LETTER: Erroneous views on religion

To the editor:

Why is it still okay to express ignorant generalizations about “religion”? Over two centuries have past since religious freedom was enumerated in the founding documents of this nation. Yet broad, undue categorizations are still often applied to “religion” and “the religious” even in modern America. There are religions of all kinds, involving billions of people and many diverse views, beliefs and practices. But from the many comments, implications and outright slanderous opinions expressed in this paper alone over the last couple months, it is apparently no big deal to make unfounded judgments about religion. We label people as chauvinists and bigots who make even the slightest off comment about gender, race, culture, etc. We pass off people who rip on religion as intellectuals exercising freedom of speech.

“Religion” is not some universal club of people with the same beliefs and habits. In the political arena, “religion” is often used in context synonymous to “conservative” or even “Republican.” In Utah, it seems to sometimes even imply those of the LDS faith. Perhaps referring to some vague group of religious people is done to avoid offending a particular group, but reverting to “all religious people” implies an even deeper ignorance of the person making the statement. Matthew Blackham pretends to educate the public in his “open-minded” classroom, but I am not fooled into thinking that every Republican is religious or that every Democrat is atheist or any such narrow-minded notion. I have even agreed with many of Blackhams ideas on a number of occasions, only to be alienated by his snide allusions to religion or prayer. He only helps to charge the political polarity which he argues against.

I can’t deny that many disturbing things have been influenced by or done in the name of some religion. But even if one person or a group of people does something stupid in the name of religion, that doesn’t make all religious people, or even a particular religion, at fault. Examples range from mass genocidal slaughter to writing a letter to the editor.

For me, my religion is my entire set of ethics, morals and principles by which I live my life. I suspect the same is true of many others. Instructing all religious people to keep their views to themselves or to discount religious belief in politics is like asking all people with the first name Ben or Skyler to never write to the editor again because their views are irrelevant and worthless. Such a demand would of course be very rude and ridiculous.

Cade Perkins