Individual Rights & Responsibility

There are almost eight billion people in the world and over 4,000 recognized religions all over the world. Each of these eight billion people have some kind of core belief system and 4,000 of these religions highly influences a person’s behavior and thought leading them to make moral, righteous behaviors, whether it be for themselves or others. Religion is what gives us the foundation and base to moral and ethical thinking. The definition of religion is the belief in something and when we believe, we accept it is true and trust and have confidence in the outcomes of those beliefs. George Washington in his Farewell Address has said “Observe good faith and justice towards all… cultivate peace and harmony to all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct…” As President Washington was giving this speech, he was addressing to the people the importance of not only morality but religion on a great and happy nation. To continue the quote, he also has said “… It [the country] will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence.” Creating a religion and moral centered nation can help keep unity and security in our land. If this is the case, then would not religion create a moral people that eventually builds an ethical environment?

As a religious person, my beliefs and standards are always being questioned, especially within the world that we live in today. With religion no longer being a part of many people’s lives, there is a stigma that religion is like a “cult” and forces people into traditional ideas that are not related to the modern world. When my non-religious friends found out that I was getting married, they were happy for me, but you can sense the confusion in their expressions. Many of my friends questioned my reasoning for choosing marriage and kept justifying that marriage was just a piece of paper and an opportunity to get more money. I listened to them and understood where they were coming from, but I knew that marriage was not just that. I explained to them the bigger picture and how not only my husband and I will be together on earth, but we will be together in the afterlife, forever. It’s the symbolism of commitment and bond that helps us see that we trust each other and are willing to make things work even when life gets hard. Not getting married and just living together makes it easier for you to run when it starts to get difficult and with a marriage there are so many other ties you would have to break off before even thinking about leaving. I know my friends and I love them very much, but marriage was a taboo lifestyle growing up in broken homes. However, I do have those friends who grew up in the church, in a broken home, but still had that religious foundation that helped them to see the importance of marriage.