Blessed Are Those Who Know How To Be Good

i suppose you could say i have a lifelong chip on my shoulder regarding organized religion. since my teens, my attitude has changed a lot. i'm a liberal after all. i _try_ hard to overcome my biases. that's an everyday struggle because i value my own beliefs as much as any other human being. that's the thing about people. they're frequently stubborn, prideful, self-absorbed, and self-righteous. when they are fearful and anxious in addition to all of those other things, people are horribly obnoxious at best and dangerous at worst.

religion has the power to inspire people to be flexible, humble, and generous. it can teach them that faith is about courage. for a vast army of human beings, faith is about learning to shun inner moral conflict by always doing the right thing. faith at its best acknowledges that deciding what the right thing is can be brutally difficult and emotionally wrenching.

i've been fortunate to know devoutly religious people who do their best _not_ to judge. they don't advise or encourage anyone who seeks their counsel to do something they think is wrong. their expression of faith has nothing to do with organizing society into a moral police force that aggressively shames 'sinners' into obedience. instead, they forgive. they believe in second chances and acknowledge that a person's relationship with god is personal. they understand that human beings are weak and fearful.

i've always been humbled by such people. i'm often astonished at how many there are. despite my lack of faith in a 'god', they give me faith in humanity. they give me faith in religion as a instrument for the advancement of human rights and economic justice. we need people who refuse to run away from the most difficult of moral battles -- to accept the humanity of those deemed 'evil.'