I don’t understand how a person of any religion could ever assume that a free and open society would allow one religion or one set of moral principles to be imposed on others of no religion or a different religion.

One of the great things about America is our religious freedom.

As a Catholic, I am so proud to be an American citizen, patriotic to the core, who is allowed to practice my religion of choice freely. I do not have to hide in a basement with others of like faith and pray that I am not captured, beheaded, or crucified.

Our freedom from religion IS the reason we all have “Freedom of Religion.”

Our freedom of privacy and freedom of speech allows us to not only live our faith but to speak freely about it and engage in open dialogue with all other people.

Muslims, Christians, Atheists, …..all world religions and philosophies must stop trying to impose their particular guiding moral principles on others in a free society.

Our focus MUST be on the common good. This doesn’t mean that we don’t live our faith and our religion or fierce lack thereof. It means we freely model for others the reality of our living faith in a free society. We are FREE to do this.

We must get past this misconception of America being a “Christian” nation.

Many of us are indeed Christians, but the majority are indeed people of different or no faith.

We are not all white either. The indigenous peoples of America were in fact, not white.

The forefathers framing our constitution were trying to escape the very thing that religious extremists now seek to impose on others.

They did not want a theocracy. They wanted freedom from religion so that we could all enjoy the freedom of religion.

We, American Christians, added religion to the mix. We added, “One nation, under God, ….”to the pledge in 1954.

The original pledge of 1892, “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

“….One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all…” ALL

This morning, I am praying for peace in this troubled world, particularly in Syria, where a beautiful country and people are not just torn apart because of geopolitical interests.

The driving force behind the violence is sectarian with the influence of religious differences on an entire region; each imposing their own version of the moral “truth” on the other.

Some say it is about power, control, money….the true root is religious differences and the need for one set of moral truths to control the other.

Oil, nuclear weapons, and other resources are what drive the external geopolitical manipulation.

My atheist friends are correct when they point to world religions as the root of war and social injustice.

We must stop imposing our religion onto others and judging others based on our religious norms.

Our free society must be open to all religions and all kinds of individual expression.

We must be active voices for the “common good,” and get over our superior concept of self.

We all have the freedom to be who we are in America.

I fight to protect that as I live my Catholic faith as a proud American citizen.

http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm