Some Religious Thoughts

There are somewhere around 1.5 billion Muslims in the world today. It is the second largest religion in the world, behind Christianity. So, saying that all Muslims are extremist, or that all Muslims are hate-filled, or all Muslims are jihadists is about equivalent to saying all 2.2 billion Christians are like the members of the Westboro Baptist Church or the Ku Klux Klan.

I am willing to bet that most Americans do not realize that Christianity actually has more common beliefs with Islam than it does with Judaism.

I keep finding it bitterly funny, and distasteful, how many politicians in America, and the west in general, claim to be Christian and yet every policy and reaction to proposals stinks of a lack of understanding of the Bible, Jesus' teachings, or God's love. God is supposed to be the only one who can judge man, yet I keep seeing a whole lot of judging going on. And, how is taking one small comment out of context and in contradiction to the overall message of the Bible a way to make a stand on any Christian matter? But you are smart enough to use that to oppress, vilify, and condemn entire subsets of people -- how so very Christian of you.

I have a feeling that most Americans do not know or, if they do know, do not understand, that America was founded on the principle of religious freedom by people who were being persecuted in their homelands. And, because of this miss understanding or lack of knowledge, that is why they want more (Christian) religion in politics. If they would just learn this truth, then they would see that the laws of America are the way they are for a reason... and specifically to keep them from doing exactly what they want to do to others who do not share the same belief system as they do.

Just because someone is Atheist, non-Theist, or Agnostic, does not mean they lack morals. Morality can be taught without a Theistic belief system. Concepts like it is wrong to kill, steal, or abuse others are not religion-specific. And when I see/hear a theistic person who says otherwise, I can't help but wonder what their agenda is for vilifying an entire group of people (who make up about 1 billion people in this world, and growing).

As more religions turn more conservative, militant, and fearful of "the other," I can't help but notice an upward trend in non-Theists. Why aren't more religions being more inclusionary?