Listen to this story |
Why do religions still preoccupy us when it comes to political decisions that affect people’s lives – even those that don’t believe in said religion?
Why is this happening especially in today’s world of technology and science.
Last week I was doing interviews with several high profile LGBTQ+ people for one of my articles and learned that one of my interviewees hadn’t come out to his family yet because they are extremely religious.
Over the weekend, I binged-watched this new documentary-series on Netflix called Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, which is about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS).
What was the most shocking for me was that the events of this documentary only happened around 20 years ago.
First, I just want to put it out there as a disclaimer that I don’t mind religions if people don’t degrade or harm others based on their religious beliefs. By all means, please believe in whatever you want.
And just for the record, I understand that religions can be the center of someone’s life, bringing peace or whatever to them through dark times. As long as you’re not harming anyone or bringing in hate, please carry on.
But when religions become a big deal in a topic like legalizing marriage equal, or becomes an excuse for parents to not accept their child’s identity, or forced polygamy, child marriage, and/or statutory rape, then it becomes a problem
That’s when I start to question why religions still have a place in this world and why it still has the power to control people and society.
To give certain groups an excuse to hurt, harm, or exclude others just because they don’t share the same kind of lifestyle as them is just beyond me.
And the reasons aren’t even valid because there is no one blanket umbrella that represents all people in a given society or polity.
So, to divide said society based on the misgivings of one group over another reeks of bad governance.
Arguing that someone’s rights can be repressed “because their lifestyle is a sin” seems incredibly shortsighted and wrong. After all, many of us are living in “sin” of one religion or another. To the worshipers of the Egyptian God Isis, we are all immoral.
Every religion has its quirks and restrictions and that is fine. But it is not fine when you place those same restrictions on others.
Perhaps it is time to just live and let live.