Keep Your Religion to Yourselves!

Why don't people keep their religion to themselves?

My Facebook feed is filled with ads for prayer guides and pleas to send money to one religious group or another, and posts from online friends touting their religious beliefs. Stop telling me to "let go and let God" or that I should glorify their God or that I am blessed by their God.

These are Christians -- not fundamentalist Muslims or some fringe religious sect. My reaction is the same -- I DON'T CARE about your religion or what you believe. America supposedly was founded on the premise that there will be no state-sponsored religion. Yet the evangelical sect of American Christianity is taking over governments at various levels. The anti-freedom-of-choice movement is firmly rooted in religious beliefs. Various churches, all of them tax-exempt, are involved in politics. They should lose their tax-exempt status. In fact, all churches, temples, etc., should pay taxes, particularly when their pastors live in huge mansions, fly around in private jets, and live lavish lifestyles.

I also believe there should be freedom from religion. There should be no public prayer in public schools. Religion-based schools of any kind should not receive taxpayer-funded support. If parents wish to send their children to a parochial school, regardless of religion, they -- not taxpayers -- should pay the cost.

I don't care which religion people believe in. But I do not want to have someone's -- anyone's -- religion imposed on me. If you don't believe in gay marriage, fine. Don't marry someone of the same sex. If you don't believe in abortion or birth control, great. Don't have an abortion or use birth control. Just don't try to impose your religious beliefs on me and on others. 

I have Christian friends, Jewish friends, a Muslim friend, agnostic friends, a Buddhist friend. I don't value their friendship because of their religion. We are friends because we have common interests. We are friends because they are good, kind people who treat others, and animals, with respect.

If I wanted to live someplace where a single religion dominates society, I would move to Utah. Or to Israel. Or to Saudi Arabia. But this is not what I, and most people, want. We want to be able to make our own decisions about what we believe, or don't believe. We deserve to be able to make our own medical decisions. We should not be subjected to prayers at the beginning of a sporting event, or a session of Congress, or at any other time or place.

If you want to pray, great. Pray away -- at home or in silence. But public prayer has no place in public events unless it is specifically a religion-based event. Why do people feel a need to make their religious faith a public spectacle? Are they trying to prove how pious they are? 

I don't care what religion, if any, people choose to follow. I simply don't want someone else's religious beliefs imposed on me.