Respecting The Religion, Faith, And Beliefs Of Others

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Halloo,

I think respecting the beliefs of others doesn’t make your own belief disappear or diminished It in any way, neither will respecting the beliefs of others affect your own belief. I hope you agree with me? if not, I hope you will after reading my views on this below.

According to Collins English Dictionary-Belief is a feeling of certainty that something exists, is true, or is good. …

This write-up is mostly based on religious beliefs. May I quickly add the fact that my experience is limited to Muslims, Christians, and Atheists. These are the people I have had the opportunity to live, interact, and discussed with. But in my humble opinion, my arguments apply to all beliefs.

Majority of us are obsessed with which religion is right, and which religion is fake, wrong, and whatnot. We forget the ultimate goal is to love God, our creator. I don’t understand the need for supremacy, I really don’t.

You can not have an intelligent conversation with people on religious matters without it resulting in war. It shouldn’t be like that. We can share opinions in a healthy respectful manner when we have respect for each other.

The ridiculous things that come out of the mouths of some the so-called religious people make me worry sometimes. Some of the people saying these things are even religious leaders, the people who are supposed to admonish their followers for bad behaviour or utterances.

How do you justify a person who is seeking the mercy of God saying these about other people’s beliefs?

• Your religion is devilish
• How can you believe that?
• Only a fool will have that belief
• That is the beliefs of idiots
• The people of that faith are all going to hell
• You are doing that because your parents forced you to.
• What a devilish religion
• All those who share this belief are goats
• That is what people of your religion do (just because you and the person are having a misunderstanding)
• You are going to hell if you don’t change

Why not worry about your soul and let others worry about theirs?

I am a Muslim. So many people will automatically assume that I am referring to Christians. You are completely wrong. I find that some Muslims, Christians, and Atheists are guilty of this.

I am not a fan of comparative studies because I think if you really love God and respect God as you claimed, what others are doing and how they choose to serve their God won’t be of any concern to you. That is why I mostly stay away from religious discussions. I find most people who claimed to be religious have nothing original to say other than quoting from the holy books.

There is nothing wrong with a healthy debate among friends. But it really must be healthy with every party taking part in the debate showing respect for the beliefs of other people.

People who have tangible things to say, do so with respect.

What most people do is to assume or form an opinion without asking questions or doing research. If a part of someone else religion or belief fascinate or bother you, before jumping to a conclusion or start saying rubbish, find out more by asking or doing research. I think that is the intelligent thing to do. Or simply move on.

The best way to win souls for your religion is by your way of life, not by condemning the current belief the person may have.  Let the goodness of your beliefs show by your way of life rather than by attacking others.

Another thing is how people think it is justifiable to invade other people’s personal space in the name of religion. I don’t think it is excusable at all. When I go to my Christians friends’ homes, I do my prayers discreetly, not because I am ashamed of my religion, but the fact that I respect them and their religious beliefs.

No matter how much I love and respect you if you come into my home and start praying and singing loudly, you will not be allowed in again. Pray if you must, but it must be done discreetly.

Despite the fact that it is a known fact that I am a Muslim, and I still have people I have known for years, who still preaches Christianity to me aggressively. This is annoying and a little disrespectful. If I am ever going to change it won’t be from your annoying behaviour.

Do you think people preach their religions aggressively to me because I am tolerant of their beliefs? Sometimes I wonder.

Respect shown for other people’s beliefs is not an acceptance of their beliefs, but just a way to show that you are intelligent enough to know that people differ in their ways.

It is just like wishing my Christian family and friends merry Christmas or Happy Easter. Some people still need to consult religious leaders to see if it is alright to do this. Why do we need that? They have their celebrations, we have ours. Why can’t we celebrate with each other?

I am of the opinion that celebrating with each other is a way of showing respect, love, and understanding of other people’s beliefs. Doesn’t change my beliefs.

Many people didn’t know this- As a young girl of about 13 years, I used to visit my uncle, who was a pastor of the deeper life ministry in Sagamu, Nigeria. I go to church with them, I even went to church camps with them on two or three occasions.

I have always had a curious mind. I observed them. I did not find anything devilish in what they were practising. I found some of their practices strange and not to my taste, but I won’t go around condemning them or calling them devilish.

I asked lots of questions, I always do in everything, annoyingly so sometimes. So, now I can say a lot about that set of people; Deeper life Christians. But I am still very comfortable as a Muslim. Do I think they are all going to hell because of their beliefs? No! I am not God. It is not for me to decide that. I do what I think is right and they do what they think is right. Who is to say we are not all right?

Just serve God with a clean heart. Stop bigotry,

Most people, in their rush to condemn a particular religion or set of beliefs, forget the generosity or goodwill a person or some people of that religion or beliefs bestowed on them in the past. We can’t go through life expecting everyone to agree with us. It is how we deal with our differences that help progress.

A lady came into my home for the first time, saw my Islamic wall decorations and she pointed at one and said ‘I didn’t know you are one of those people’ That is insulting, especially coming from a Nigerian. Islam is not alien to us in Nigeria. It is lack of manners and narrow- mindedness of the religious idiots. You bet she is not allowed in anymore. Yep, I am that vicious.

How to respect other people’s beliefs:

• Don’t insult their beliefs.
• Don’t judge them based on the behaviour of a person or a group who claimed to be of the same religion.
• If you ask a question about their beliefs, please be open-minded when listening to their answers.
• Don’t invade their privacy in the name of religion.
• Show the beauty of your faith by your way of life.
• Always remember that as human beings we differ due to so many factors.
• If you are having a fight with someone, concentrate on them, not on their faiths, religion, or beliefs.
• Stop posting derogatory things about other religions on social media. Stick to your side. There are derogatory things happening in your own religion too, post them.
• Above all use your brain. If you are comfortable with your beliefs, why do you need to attack other people because of their beliefs?

Remember that our beliefs are a combination of so many things. So you might be insulting the core of a person when you attack their faith in a very disrespectful manner.

Most of our opinions about other people’s faith come from what we read in the media. Most of which are false or it concerns only a small set of people. Let’s respect the religion, faith, and beliefs of others

Have I convinced you that it is an intelligent thing to respect other people’s beliefs?

Thanks a lot for reading. Please, your contributions to this post will be appreciated in the comment section below. Help by clicking like and share with your friends. Also, don’t forget to join other subscribers to receive notifications of new posts by email. I appreciate it.

Stay with me,

Ruka

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About Post Author

Ruka

My name is Ruka. Born and bred in Nigeria. Now living in Ireland. I am a Woman, Feminist, Wife, Mother, Muslim, Black, and African. I am an Entrepreneur who also works in Finance Administration. I am a Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Warrior. I love writing and hope to make a name for myself doing it.

rukaganiyu5@gmail.com

https://www.rukasplace.com

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