“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.” -Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662)
A religious foundation, regardless of denomination or belief, is historically the backbone of every civilization. People are willing to live, die and move mountains for their belief systems. This, of course, has its advantages and its disadvantages.
No matter how pure one believes their beliefs to be, there will always be individuals who have radical ideologies concerning its teachings.
Religion gives people something to believe in. It gives people something to belong to. It gives people something to hope for. It gives people a morality system.
But sometimes, religion gives people a clutch for violence, hate, bigotry and evasion of responsibility.
From the early crusades to modern-day suicide missions, terrorist attacks and domestic dissidence, some people use their religious beliefs as justification to harm those whom don’t believe as they do.
Religion has the ability to unify nations whom are fundamentally different; but, it also has the power to further wedge a division into an already divided people.
We’re all raised with a sense of morality – standards that cannot be legislated or manipulated or compromised. Most of these standards have roots in a religious doctrine.
The problem is that these standards can possibly change from one religion to another. What may be orthodox for Religion Alpha may be completely taboo for Religion Omega.
The disconnect is not with the religion itself, but rather with the individuals who radically follow the doctrines of that particular religion.
It’s almost a Catch-22: Religion doesn’t make people violent – there is such a thing as free will; but, people are taught what is right and what is wrong and are very unlikely to stray from these ideologies as they grow older.
What one considers right and wrong, especially in the name of religion, is what shapes their view of the world and those in it.
There is a certain level of tolerance that must be present in order to be unconsumed by a world that does not embrace your belief system.
If there is no tolerance, then there is no hope for peace.
Tolerance does not mean passiveness, but rather acceptance. Stand for what you believe in, but don’t criticize those who believe differently.
Criticism has the power to develop into rage. Rage for the sake of religious doctrine not only undermines the foundations of a belief system, but it also has the ability to lash out to those that don’t subscribe to it.
Be passionate about your God. Be aggressive about your salvation. Be accepting to inevitable disagreement.
