By: Maria Monica B. Padillo The history of humanity has been scarred by wars, most of which were caused by differences in terms of religion—biases and stereotypes have been created as the world transitioned from one era to another. An example of a stereotype could be pointed to Muslims. Most people think that they are terrorists and will always stir trouble for Catholics. The same goes to atheists or non-believers as they are thought to be immoral and soulless for simply not partaking in a belief system. |
But how is it that we always establish other people’s personalities based on what and who they believe in or rather what and who they don’t believe in?
Religion has been the topic of most debates—questions regarding the existence or rather the non-existence of a god have risen up—and people from a certain religion cannot let go of their prejudices to make way for rational thinking.
I remember someone I know who spoke during dinner about those who decided to stop attending mass at a Catholic church and instead chose to go to a Victory Christian service. I remember him saying that they have turned against God because of their choice to convert their religion. Just because they’re not Catholic doesn’t mean that they’ve ruined their lives by changing their belief system.
Pope Francis, in an open letter regarding his opinion about non-Catholics and atheists, once said, “You ask if the God of the Christians forgives those who do not believe and do not seek faith. Given that - and this is fundamental - God's mercy has no limits if he who asks for mercy does so in contrition and with a sincere heart, the issue for those who do not believe in God is in obeying their own conscience.”
While it is perfectly understandable to be loyal in one’s group where he or she grew up with or has grown to love, it is another thing to base everything according to a certain set of beliefs without looking into the facts.
Believing in something in itself is not bad as it provides hope and even happiness to someone who firmly relies on a certain religion.
Keeping an open mind, though, is one way to restore equality in our society. For example, I am a Catholic but I do not judge other people for being Muslims or atheists because I firmly believe that everyone has their own right to choose whatever path they want to walk on.
What I look for in other people is their behavior—how they act upon a certain circumstance and how they can positively affect someone’s life.
If someone is an atheist but does more good deeds than a Catholic, then who are we to judge them for not believing in a Catholic God, or generally a god?
Religion is not the only barrier that divides people—sexuality and race are also common things that everyone argues about.
Most people criticize the LGBT (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Trans genders) community for their unusual sexuality. Other people argue that they don’t even exist because everyone is defined as either a man or woman only.
But the missing point in there is that they’re people too—they just have individual tastes in people and things and it is not our business to try and change them.
Meanwhile, race discrepancy has been present since the beginning of time. People were divided according to their race—black people were perceived to be slaves and inferior to white people, Asians to be smart all the time and strict with rules, white people to be superior and rich, among other things—thus making the spaces in between countries and continents more evident because of our discriminative society.
Equality has always been a hard thing to obtain as other people do not want to let go of their pride and prejudices. What we don’t realize is the wickedness of our attitudes by basing our opinions of someone according to what we initially perceive of them.
It is highly recommended to socialize with people based on their personality rather than their religion, sexuality, or race because those three things do not entirely define everyone’s lives.