One's Religion Is a Choice. It Is Not an Innate Characteristic of Anyone. [View all]

Unlike skin color, sex, sexual orientation, gender, or birthplace, one may choose one's own religion freely. That sets religious belief apart from inborn characteristics. While many people are indoctrinated into a religious belief system, it is entirely possible to change one's beliefs or to abandon religious belief altogether. Evidence of that is everywhere.

Intolerance or bigotry are directed at inborn characteristics of people, through classification. Simply not believing in some religion is in no way intolerant of anyone. Actively stating that a particular religion or deity is false is also not intolerant of anyone. It is not bigotry, either. It is simply stating one's own belief about a set of beliefs. You are welcome to say that you believe in a deity or deities and that my disbelief is incorrect.

Now, some religion might consider a negative opinion about it or dismissal of its deity or deities to be blasphemy. Blasphemy is not intolerance. It is simply disbelief or outright dismissal of the validity of a particular religious belief or deities. Most Christians, for example, do not believe that the Hindu pantheon of deities are truly of a divine nature. To a Hindu, that is blasphemy, yet most Christians believe and declare that only their deity is a deity, by definition.

I think and will declare that all deities are figments of the human imagination. I therefore blaspheme all religions that worship deities. I do not, however, condemn all believers in those deities. I simply do not believe as they do. I am not intolerant of them. I simply don't believe the deities they worship are real. In that, I am similar to a Christian who dismisses the divinity of Hindu gods. I just dismiss them all as imaginary.

If people decide that they believe in a deity and worship that deity, I don't really care. That is, or should be, irrelevant to my life. If they attempt to foist off their deity on me, however, I will reject their attempt. I have made my decision, after due consideration, and have no deities to worship. I'll be happy, though, not to obstruct your worship of some deity, as long as it doesn't interfere unduly with my life or the lives of others. I'm not intolerant of your religious beliefs, though. I just think they're superstitious, but what you believe is none of my business, really. The problem arises when you insist that I or others should or must believe as you do.