First of all, before you get angry at me, let me say this: I want you to believe what you believe. If you believe in the Bible, fantastic. If you think the Quran is the way to go, great. If you are certain a giant squid in the sky controls us all through telepathy, awesome. It is your right to believe whatever you want to believe. So why should our country try to put a stop to that?
I’ve been hearing about this goal for a “Christian Nation” for awhile now (specifically from a certain billionaire-turned-politician, but that’s beside the point). This idea is so beyond backwards, it hurts me. By trying to declare America a solely Christian country, you are alienating Every. Other. Person. You are entitled to your beliefs, and you are entitled to share them with others, but you do not have a right to tell other people what to believe in.
Let’s think about an example. Suppose you are a good Christian girl from South Carolina (which you very well might be). But let’s pretend that the dominant religion in the United States is Hinduism. Hindus everywhere are campaigning to make America a “Hindu Nation”. They are trying to get you to believe that Hinduism is the only way to go. You would probably be upset by this, right? You would think they were undermining your religion. Which, they probably are not trying to, just like Christians are not outright attempting to hurt people. But they are. They are telling these other religions that they are not welcome in their own country that they’ve worked hard to make a living in, just like you have.
That’s what you’re doing when you’re declaring a “Christian Nation”. You are undermining every other religion (and guess what, there are a lot!). It all goes back to the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. If you wouldn’t want your religion to be shoved to the side, don’t do the same to others. If you would want your religion to be present even if it were a minority, allow others to do the same.
The thing is, everyone thinks that their own religion is the right one. But until one of you comes back from Heaven with a hand stamp, no one can prove that you’re right. All that matters is what you believe to be true. If that is what you believe, then that is your personal truth. The Jewish man next to you also has his own form of personal truth. The Muslim girl in your class has her own personal truth. If it is what you know to be true, then no one should be able to take that away from you. And you shouldn’t be able to take that away from someone else.
The United States of America is an incredible country filled with opportunity for everyone. It is not a nation solely for Christians. It is a nation of diversity and unity, and we should give everyone the equal opportunity for success no matter their religion. Ever heard of the separation between church and state? By declaring us a “Christian Nation” you’re pretty much trampling all over that. And no one wants to live in a trampled country.
I believe that everyone is allowed their own beliefs, no matter what they are. When you judge someone for believing something different than you, you are doing a disservice to your own religion. By trying to claim a “Christian Nation”, you are alienating so much of what makes our country great. So please, believe anything and everything you want. Don’t let anyone take it from you. And don’t try to take it from anyone else.