Musings on the Nature of Religious Discrimination

So, I feel a need to say this…

It really hurts someone when you reject them for being different than yourself.

Now, you may be thinking, why would I ever do that?  But I would like you to consider your reaction when you discover someone is not religious.

You probably think to yourself, How is that even possible?

You wonder how they’ve gotten through life all these years without picking something up.

You continue to marvel, but you also begin to pity them.

You make it your mission to “show them the light”.  I’ll save them, you think.

You try your hardest—take them to your place of worship, show them your holy texts, even pray with and for them.

For some reason, though, it doesn’t work.  They don’t believe what you say.

You’re dumbfounded.  I know what’s right; I know the truth, you think.  It’s in my holy text.  My place of worship says it.  It must be correct.  How don’t they see that?

You try harder.  They still don’t accept it.  You begin to lose hope.

Recognizing that you will probably never win them over, you drift away.

You can’t relate to them, you don’t share the same beliefs, so how can you be that close?  It just won’t work.

Is this what would happen?  Maybe not.  However, it has happened to me almost my entire life, with nearly all of my friends.  And I’m writing this to say that I am sick of it.  I’m sick of people attempting to convert me, to convince me that their own version of “the truth” is correct.  I’m sick of feeling like I’m not good enough, like I’m broken, just because we don’t share the same beliefs.

While I appreciate the fact that it mostly comes out of a desire to “save” me, I don’t appreciate the fact that, in doing so, you imply that I’m going to hell, or some such, if I don’t believe what you do.

I also don’t appreciate the fact that most of you have never really sat down and given serious thought to what you believe and why you believe it.  You think of me as stubborn and close-minded because I won’t accept your beliefs, even after I’ve given them some consideration, but the fact that you won’t even consider anything but what was spoon-fed you since before you could talk makes you even more close-minded than I could ever be.  If you haven’t questioned your own beliefs, what right do you have to question my lack thereof?  The correct answer is none.

Now, if you came to your faith on your own, through your own seeking, then I commend you for doing so.  Nay, I applaud you.  You’ve actually thought about what you proclaim, and you can therefore proclaim it with pride.  Congratulations, truly.

To the rest, though, until you’ve considered that you might be wrong, I forbid you to tell me that you are, without-a-doubt, right.