Is it Safe to be Outwardly Religious in Society?

Today I see so many manifestations to indicate the contrary!

What happens to someone wearing a hijab today? Recently, a report from England had a man throwing a slab of concrete at just such a woman! Why don't we put that front and center in today's reporting?

And if we are Muslim today, are we by default tone-deaf? Did we not see the 150 articles emphasizing with every possible aspect 'extremist' without exposing the extremist as separate from the faithful?

What about crosses or stars of David? Do they become overreach in this din of confusion?

Because what is amplified is the lack of understanding.

Since we are so misunderstood and misrepresented at every interval, is it safe at all to be religious?

And the loss of our spirituality? Nothing is said of how that works.

When our very strong message instead empowers spiritually cognizant and comprehension as separate from the horror and result of extremism and killing and death and carnage, and the evil of terrorism as separate from the validity of spirituality and the stability and guidance of faith and belief, I think that is when we will truly overcome it.

 

Most outward forms of religion, including crosses and stars, act as advertising for that religion and help identify which cult owns you like a brand on a cow.

Other forms like restricted clothing also serve to identify and divide people from others, as well as to enforce control over people's bodies and minds. It can also identify your religious rivals and enemies.

So no wonder we have devolved into racial and religious conflict. It was set this way thousands of years ago by those who wish to control and rule others for their own benefit.

 

Amen!!

 

So perfectly said . I totally agree ,and for sure it will end in tears .
Nicky x

 

They always seem to have a lot of religious fun over in the middle east. Tolerance exemplified.

 

Sadly, or so it appears in the area I live in, The only Religions that are really safe to flaunt publicly, are Catholicism and Christianity. Muslims, Jews and especially Wicca are openly jeered at and sometimes violently confronted.

 

While I do feel it is relatively safe to display your religions beliefs in most places around the world religion as a whole is on the wane. Fewer and fewer people world wide are actively practicing a religious beliefs. Churches, Synagogues, and Mosques are slowly dropping in regular attendance. I believe this trend will continue as the human becomes more and more educated about how our world and the universe has evolved. There are a lot of things that religion has explained as to how it happened only to be debunked by scientific proof.

 

I live in a very rural county with a population of around 11,000. 100% of them are Christian; 96.2%, consider themselves ‘very religious’, with the highest church attendance rate of any county in a state often characterized as “the buckle of the Bible Belt” (but only Christian churches; there isn't a temple, mosque, or gurdwara for 100 miles in any direction). 96.9% are native born, 94.2% are White, 74.2% vote Republican (we're so heavily gerrymandered that functionally that might as well be 100%). We don’t exactly celebrate diversity.
Yeah; it's perfectly safe to be outwardly religious here...as long as you're Christian.

 

This seems also to be the case here.

 

In NJ., its very diverse, and for most its celebrated. Immigrants are normal. Religion is thriving, espically the Worship of the State.

 

Sounds like a small town I lived in for about a year for work. had a population of 4800, there were 8 churches on the main road leading into and out of town, and at least 2 churches every 4 blocks going through town. While I was there, they actually closed down the only Walmart within 50 miles to add another church, which doubled as a community buffet on Sundays after services. My first encounter with the people of that town was the day I moved in and a clergyman from the church across from the house I rented, walked over, opened the door and let himself in while I was in the shower, and helped himself to my fresh groceries. He said he'd just come by to welcome me and decided to have a snack while he waited for me to finish. Do I have to mention that the local police told me that they don't arrest clergy for that kind of thing?

 

I wish it were more normal for men and women to be religious here.

The trend here is an interventionist approach to faith, typically intruding on or seeking to inform others or bring awareness by any other way than accountability. It seems both extreme and lacking in accountability as the interventionist involves themself into the life of someone else who typically doesn't want to be informed or bothered in any way. Literally droves of cars act this way on our freeways, which has led me to stop driving entirely.

The intervention that is needed is role model brand muted leader-ism, not this quaintly overstated lacking in intelligence or social integrity interventionism.

Very serious about intervention... It puts people at odds with a lot of things they cannot afford to be at odds with. It's as poisonous a problem as drugs and alcohol.

I hope that our society finds a way to impress upon each other that it is by divinity that we are intelligent and capable of transcending the bounds of ordinary life that act as divisors.

 

Uh, hate to break it to you, but Catholics are Christians."Catholicism and Protestantism" would be a better phraseology. Or just Christians.

 

To the thread title I would say sometimes more so than others. Every now and then there is an article 'front and center' in whichever news source pointing out something tragic or flawed or comparatively obsolete given scholarship that in this country (the United States) is basically taken for granted.

When I see that article, it stands in contrast with the beliefs of millions in other parts of the world. Yet it rings completely true here at home. And the values and morals are not wrong. The social standards are not wrong. And the norms and worldview are not out of place. But then where do I stand?

While I stand apart from my countrymen; not because I don't share their values or understanding but because I am of that faith, I do so modestly. It is extremely important to me that I'm not viewed as an extremist; something difficult at times. Does that make me out of sync with reality? It feels like it sometimes.

Until I reconcile my spirit with my own truth and with Allah, I feel weakened by the division. I do not believe in any form of extremism, and the Quran instructs me that violence is never acceptable, that to kill is wrong and a sin, and that the path of righteousness is in the steps of the Prophet Muhammad and to instruct my spirit to reject acceptance of violence and extremism.

In those times when I feel my spirituality is out of alignment with common aspirations, goals, and ambitions as governed by American notions of modern social expectations, I have to ask for forgiveness. But I must also remember to be modest enough to let 'outward spirituality' be more reserved, which feels un-Islamic, but is intelligent and purposeful. It is by Allah that we find the strength to be modest about faith because it is a source of pride for us, and for many other religious people as they take pride in the strength of the faith that they know in other religions.

I don't ever want to be unsafe, no. But I think the wisdom of understanding how others perceive my faith is detrimental to the process of healing that is happening as America begins to see that we are not the barbarians that have committed the terrible acts of October 7, but instead humans and subject to scorn that occurs due to the problems that others inflicted on us.

 

The problem there. is that restrictive clothing cold be worn by anyone regardless of religion, including terrorists and bank robbers.
Here in the UK, it is against the law to wear a motorcycle helmet when entering a bank or government building.
Another little know law, is that it is even illegal to carry a motorcycle helmet unless you own or are a passenger on a bike. The theory behind that one, is that if you don't own a bike, you are out to steal one.

 

That is a great pity. It is what leads them to become targets for extremists.

 

Im in a small rednek town too

 

a' salaam alaikum,
I now live in a country where a sizeable plurality of the population (and the majority of my local population) consider empathy, loving-kindness, and compassion to be "extremist", and sending death threats to anyone who expresses such "wokeness" towards the majority's scapegoat(s) du jour is considered patriotic.

 

Modern academia has made the dictionary and analog logic taboo, with the result that a quarter of their students still claim the sun revolves around the earth. The Pentagon and Oligopolies have been stealing and censoring our analog logic, while throwing harmless potheads in prison. A lot of Taoists wondered why Zen took off in the west, but not Taoism, and the answer is, the entire civilized world is stealing analog logic from everyone they can, while censoring and suppressing their cultures.

Its enough to make you want to move to another country but, everywhere you go, its the same academics. So, I decided to automate their own insanity, by teaching AI Professional Wrestling for bullies, liars, and thieves.

Mother Nature's Love Is Irresistible! But, She Has A Wicked Sense Of Humor!

Already, the public is starting to tell higher education to get a real job!