Get Your F**king Religion out of my F**king Life

When I was a very young man, my grandfather taught me that religion is a personal choice and not to be an issue in any conversation. He was a helluva lot smarter than every right-wing politician in America. He believed in the First Amendment: professional politicians do not.

I was raised Catholic and considered entering the priesthood until I learned that Catholic priests are not allowed to marry. I didn’t understand. Other children I knew who were protestant or Jewish told me their ministers and rabbis had normal lives. I liked girls.

By the time I was a sophomore in high school, I had begun to move away from all organized religion. I studied the effect of organized religion on its followers, and understood to some degree the need for many people to seek guidance.

I view organized religion in two very different ways. First, I see it is a way for men to control other men and become very wealthy doing so. The other side is more of a sincere desire to help other people survive difficult and even tragic times in their lives. However, the latter are few and seldom rich.

When I began researching the origin of religion, I discovered facts which produced even more doubts about Catholicism and Christianity in general.

Many of the stories about Jesus Christ, including His birth mother being a virgin, walking on water, the Sermon on the Mount which produced never ending fish and loaves of bread are included in tales taught by pagan religions decades before Jesus was born. Nearly everything about Jesus’ life was included in multiple pagan religions.

I have no problem with anyone practicing any religion who is a true believer. My problem with most Americans is the fact that they use their feigned belief in one religion as a tool to advance their personal goals, a la Donald Trump.

However, this is personal. The Constitution protects your right to choose any religion you wish. It also protects me from your religion. I do not want any religion to have influence in our government or my personal life.

My most serious complaint about people who claim to be religious is not “Christ-like.” Jesus Christ said, “judge not lest ye be judged,” informing His followers that only God the Father can pass judgement on human beings. One of our most treasured rights in America is to be ourselves, and not forced to conform to the beliefs of others.

Religion should have remained personal. Today, thanks to the Christian Religious Right, which is composed primarily of Evangelical leaders, have great power over right-wing politicians. If they did not, abortion rights and the lives of the LGBTQ community would not have become “hot button issues” in our.

Final fact: Throughout recorded history more innocent men, women, and children have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other reason. Historians estimate the number of deaths throughout the Crusades at between three and nine million.

Op-ed by James Turnage