Throughout history, religious followers have faced innumerable persecutions—maybe that’s why they are so good at persecuting others.
Last week, Indiana and Arkansas became the first states to pass the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, effectively legalizing discrimination against same-sex couples by those who object to their lifestyle on religious grounds. Though both states recently added amendments to “fix” this decidedly un-American law, the fact that this country still employs government officials that purposely discriminate against law-abiding citizens is enough to make one pray for the end of times sooner rather than later.
But should we really be surprised that anyone pushed to have that initial bill become law? Humans have been obsessed with erasing anything viewed as “different,” be it ideas or other humans, since the first ancient societies appeared more than 5,000 years ago. This desire to discriminate often reveals itself in blood-soaked ways: Hitler’s Holocaust, the Spanish Inquisition, Charlemagne’s pagan persecution, Stalin’s anti-religious campaign, even Jesus Christ can tell you a thing or two about discrimination and persecution from up on the cross.
More societal than religious discrimination, ask a black person about how they have dealt with persecution since, well, forever.
The point is, every religious or ethnic group knows what it is like to be shunned or annihilated because their particular view didn’t line up with someone else’s. Religious folks, just like the LGBT community, have been hated and feared at one time or another. And yet, a pizza place in Indiana thinks discriminating against gay people is somehow a good business model.
Most people are enlightened enough to believe and know that this is wrong. Most people, religious or not, don’t want to interfere in the rights of others. But when vote-hungry politicians get involved, the country tends to revert back to the dark ages.
—Steve Mosco
