Religious Tolerance

Depending on where you grew up the religion you practice may vary from other people of different places. If you were born in Salt Lake City, chances are you might be Mormon or they are called, Later Day Saints. If you grew up in Mexico, you probably are Catholic, and if you grew up in the Bible belt you might be Baptist, Methodist, or Pentecostal, which in themselves are not religions, but denominations under the Christian religion. If you grew up in India you might be Hindu, or Buddhist, and if you grew up in Indonesia and the Middle East you are probably Muslim. In America, as well as in other parts of the world, we have a mixture of all forms of religions that vary from one supreme God to many gods.

In Christianity, guilt, shame and fear are the three commonalities comprise the foundation of this religion. We are to feel guilty that we were born in sin, and we are to feel ashamed of behavior that is common to all human beings, and we are to be afraid that everything that was ever preached to us might be true after all, which will result in our eternal damnation if we do not repent and turn from our wicked ways.

What if you were born not to believe in this doctrine or any doctrine? Does that make you a bad person? I think not. It is my belief that abuse of religion does chip away at a person's self-esteem. If you don't believe in God, yet you are in every way a good citizen, pay your taxes, and help little old ladies across the street, who should tell you that you are wrong in your beliefs?

From the time the pilgrims landed in New England to escape religious tyranny from the Church of England, and founded Plymouth, Colony in 1620 religion has served a major purpose in America. The Bible was taught in as the major source of education, and the government that was formed was based on the Bible. The laws of the land were written on the premise of religious doctrine.

Then as people migrated to other areas, and as time passed, religious people became less tolerant others who may have had beliefs that were different from what was considered acceptable.