A Different Perspective

God has no religion
~Mahatma Gandhi~

I have always said that religion is man made.  I had no idea I was in such good company or that my thought wasn't original.  There I go again thinking I'm all that with a cherry on top to boot.  But I digress. 

When something is done in the name of 'religious freedom' what exactly does that mean?  Supposedly it means that every religion has the right to co-exist peacefully.  Nice concept.  When the first colonists came to the New World, they did so for religious freedom.  Apparently they meant religious freedom for them and their religion.  Their tolerance did not extend to other religions.

The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were some of the biggest persecutors of the Quakers and, in fact, passed a law that Quakers were not allowed in their settlement.  Likewise, in early Maryland, a law was enacted that barred Catholics from practicing openly and went so far as to ban Catholics from holding positions of authority.  And then there are the atheists who demand freedom from religion.  Personally, I think that's a redundant concept since we all have the right to choose our religion or not to choose, I would think.

So, here's what I don't quite grasp:  why is religious freedom an issue?  Don't all various religions in Christianity worship the same God?  It's those religions that worship someone or something else - or those that worship nothing - that is different.  Allah, Buddha, Krishna, Confucius, the various gods of the Greeks and Vikings - none of them are the one God, the creator of the universe and mankind.  Should not the issue be freedom to worship who we want rather than how we worship?  Isn't that the real freedom?

Maybe I think too simply, but I don't get why so many have so little tolerance for anyone who thinks differently from themselves.  My God tells us to 'love others as we love ourselves'.  That seems pretty straightforward to me.  He didn't add a condition that "as long as they believe as you do", did He?  My God loves everyone equally - yes, even those who don't worship Him.  He has given us free will to choose who we will worship - or not to worship anyone.

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, so, again, I ask: what's the real issue here?