Freedom to Worship

Freedom to worship is one of the things that make America great. Often, in other countries a faith (religion) empowers a person into leading his/her country and their people’s faith is a key to their success. While other countries have limited faiths we pretty much have them all. The first amendment in 1789 separated church and state; this along with our diversity of religions allows us to see that people should be treated in a non-biased manner and write laws with a consideration for humanity and not a single religious preference. I will have to admit that I do have biases against liars, thieves, laziness and evil but I don’t care what color you are, what religion you believe in or your financial status in society. Because of our multi-faith society, religions such as Scientology and Jehovah Witness that have medical procedures that they do not participate in are still bound by our laws when it comes to their children. And although the Mormon religion allows for polygamy our country does not. The same goes for religions that allow arranged marriages of young girls to older men. And just recently the Amish were cited for not having reflectors on their buggies. Rick Perry’s supporter Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress called the Mormon religion a cult and says we need a real Christian (whatever that is). It is un-American for a religion to play a part in getting a candidate elected; such thinking puts us back over 200 years. I don’t care if the President is Muslim or not. I need a President who puts religion aside and does what the country needs; Elisabeth Hasselbeck pointed out that both Romney and Obama have done this. I care that our laws and behaviors continue to show the separation. If a religion does not comply with our laws its followers should be held accountable for its non compliance; no exceptions should be made. This is the only way to assure that we continue to live with Freedom from Fear. So I believe France was right in not allowing the wearing of a Burqa (covers the face) to hinder the identification of a person.

I don’t know if the talk about Muslims building a community center in Manhattan near ground zero is over or not. I agree with Daisy Khan’s belief that if we show respect for one another’s religion and don’t profess superiority that we will be fulfilling God’s mandate instead of trying to convert others to our point of view. Ms. Khan says many Muslim societies do not practice pluralism; they do not treat minorities the way they should, with equal rights. It’s good to hear that the center would continue to have Shia and Sunni praying side by side and be a place for Muslims to evolve as a community. However, I suggest that a multi congregational center, housing Muslims, Catholics, Jews, Protestants and others that want to show solidarity, be built to show the world that we can live side by side. Otherwise, I do not feel that any single religious center should be allowed to be built on or near ground zero (just as we do not allow pornography, strips joints and more near schools). We should not confuse the Muslims’ freedom of religion with a location that may be unsuitable for a Mosque.

I do sympathize that Muslims are going through the same trials as Catholics and Jews. And, Mormons are still being subjected to discrimination. However, these religions did not have the destructive record of extremist Muslims. The extremist Muslims have given us a reason to be cautious. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to separate the good people from the bad and we have to deal with extremists of other religions also such as Pastor Terry Jones of FL that was wrong for burning the Koran, Pastor Fred Phelps, SR. of Kansas, and other Baptist pastors that tell their congregation to beat on their children.

I do believe that we as individuals must stop the continued use of religion to justify our prejudices. I also think we should not be using religion or ethnicity as a means for calling foul. I do agree with Ms. Khan in that the real fight is extremists of all religions versus the moderates of all religions and think that the moderates proving their point by making change in their countries are showing the world that they’re not all bad and they’re not afraid of their counterparts. Said action is getting international support and hopefully will lead to us all living in the world peacefully.

Ms. Khan also said that in the theology of Islam, God clearly says, I have created you into nations and tribes so you can get to know each other. I believe this coincides with the current thinking that we all come from 7 mothers (holds true through the Bible with 7 churches in Revelation) and further agrees with my thinking that anything other than good promotes evil.