In our current day in age, one's spiritual views are expected by our society to stay "hush-hush." If a person shares their faith with others too quickly, they are seen as strange or offensive.
Conflicts between different religions have been around for hundreds of years, whether it be the crusades or the terrorist attack of 9/11. Because of events such as these, I would argue that we are simply scared of speaking our faith. We are scared because we have been taught to be. We are scared because in classrooms it is frowned upon to bring up religion and offend someone.
I have a hard time accepting this. By building walls around our faith and keeping it a secret, we keep ourselves from being completely genuine and open with those around us. We are taught that we should feel tension once a religious subject is brought up in class. Why does it have to be this way? Why does this cause so much beef?
This semester, in my Pre-Modern History class, the subject of Creationism vs. Evolution arose. During our discussion, many of the students were rolling their eyes and laughing at the idea of the world being created in seven days. I, however, disagreed. I rose my hand and shared my opinion and how though it doesn't sound practical, the mystery of faith can allow us to believe the impractical.
I thought this was a reasonable thing to say. I guess I was wrong. Just by making that one statement, I was automatically shot back with angry responses of those who I had insulted.
Many of the disputations we see today fundamentally derive from a religious standpoint. They come from disagreements of what is the truth. I am not going to pretend that it is likely we will all learn to sit around in a circle, hold hands, and sing Imagine by John Lennon. I can't pretend this article is going to make everyone accepting of other's views and beliefs.
The one argument I will make is that as more and more controversies arise, we ought to remain openminded or at least compassionate towards those who we do not agree with or share the same faith as. We shouldn't be afraid of other's reactions when sharing our spirituality. Call me crazy, but I think sharing our faith with others may lead to a better understanding of an individual and not make religion so "touchy."
