DEBATING ON THE RIGHT RELIGION

Every individual in all circumstances strives for survival. To arrive at this, human rights and freedom are put on front line. In a normal set up, we talk of the freedom of speech, right to education and many others. 

What triggers my thought mostly is the freedom of religion or belief. Usually I ask myself; between religion and humanity, what precedes the other? Does one become a religious (from certain religion) first or a human being?
The United Nations Commission in the year 2000 expounded categorically on the freedom of religion. However, in the contemporary world, I think that matters concerning religion should be put into discussion. It is still not clear what we mean by the freedom of worship. We debate on a Supreme being who is believed to be the creator and source of all that is. This belief provokes a question; If the Supreme being is one, what make the religions to have different interpretations? 

Given an opportunity to choose, I would prefer to belong to none of the religions. It sounds illogical to hear of cases where by people are killed in the name of religion. I can’t imagine of such a Stupid God who rejoices when there is shedding of blood. Again, I can’t think of such a Supreme being who rejects those whom he has created. For instance, for the Muslims, a lady found practicing fornication should be put to death. This kind of a belief gives a room for silence even when one is raped. For the Christians and to be specific the Catholics, excommunication is the best punishment. Anyone who teachers or go contrary to the teachings of the church should be excommunicated. We are bombarded with dogmas and this limits even our view of reality. For instance, what are some of the valid reasons on why contraceptives should not be used? 

The focus on religion has made man to forget his identity. We no longer think and meditate on what it means to be human but, on the religion, one should belong. In some countries, even politics are based on religion. A good example is Sudan where Christians are restricted into an extent of not enjoying their leisure activities such as taking bear. All this is done in the name of God/Allah. In Christian context, in some denomination those who divorce are considered to be outcast. We are blinded by religion in such a way that we can’t ask ourselves; what is the right thing to do? What make sin to be sin? Are all divorces sin? What qualifies an act to be good or evil, right or wrong? These are samples of questions that are ignored as far as religion is concern. As a result, we ended up being convinced that we first belong into a particular religion before becoming human. 

We need a liberation. We need to ignore what we are taught in our different sects and come back to the basics. The needs of the neighbor should no longer be interpreted in relation to religion. One does not require to be a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu for him to help the poor and the needy. On the other hand, it is enough to be human for one respect human life. This notion is clearly seen in traditional African context when education and religion was still an illusion. The communities lived together with one another and evil motives we highly discouraged. There was no religion but we still lived in peace with one another. We don’t need to belong to any religion but to be human.