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Defending Religious Persecution

Chicago, IL
By A.B. Dada
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I detest religion.

That pretty much sums up the entire theme of this article. It isn’t just the word that I don’t like, it’s the entire redefinition of that word. If we look up religion in the dictionary, specifically the Dictionary.com Unabridged version, we get the following definitions:

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Here we see that religion is a set of beliefs regarding the universe, containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. Right here we see the beginning of the problem with religion: governing the conduct of human affairs. When one person’s faith interdicts how another person lives, you instantly have a violation of the second person’s property rights and right to self maintenance. If that definition of religion was partially redefined to “containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs of only those believing in that religion,” I would have no concern over religion. But the general indifference to who that religion governs creates too much animosity in the world. I say we should all just move forward to ban the idea of religion in our lives.

The second definition, from the same dictionary:

2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

Ok, this is acceptable. As long as the beliefs are agreed upon by a number of persons to only pertain to that number of persons, it does not infringe at all on me or anyone else.

3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.

The third definition is also not ignorant of the right of others to believe what they want and live how they want, as long as they hurt no one. This definition of religion is also acceptable to me.

The rest of the definitions in that dictionary are relatively harmless, and just point back to the first three.

But religion has changed, especially in the modern world. Whether you are a Jew or a Christian or a Muslim or one of the many variances of those faiths, or a number of other faiths, the new definition of religion seems to be based solely on forcing your views on others, and condemning them for not having the same views. Even worse, the religious tend to fall towards using the State as the means of forcing others to live within the religious advocate’s worldview. This is where I take the biggest issue with.

Even though I consider myself a person of deep faith, I have started to disrespect those who have religion. It doesn’t matter what their religion is, the fact that they use their belief in a faith as a pedestal to launch attacks on others really concerns me. I’ve become concerned enough to gain a large prejudice against the religious. It’s starting to get to the point that I am persecuting those who have religion, including those who are close to me. I don’t want any part of it: the idea of forcing others to live a certain way, even if they’re harming no one, all in the name of a God, god or gods.

A simple example is a close friend of mine who tends to fall towards the Evangelical Pentecostal Christian religion. Their faith is not strong in their live, based solely on watching how they live it, but their religion causes them to want to attack others outside their religion using any means possible. If their neighbor uses drugs, this religionist is the first one to call the police, even though no harm has come to the religionist. If they see a pair of teenagers holding hands, they’ll be the first one to step forward to them and condemn them, on someone else’s property. If a foreign group of people show a different belief, this person wants to use military force to change them, all in the name of their religion. And they want me to pay for it.

Even though they can persecute others for their varying beliefs, I can not. I am not allowed to use a person’s religion as a reason for not hiring them. I am considered evil if I decide to stop talking to someone at a party or gathering solely based on their outrageous belief in their religion. I am dismissed at prejudiced if I say that some people’s religions are bordering on idol worship and cultism. I am frowned upon by friends and family if I call out a religious fanatic on their overwhelming madness in wanting to convert the world to their religion through force and property violations.

Religion, today, is defined mostly as one thing it seems: a person of vocal faith who wants to scare or force others to believe in that faith. Note that I when I say vocal faith, the emphasis is on the vocal part. Words are never as strong as actions. If a religious person wants others to look deeper into their faith, the actions must be stronger than the words. In the case of most modern Western religions, that is rarely the case. We have some minor believers of faith who may have acted in a manner that could be considered a true beacon of hope and love, but they are few and far between. Instead, we end up with mouthpieces that use condemnation, fear, judgment and usually force to basically scare the hell out of the unbeliever.

It’s counterproductive, and I find it disgusting. I want nothing to do with religion, or the religious. The faithful I admire, and appreciate, and will listen to. The religious can go away, for all I care.

So while I don’t advocate persecuting someone based solely on their religious beliefs, I do believe it is OK to remove them from your life the moment that their beliefs come out as a desire to force others to bow to the religious person’s God, god or gods. Once that person wants to use force, in some way, to change the lives of others, it is OK to walk away, vocally if necessary. Do not fear retribution when you call out the religious fanatic for their desire to use human force rather than kind example to change another.

Here’s my simple rules for the religious fanatic:

Homosexuality: Don’t like it? Be a beacon of marital perfection in your heterosexual relationship. Don’t condemn sex, promote the wonder and beauty of sex in your heterosexual marriage. Religious people, in my opinion, have no sex. It’s a stigma of some kind.

Abortion: Don’t like it? Adopt. Bring in as many children of unwed mothers as possible. Promote the beauty of taking in another. How about adopting a child of another race than your own, or even another religious background? Blog about it, tell the world. Don’t be shy to advocate adoption as the solution to unwanted children.

Drugs: Don’t like them? Get to know the addict. Find out what in their past has caused them to cling to their addiction. Invite them into your home, care for them, help them find work, and be positive to keep them on the up and up. I know people who want to use force against drug users, but put their own children or family on the street when the drug addiction causes their own family to steal from them or strike out at them. Be the stable platform for the addict to recover through.

Atheism: Don’t like them? Give them a reason to think about your faith. Instead of threatening them with hell and eternal punishment (neither of which I believe, even though I hold faith in the Bible as God’s story), how about enlightening them by being a strong and stable person of faith? Rather than casting them out of your life by scaring them too many times, how about showing them why your faith has truly changed you, made you different from the rest?

While these are only a few recommendations, the end result is the same: using force to change the lives of others doesn’t work, and it makes you look like an idiot. Using government to force change harms everyone who has to pay for the bureaucratic and ineffective state that has only one real desire: to make itself bigger and more powerful. Use peaceful means, positive examples, and hard personal work if you want to help others bring change in their lives.

Live as a person of faith, not as a person of religion. If you must be the latter, kindly understand that your kind isn’t welcome in my life. You’ve lost touch with reality, with your faith, and with your God, god or gods. Each day you spew your religious garbage in hate and vitriol is another day wasted for promoting your faith.