I've lived in the south my entire life.
Everyone is Christian. Everyone went to church every Sunday. Everyone thanks God for their achievements in life.
This isn't just something in the south, though.
Most people will admit that the U.S. is dominated by Christianity and it's discussed much more than any other religion. What I notice most of all: People want Christianity to be discussed more and for Christianity to be even more prominent than it already is.
When the country is faced with a tragedy, people are quick to say that turning to God can "fix this nation."
People say that kids have no respect because we need to bring Jesus back into classrooms.
When someone is going through personal struggles, people love to talk about God's plan and what Bible verse can solve these problems.
That's the problem.
Christianity will not and should not be used to solve everyone's problems.
In case anyone missed it: Not everyone is a Christian. Not everyone connects with it or believes it. So why do people think it will solve everything?
As "snowflake-ish" as it sounds, it's kind of offensive to not respect other people's beliefs and think your own can fix everything. It's a little rude to believe your way is the only way.
The only way to fix problems is to make actual changes to the world around us.
School shootings will not stop because we leave the issue in the hands of God.
People did not spend several years and a butt-ton of money to study child psychology just to be told that kids misbehave because we "took the Lord out of our classrooms."
Not everybody will be able to connect to a Bible verse when they're in need of help.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with following the Christian faith, but it's wrong to believe it's the only faith that should be followed and that it should serve as a guideline for how to handle everything everywhere.
Praying won't stop people from attacking schools. Making political and social changes will.
Prayers in school won't make kids more respectful. Creating an environment built on respect, understanding, trust, and empathy will.
Verses and Biblical references will not help everyone understand their problems. Connecting with a person through their interests and beliefs will.
People want so badly to shove their religion down everyone's throats without even considering that not everyone is like that. People would rather force Christianity into schools and politics than respect the fact this nation was founded on religious freedom and is extremely diverse.
The people who preach we need more Christianity in this nation are typically the same ones who so strongly defend our Second Amendment rights, but they're completely ignoring our first.
Believing in a certain religion will not save our nation or fix all of our problems.
Stop telling everyone to just "trust in the Lord." Respect other people's opinions and beliefs.
If anything is going to fix your problems, it's you, not Jesus.
