding is that they only outlaw houses of worship (including those that are "impromptu"), and don't outlaw being Christian or private worship (being Jewish is a different matter entirely).
Violating the law is distinct from civil disobedience. Rapists and other thugs routinely ignore the law and do what they want to do without regard to consequences. It's not that much different from what polygamist cults do.
It's not that you're not raising interesting questions. Ultimately I think the answer is that - no matter how much "fundamentalists" or others that hold dear to an array of various principles don't like it - morals are by definition evolving and relative to the context of a given society. 100 years ago, marrying 15 year olds may not have been morally repugnant to Christians in the United States - today it is. 200 years ago, slavery was not morally repugnant to many Christians in the United States - today it is. Certainly some moral issues are immutable across various societies and points in time in those societies - murder, theft, incest, etc. (one would think rape, but apparently not if you look at incidents of gang rape as tribal retribution in Afghanistan and Pakistan). Ethics should be immutable, but issues such as how much skin may be shown by a woman are moral issues and have little to do with ethics.