Citing committee rules that forbid discussion of closed-door proceedings, neither Mr. Roberts nor other Congressional officials would discuss the specifics of Thursday's session.
Further decrees required all preachers to be government-licensed, imposed a code of ethics forbidding discussion of politics in mosques, and banned smaller prayer halls from holding Friday prayers.
College groups now forbid discussion of politics, religious Muslims avoid going to mosque, and ordinary people hold their tongues for fear of making the wrong kinds of jokes, since any stranger could be a spy.
In fact, it is already illegal to forbid discussions of pay, under federal labor laws enacted in 1935.
Some gyms, like those run by Equinox, have strict codes of conduct forbidding "discussions of sexual, ethnic or religious issues" and other unprofessional behavior.
To bring an end to the controversy, Martin convoked and presided over the Lateran Council of 649 that condemned monothelitism and the Typos, an order by the Byzantine emperor Constans II Pogonatus that forbade discussion of Christ's wills.
Freemasonry has traditionally been a tolerant and diverse fraternity that forbids discussion of politics, religion and other potentially divisive topics, said Christopher L. Hodapp, a 32nd-degree Mason and the author of "Freemasons for Dummies".
His views have brought down the wrath of Turkey's authoritarian leaders, notably when he has argued against the government-enforced taboo that forbids discussion of the mass murder of Armenians and Kurds in Turkey.
Local opinion quickly becomes so divided that the barber posts a sign forbidding political discussion in his shop.
And one well-known financial pundit signed a divorce agreement forbidding any discussion of the former spouse whatsoever.
