Separation of Church and Discrimination
It has always amazed me that people of faith sometimes use their religion to explain why they can discriminate against others, kill others, and exclude others. Religion is now being used by some to determine who you can vote for and some religions define specific issues that determine whether you can continue to practice as an active member of a faith community.
In my opinion, faith and religion should be something that causes inclusion not exclusion. We will never all agree with each other but we surely should be open and respectful to the opinions of others.
Faith is a journey … always seeking more clarification and understanding of issues. Faith requires a strong conscious and a relentless zest for dealing with the unknown. Faith is both personal and community orientated. Since we do not live in silos, we can choose to practice our faith in an open environment.
In the next few days, Missouri will soon be executing a prisoner. Gays are openly being discriminated against and bullied on college campuses and in the general public. People with mental illness in Kansas are prohibited by the state constitution from voting. Undocumented persons living in the United States are not allowed to be enrolled in the Medicaid program in order to receive health care. More Americans are living in poverty than ever before, especially children. These actions are all caused by man made laws/rules/practices. In my own personal opinion, they can and should be changed but I wonder if these current actions are properly justified by a religious belief.
About Me
Steve Roling
President/CEO
Steve Roling is the President/CEO of the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City. Each week he blogs about issues that inspire him as we work toward eliminating barriers to quality health.
Comments
Oh Steve. You have such a good heart. I love you so much and every time I interact with you or read your blog I am so thankful to have you in our community. This world unfortunately is getting worse by the minute… the elections on Tuesday were proof of that. You have readers out there praying for you and this world of ours!
People are judged, persecuted, racially profiled, and executed under the “name of God”. Why is it that people in our society rationalize acts of hate through religion and faith --which is supposedly based on LOVE? There is no rationale in that. The God that I believe in….loves everyone, respects everyone, and forgives everyone. God gives every human being the benefit of the doubt--where did these messages get lost? My hope is that these messages and acts of hate are not reflected by the majority in our society--they are simply the loudest messages, and therefore given the most attention. The rest of us need to stand up and shout out our messages of love, acceptance and peace--all in the name of GOD! Only then can we drown out the hate.
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