Religion has always been a big part of who we are as a country, as a culture and even as humans. Since this country was formed, Christianity dominated American culture. From families to the government, it has guided much of our decisions in life.

As a culture, we spend so much time responding to situations in our life through a lens of religion. Most do it without even realizing that is where their beliefs come from.

So many of us define ourselves through our religious ties. But as our society has grown in diversity there are many more religious beliefs now represented in our country.

Cultural diversity is changing how we view our world and how we view religion.

Morality has been defined by religion throughout recorded history, but what if that is not good enough anymore? Perhaps we have outgrown religious morals.

If your religion can no longer explain your life experiences, what do you do? Can you keep defining yourself by it? These are questions I asked myself as began adjusting my values away from religion.

The answers I found showed me that my morals were far more inclusive than most religious perspectives.

Religion vs. Morality

I grew up in religion. Many of you probably did too. It has been part of my daily life since I can remember. For most of my life, it would have seemed impossible to compare religion and morality, but the inconsistencies have worn on me.

Individual perspectives are not allowed

Religion kept me from having my own perspectives on life. When you are religious, you follow a set of rules and you don’t question them(at least not out loud). Life is mostly planned out for you.

I was expected to make choices that lined up with my families religious perspectives. Thinking for myself was not necessary.

But at some point, it wasn’t enough for me to just do what I was supposed to. I wanted to think for myself. My curiosity and my desire for understanding life led me away from religion and allowed me to gain my own perspective on the universe.

My moral standards are higher

The ethics and morals of my religion were divisive. It forgets people and alienated others. It gives excuses for prejudice, racism, and sexism. I had outgrown those lopsided values. I couldn't believe in something that was morally inconsistent anymore.

I have found that my ethics are more accepting of people than the morals of the god that I followed. Religion almost always teaches that its members that they are superior to nonmembers. That gives people permission to treat others as inferior and that is immoral.

When a religion discredits basic human rights it loses the ability to maintain moral perspectives.

Consentual religion

When you were born into a religion, it is non-consensual. You’re not given a choice for what you want to believe. You are expected to remain true to your faith no matter what happens. You are taught that because it’s all you’ve known, there is no reason why should you ever want anything else.

Humans are designed to be curious. To tell them that they should only know what they already know is like telling them to deny who they are.

I’m not saying that everyone should grow up and leave the religion of their birth, but I am saying that controlling what people know about our world under the guise of protecting them is wrong.

Power to help others

A god that is okay with suffering is not a god I want to believe in. Either your god is not all-powerful or he is an a**hole. If you have the power to help people that are suffering and don’t then you are not a moral being.

Following a religion that doesn't put hurting people before everything else is not a moral religion.

People all over the world would do anything to help someone else. Some people spend their lives trying to find cures for diseases, find ways to end poverty and work tirelessly to provide equality for everyone. If these people are doing more to help others than your god, he does not represent morality.

Choosing humanity over religion

I am a human first. This means that when I look at people around me, I want to see them that way first. I want to see them as humans, like me. We are the same. That is what we all need. Humans first then religion. If we could act this way then we would eliminate the divisiveness of all religion.

If you want to follow your religion then please do. But don’t let that stop you from being a moral person. No religion is worth the cost of your humanity.