Texas Faith – Is that the state of religion in America?

Years ago, I interviewed a Russian lady on my radio program about religion in
America, her response was enlightening. She said, growing up in Russia, she was
not conditioned about God or religion to have the proclivity to believe in
either, but she was looking for a pigeon hole to fit in. America was not ready
to welcome a Godless person then.
Of course, the Russian lady chose
to become a Baha’i as it offered the least conflict to her, and I chose Islam
as I took time to learn about the pluralistic values embedded in it. I could
have chosen any religious path and each would have been equally good for me.  

Texas faith: Are we a nation of Osteens and Obamas?
Moderator Wayne Slater, Dallas Morning News 

How would a foreign visitor with little knowledge of America see the state of religious faith today? Texas Faith panel weighs in.

MIKE GHOUSE, President,
Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

Years ago, I interviewed a
Russian lady on my radio program about religion in America, her response was
enlightening. She said, growing up in Russia, she was not conditioned about God
or religion to have the proclivity to believe in either, but she was looking
for a pigeon hole to fit in. America was not ready to welcome a Godless person
then.

My story is similar, way back in
the nineties, my application for membership at Thanksgiving Square was rejected
as I did not fit in any one of their pigeon holes, and there wasn’t one for the
Atheists at that time. However, I have been a pluralist all my life, in
religious terms, it means respecting every which way one worships or bows to
the creator in gratitude, and accepts the genetic uniqueness (or God-given) of
each one of us.

Of course, the Russian lady chose
to become a Baha’i as it offered the least conflict to her, and I chose Islam
as I took time to learn about the pluralistic values embedded in it. I could
have chosen any religious path and each would have been equally good for me.
Religion is about humility and not arrogance.

A foreign visitor with little
knowledge about America will experience disappointments as well as admiration
for America.

He cannot fathom the hate and
denigration of people of other faiths by a few, cannot believe the virulent
anti-abortion balderdash by politicians, the hypocritical opposition to same
sex marriage while talking about liberty and personal freedom from their other
mouths, opposition to public good (health care), and unchecked war mongering
rant. He will be disappointed that he did not see much improvement in the
rhetoric of the clergy or the politicians from his own country.

The visitor will admire when he
or she meets an average Joe in a restaurant, work, soccer, baseball, concert or
a place of worship – open minded, tolerant and accepting of the other, treating
and behaving as an equal. When he sees the President of the nation standing in
a line at a food buffet, and when his boss stands behind him in the coffee line,
he cannot stop admiring America. When he sees an African, Mexican, Arab or an
Asian moving up in a corporation and becomes as rich as she wants, he will not
stop admiring America. He feels this must be a nation with God’s blessing and
supervision.

The visitor will salute the founding fathers and America’s constitution for the
freedom, stability, safety and security it facilitates and guarantees to every
citizen. Eventually, he will accept the co-existence of the good, bad and the
ugly as a norm, and admire the laws of the nations that prevent men taking law
in their own hands.

In the pluralism classes I teach,
I ask the students to see religion as Mr. Spock (foreign visitor) would have
seen without religious pre-conditioning or immersion. They can see religion as
catalysts in offering guidance to the ones who are frightened, apprehensive,
saddened, confused, angered or hateful to the other. Religions would teach
everyone to tell the truth, keep the terms of the contract with spouse, family
or business and treat the other as he would wanted to be treated.

It is about building cohesive
functional societies. Religion is a mechanism to restore trust among people, so
each one can live in peace knowing that his rights will be protected through
justice.

As a futurist on interfaith
movements, I predict, that at least two generations from now, we would be
comfortable to say, my religion is one of the many choices, and further down
the road, a significant number will proclaim that my religion is not superior
or inferior to any. They will consider claiming superiority would be sheer
arrogance and religion is believed to be about humility that builds societies,
communities and nations in creating the elusive kingdom of heaven where all
live their life without apprehension or fear of the other.

To see all the panelists view,
visit Dallas Morning News at:
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/05/texas-faith-are-we-a-nation-of.html

. . . . . . .

MikeGhouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and
offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker,
thinker and a writer on pluralism,
politics, civic affairs,
Islam, India, Israel, peace and
justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on
Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to
the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning
News and regularly at Huffington
post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is
updated daily.