Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought this country was built on religious tolerance. Unless when they say ‘religious tolerance’ it really means “we tolerate you as long as you believe what we believe in” or “as long as you believe in religion as WE know it.” Right. Am I missing something here?
Courtesy of WSVN: Residents want sign promoting atheism removed
So when I hear about people protesting against a billboard like this it makes me get very confused. The same people who complain about said billboard are probably the same people who wouldn’t blink twice if the advertisement is for their own religion.
Religion has always been somewhat of a touchy subject to me. This is because my thoughts on religion and “God” are different from people I personally know. In other words I’m the black sheep among my group of family and peers. I usually don’t go around talking about it unless asked because I think it’s personal. But basically I believe that faith in “God,” if you do believe in one, and subscription to a specific religion do not have to go hand in hand. This is because if there is a “God”, he (or she) exists in the mind of the believer and each person’s relationship with this “God” is supposed to be highly personal and not be forced on other people.
Theoretically, this makes religion pointless. But even I have to agree that religion does serve the purpose of creating a community, something that humans on a primitive basis need to survive. Given the personal nature of “God,” in my humble opinion, I also believe that everyone (even atheists) has a “God” although this may not be “God” in the religious/Christian/Islam/etc. sense of the word. For me, the concept of “God” is humanity’s way of giving a face to an innate need for happiness, purpose, and interconnectedness. In my eyes, most people are somewhat disconnected with themselves. They sort of know what they want but they look for external validation in some shape or form for what they want to do or should do in life.
When a man says yes, his chi (or ‘personal God’) says yes also. – Igbo proverb
I think this proverb probably sums it up pretty well. If you think about it, it is sort of like a chicken and egg question. Which came first: the chicken or the egg? Which came first: man’s wants or “God’s” wants? For instance, suppose you encounter a person who proclaims that “God” called on them to be the greatest artist that ever lived. You kind of have to wonder if the person wanted to be an artist all along but feels better CREATING external validation in order to give themselves the green light. Does “God” ever makes his/her wants that obvious or is the person projecting his/he desires into “God”?
Not that there is anything wrong with this. There are no right or wrong answers. Each person creates a reality for themselves in order to understand the world better. Who am I to say that one person’s reality is wrong and another person’s reality is not? Who am I to say that the Christian “God” exists but “Allah” doesn’t? Who am I to say that an atheist is wrong and will burn in hell while my Mormon beliefs are guaranteed to bring me eternal salvation (I am not Mormon, by the way)? Who am I to say that there is an afterlife or not? It is not my place.
What I’ve described before is my reality but it may not be yours. It doesn’t give me a right to force my beliefs on you or vice versa. I’m always up for an interesting debate but at the end of the day I usually agree to disagree while still taking something away from it. Why? Because I share the world with 6 billion plus people and what I believe is only a tiny speck of sand in the middle of the beach. But I also have a right, as an American citizen, to reach out to others with similar beliefs just like any other person. If I am not the typical white, middle America, Protestant person (and I am none of these things), it doesn’t make me any less of an American and it doesn’t make me any less deserving of the rights this country was built upon. It is a fact that anybody who is not Christian of the Protestant variety has been discriminated against more or less at some point in American history. So much for religious tolerance even if, granted, the U.S. is still one of the safest places in the world to subscribe to any religion (or not).
If any old church can purchase billboard space anywhere they please promoting their services and welcoming people into their community (and I’ve seen plenty of them) why can’t any other person of other faiths (or lack of) do the same? If people are so bothered about seeing billboards advertising a different faith or opinion than their own, then they should think twice about advertising or proselytizing their own faith. If you are firm in your belief of whatever “God” you believe in, then a measly old billboard shouldn’t make you that uncomfortable. Unless, of course, your faith really isn’t that strong in the first place. And if it isn’t, that’s fine, too! You are your own person and you are allowed to walk your own path to happiness and fulfillment no matter what other people tell you!
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