I may be biased when I say this, as I am an anthropology student, but I would highly recommend taking an anthropology course sometime in your educational career. In order to truly carry out our lives as decent human beings, we must wholeheartedly understand the importance of accepting other cultures and realizing that not everyone on this Earth will believe the same things you do.
On a basic level, we understand that it takes working together harmoniously in a group setting to create a smooth environment and to obtain common goals. And we understand that if two countries have tension due to the lack of communication, there will be inevitable problems at hand. Yet, many of us can't understand the fundamental notion of respecting a fellow man's beliefs, values and how one carries out their day-to-day life. When the core of our being is judgmental, we are automatically putting ourselves on a ladder as if looking down to an inferior. No one is superior over anyone else. Period.
It's simple: To survive in this world and to become who we aspire to be, if we're constantly fostering ethnocentric attitudes towards our neighbor, we are only plotting our spiritual demise by being so closed-minded. If one culture eats termite paste with their toast, sure, as Americans that is foreign to us and we may think of it as off-putting, but that practice is normal for that group of people. Another culture may look at American meat-eaters and think killing and eating animals is barbaric, but do we think so? Of course not, because meat is an essential contributor to our diet.
What rattles me to the core is when someone of a certain faith or lack thereof deems it necessary to judge another person of faith or lack thereof solely because that person doesn't believe in what the other does. Saying or even thinking that someone will go to hell or the equivalent due to not believing in a certain God is beyond wrong. It's hypocritical. Who gives anyone the audacity? There is a clear difference between belief and judgement.
We are human, which means we have sin. Sin is human made. If an individual sees the many sins of the world and ponders on the possibility of a greater being, one would maybe believe that the greater being is above all of this sin. Incapable of sin and only capable of love. And we all know each person who has ever lived was/is fully capable of giving and receiving love. If we live out our lives by doing good and by treating others with kindness, why on Earth would any God damn someone eternally for not believing in a higher being or a certain ritual? That wouldn't be a characteristic attributed to any God.
No one religion is the right one. Religion is individualistic and anyone who believes in a greater being runs on faith. That's the only thing we can do. No holy texts were written by a God. They were written by man. And as we know throughout history, humans record what they want to, what they think is right. Even if it isn't. This is 2017. Life has changed since the birth of any form of religion.
We all learn about our culture by the previous generations. Our behaviors, belief systems, norms, values, etc. Once learned, they then become knowledge, but only to that distinct culture. Not everyone lives in the same geographic location nor are raised in the same manner. But that's the beautiful artwork we call humanity. In order to give justice to the gift of life, we must respect each other in every sense of the word.
