Mankind’s yearning for spiritual fulfillment, as we have all seen too clearly, can lead to evil places. It’s a truth that speaks to us today, and a truth that should make all of us celebrate the religious freedom that is the most basic cornerstone of our republic.

Religion badly misused has led a few people to believe they would find holy atonement by crashing jetliners into buildings filled with thousands of innocent people. It has led to persecutions in the past, to wrongly-fought wars and evil alliances.

For most people on this planet, religion is about all that is good. It is about freeing the soul and striving for a level of understanding and cooperation that only the most enlightened are able to reach. The rest of us can only try, and in doing so we usually make the world a better place.

Right now, some in this country are practicing a kind of persecution that must be stopped. Arabs, Sikhs and Middle Easterners of all nationalities and religions are being criticized, attacked and even killed. Some of the perpetrators of this wave of violence are simply ignorant, while others think all Muslims are fanatics who want to take part in suicide killings.

Here, in this country, such actions against anyone merely because of their religion will not be tolerated. We must not fight ignorance and hatred with more of the same. We must reach out to Muslims and let them know such acts are not condoned. They and all people of all faiths will always be welcome here.

While our government moves its armies and battleships into position, we must remember what our soldiers who will put their lives on the line are defending. We will have to weigh the troubling prospect of suspending some civil liberties while this war on terrorism is fought. In the end, though, we must not forget that all these are merely means to a higher end — to protect and regain our freedoms.

We often have our own squabbles as we continue to build a multi-cultural society where all choose their own gods and their own ways of worship, a society unlike any this world has experienced. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, whatever — they all deserve respect and the “unalienable” rights referred to in our Declaration of Independence.

Freedom of religion keeps us free from the cloak of persecution that so often accompanies theocracies. The ruling Taliban in Afghanistan is composed of schooled religious men who have built a society where people live in fear, where those who disagree are accused of crimes against God. Western civilization saw the same kind of persecution during the Crusades and during the Inquisitions. The combined power of the church and the state can perform terrible deeds when misused.

If you pray today, give thanks for the simple act of being able to do so without fear of repercussion.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News