A question about religion and politics on the forum

Since a discussion about religion popped up again recently on the forum, it prompted me to review the forum rules again. To my surprise, I didn’t see anything mentioned about either. I’ve read the forum rules at least a couple of times before, but it’s been a while. That was before the new forum format. I could have sworn there used to a rule earlier against discussing either, even though it was violated frequently.

I’ve participated in more than a few of those discussions in days gone by, but since then I’ve tried to avoid both and said “please don’t” on both topics when they come up.

So my question is simple:

Did there used to be a forum rule against discussing religion and/or politics?

Please be civil. This isn’t meant to be a contentious discussion, just a clarification of whether it was previously forbidden and possibly whether both topics should be forbidden.

I'll go ahead and say that I think both topics should be forbidden because I believe that it would accomplish nothing but producing ill will, hurt feelings and misunderstandings.

Your thoughts please. Be nice. I hope PG weighs in.

Thanks

Bob
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http://soundcloud.com/bobcflatpicke/music-in-the-mountains