For the record, I plan to record entries about the title of my blog, not about religion. This is just simply one aspect of the blog's title.
Our forefathers founded this country on the freedom to believe. We take it for granted everyday. We're supposed to embrace different beliefs. Without realizing it, we have strayed far from this ideal. My younger brother goes to a Christian high school. I went to an Episcopalian high school, a place that has a very dear place in my heart. Before I continue, my little brother and I were raised as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are Mormons. The freedom of belief enables different religions to have different theology. That's the beauty of it! Although an Episcopalian school, my alma mater defended each student's beliefs, whether they were agreed upon or not. Unlike my school, I was alarmed with how my brother's school teaches religion! Instead of a prompt to identify differing doctrine between themselves and Mormons, the pastor asked why Mormons were wrong. (And for the record, no question he asks regarding Mormons is ever in context). A religious school is to teach their belief and values, not degrade a student's! One example is my cousin's husband. He went to this school where he was taught to hate. When I returned from my LDS mission, I spoke in church. After my talk, without hesitation, he told my mother that when he didn't agree, he completely stopped listening. I'm still amazed with how open he was with his hate of Mormon belief.
In the Book of John, Jesus himself says, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her" (John 8:7). Replace the words "is without sin" with "has different beliefs". A pastor, a man who studies the scriptures for his profession, was violating what Jesus Christ taught his disciples!
When my brother showed me the homework assignments, I was furious. Seeing the guidelines, I helped him with his responses. What is truly shameful is that he was given a 0%. It is gut-wrenching that he failed for defending his core values. Does this sound of the freedom of religion? Or discrimination? I'm sure George Washington is rolling in his grave. General Washington fought for the freedom to believe, not to condemn. Why is it commonplace that future generations are taught to hate? Hate is more apparent now than ever, an example being Israel and Palestine. Everyday Israeli children are taught how to defend themselves from a Palestinian attack. On a much smaller scale, the only way to pass this religion class is to hate Mormons. Does that seem right? But the bigger question is, why is it okay for a Mormon to get a 0% for defending his beliefs? The whole point of this is that the future is a scary one. A society that talks about peace and diversity is teaching the very thing that they appear to be condemning.
Millennials represent a whole new way of life. Millennials are individualists. We are changing the way the world has worked for centuries. The future is more than scary when hate is not just acceptable, but taught and encouraged. Unfortunately, there is no simple method to cure hate. It's easier to cure cancer than it is to cure hate. I am part of the rising generation, but I don't stand for a large part of what we are supposed to become. I worry about raising children in a society that thrives on hate. All we can do, and must do, is live our beliefs. Practice what we preach. I believe in tolerance, love, respect, and other traditional values. Just because we are a new wave of people, does that mean that traditional values are being replaced as well?
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