Quote:

wannabuyamonkey said:
Quote:

except when that faith is forced upon me.



This phrase has always bugged me. In what manner do you feel religion is forced on you? Are people dragging you into church or making you pray by gun point?



I'll explain it as best I can: I have never walked up to a person and asked them if they don't believe in God. I've never presented my views on issues that affect us all by prefacing that the "Christian way" is the best way to go.

People who believe in God often seem compelled to coerce/influence people to believe what they do, often with costs. When someone decries that lack of prayer in schools is somehow responsible for the decline of modern society, they ignore a host of other issues and shun personal responsibility. They lack the simple respect of respecting other people's view.

(READ THIS: I am not saying that all people of religion do this. GO BACK AND REREAD PREVIOUS SENTENCE. I wouldn't even say a majority. But when people step out of line and do this, the response is to ignore offensive behavior. Similarly, people that go to extremes to remove the Pledge of Allegience from public schools strike me as equally wrong-headed. I have a lot of friends who believe different things, and what makes for a great friendship with each and every one of them is the ability to discuss our beliefs without trying to change them.)

People should believe what they want. People should present whatever it is they believe in a respectful manner. I just don't think this happens often enough.