The last few weeks have got me thinking about religion, my religious beliefs, my family's beliefs, etc., a lot and I thought it'd be a good topic to write about.
Let's start off with me telling you what I believe. On paper, I would say I'm a Missouri Synod Lutheran (within the Christian faith). What that essentially means is that I believe that Jesus Christ is my savior, was born, died, and rose again for me, yadda yadda yadda you've all heard it before. Traditionally, that also includes some rather, in my opinion, negative notions regarding homosexuals, transgender individuals, women in the church, premarital sex, people of different religions, etc. I don't believe that any of those are necessarily "wrong." I refuse to believe that my God would send someone to hell for who they love, how they were raised, or who they were born to be. There are obviously some limitations to that, but nothing in religion (or science, for that matter) is ever concrete, so I won't get into that now. I also don't believe that my "God" is it. I think that the Jewish God, the Muslim God, the Hindu God(s), and mine are all the same "person." You're free to disagree with me, but please keep it to yourself. I don't challenge other religions (one of my best friends is Hindu and I have plenty of friends who are agnostic/atheistic), so please do not challenge mine. It's just what I (think) I believe.
Anyways, now that that is out of the way, let's dive into the real issue. Two days ago a 40-year-old Caucasian Army veteran named Wade Michael Page walked into the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin (located on Hwy 38 by Rawson, for those of you from the area) shortly before 11 AM and opened fire with a 9 mm pistol, shooting and killing 6 individuals including the temple President. Media, both social and popular, jumped to the conclusion that this was a Christian-religion motivated attack, until it was discovered that Page was a Neo-Nazi. Neo-Nazism was described by an article in the Huffington Post as such:
"Neo-Nazi violence divides the world into the good guys and the bad guys -- the whites and the people of color -- and then employs violence against turban-wearing people of color who threaten 'our way of life,' and murders women preparing their afternoon communal meal."
I think that sounds pretty accurate, as far as I've learned. Anyways, so what that means is that this attack was against the people of the Sikh religion, not because Page was a Christian and thought that they were "going to hell" for their beliefs, but because he was a Neo-Nazi who believed that anyone pretty much other than white individuals threatened his "way of life," whatever that means.
In the aftermath of the ordeal, some religious communities, namely the notorious Westboro Baptist Church, took this tragedy as an opportunity to preach. There is an article about it here, but essentially some members of Westboro decided to tweet things like "Beautiful work of an angry God who told Wisconsin to keep their filthy hands off his people (WBC)! #godsenttheshooter!"
I'm showing you this for one of two reasons, the first being bias. Clearly I have a religious bias. Reading this, you know I am Christian and will defend my beliefs. But, the Westboro Baptist Church is also considered part of the Christian religion, and by showing you that I am revealing my faith's weaknesses. My second reason is to prove a point: Just because one, or even thousands, of individuals in a religion believe something, does not mean everyone does or that their religion, or religion in general, is "a bad thing." Prime example, besides this Westboro incident, is the fact that the Christian religion traditionally preaches that homosexuality is wrong, whereas I think it's awesome and should be treated with no less sanctity than any heterosexual relationship and/or marriage. Yet, I'm a Christian. How can that be? Oh, wait, there are exceptions to every rule. I know we were all taught that in school.
Now, obviously this attack has something to do with religion, since it was an attack on a religious place and people of a specific and single religious background. I'm not denying that.This attack, however, was not about one religion hating another (namely Christianity hating Sikh). It was about ignorance. It was about the fact that people, including myself, do not care enough about others to learn about their backgrounds or their cultures or beliefs (this includes people of both religious background and those without). It is because people are inherently inclined to believe that themselves, as individuals, are better than everyone else, and some people, like Page, take it a couple thousand steps too far and decide that the best way to fix the problem is to "get rid of" the problem.
Ignorance is a debilitating thing. It is something that everyone has to deal with, and can be switched around on you in one simple maneuver. For example, I could say that because someone automatically assumed that a 40-year-old white male is Christian, they are being ignorant. There are plenty of 40-year-old white males who are not Christian. There are white Buddhists, Muslims, Islams, Aetheists, and I'm sure Sikhs as well. While the majority of Caucasians who practice religion are probably Christian (I'm not taking the time to look it up), you know what happens when one assumes.
In the modern world, I've noticed that people are more likely to assume religion has more bad qualities than good. Yes, there are religions that preach to individuals who believe that people who practice other religions are wrong and are "going to hell." There are religions who go on mission trips with the sole purpose of "converting" people from their "pagan" religion. But there is also the side of religion that is (what I consider) good. There is the side that taught me, and countless others, to "love thy neighbor as thyself." Or the side that inspires people to come out of their darkest selves. Or the side that teaches to give to charity or not to murder or lie or steal. Don't forget, either, that our country's code of law was built basically in reflection of the Ten Commandments (whether you agree with that or not, it's true). Assuming all of those sides are on the same side, I'd go as far as saying that side is a terrific one to be on, and one that I am proud to say I try to live by.
So, moral of the story is, I guess, that before you go and discount religion and say that it is the root for these kinds of crimes, firstly know the background of the situation you're talking about, and then try to remember that religion is not always bad. In fact, I'd argue that religion, as far as I've seen, has only bettered peoples' lives.
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