Being judged for what you believe is stupid and completely ridiculous. I may think something is a complete lie but I’m not going to disrespect or judge the person who believes it. What is so crazy about freedom of belief in religion is that there is not 100% factual evidence for any religion. Religion is based upon the mystery of the unknown and how people relate to that mystery. There have been wars, we have been divided, and people have been killed over something that hasn’t even been proven to be 100% real . Whether you believe in Adam and Eve or believe that humans have created religion purely out of fear of death you have the responsibility to respect others and to not push your own beliefs on them.
“Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects?”
-James Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance, June 20, 1785
Virginia founding father James Madison is saying that the same power that established Christianity and excluded all other religions has the power to establish a certain kind of Christianity and exclude all other sects of it. He is directing this quote to Christians to try to get them to understand that excluding other religions is wrong. Virginians were very aware of this because some early settlers from England tried to make the Church of England the only state religion in Virginia. People like Thomas Jefferson and George Mason pushed back and encouraged others like Madison to see the value of religious freedom.
Our first amendment right states that we have the freedom to worship god as we choose but there have also been rules established. An example could be if you believe that sacrifice will bring the sun up every morning that doesn’t mean you can go out and kill someone . Even with these rules in place there is still a lot of grey area . In many states same sex marriage has been made legal and you would think after this law, married gays would have the same benefits any other married couples have, but some states that have legalized gay marriage have also passed a law that allows adoption agencies in the state to cite religious freedom as a reason to turn away potential same sex adoptive parents. Not only is this law depriving people from becoming parents but its hurting the foster children the most. Freedom of religion becomes tricky when different groups push back at what they feel is a forced belief.
We are all human, we all love and cry the same way, we believe what we believe simply from what we were taught but no one should believe someone is a lesser person just because they were taught differently.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_in_the_United_States
The video below speaks to the universal human spirit of truth and kindness. Some human values are universal no matter the culture.
This one speaks to the freedom of religious choice that is protected in America through the 1st Amendment.
Shehryar • May 25, 2016 at 2:20 pm
It was a good article about freedom of religion. In some way religion correspond on laws. We have to follow our religion in the limit of law.