  Spiritual
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This week's Spiritual Newsletter has a look at religious freedom in multicultural societies. It may not be a very light-hearted topic, but I hope my insights are relevant in this day and age.
It also contains an invitation to share more about your faith with other readers.
kittiara |
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First of all, I’d like to thank everyone for giving me wonderful feedback on the questions I posed in my previous newsletter. It’s given me a better idea about what you want to see in here, and over the next few months it is my aim to make you all happy. Thank you!
One of my readers brought up the topic of how current government policies are eroding our freedom of religious rights, and how it feels like God is no longer respected in his/her country. My apologies in advance to this reader – it would take me a lot longer than a few weeks to have a close look at all the relevant legal issues involved, seeing as I do not live in the United States, which I think is the country in question. However, I do think that the feeling that we’re not so free to express our faith is a common one, and not merely tied to one country. I’ve heard the same sentiments expressed in both the UK, where I live, and in the Netherlands, where I was born.
It is my personal opinion that even though governments welcome multicultural societies, they do not always show great wisdom when it comes to making multicultural societies work. Increased immigration in predominantly Christian countries has brought with it not only a variety of cultures, but also people from a variety of faiths. This needn’t – and shouldn’t – be a problem, because faith is something very personal. Unfortunately, there is always the issue of discrimination…
To state the obvious, discrimination is horrible. People should not be judged by the colour of their skin, their gender, their personal orientation, or their faith. Deep down we’re all pretty similar – we’re just people trying to do our best in life, and mostly we’re simply getting on with it. We all want a roof over our heads, food on the table, to be loved and to be useful and needed.
Discrimination does happen, and I think that mostly it stems from a lack of understanding and subsequent fear of something (or someone) seen as different. The best way to handle this is to learn about the other, and once people see that the other person isn’t so different after all, the fear of the unknown tends to evaporate. Place people of different backgrounds and faiths in, for example, a work place, and soon enough friendships tend to be born, or at least a mutual respect.
The problem is that instead of encouraging people of different backgrounds to get to know the other, sometimes the way organisations (and even governments) deal with a multicultural society is to ban things, especially when it comes to expressions of faith. From not allowing an airhostess to wear a cross pendant on her necklace, to banning headscarves in schools, it feels like some individuals think that it’s better to avoid our differences and pretend they don’t exist, rather than letting people get on with it and showing that such small and innocuous expressions of faith are fine…
In my opinion, this creates problems rather than solve them. In order to avoid offence, offence is caused where there needn’t be any. More often than not, I’ve found that when something was banned or cancelled to not cause offence to people of a certain faith, it turns out that the people didn’t have any problem with it in the first place! And in the act of trying to avoid offence, those who were told they can’t wear a certain necklace, or those who saw their traditional Christmas play altered, or those who are now faced with choosing between wearing a headscarf or attending their school… those people get hurt and upset and this leads to tension and misunderstandings.
For many people it feels like we’re heading towards a society where you have to watch your every word, your every action, to not cause offence. This is not because people, as a whole, are intolerant of others – the majority are nice, and decent! It’s been created by many different laws, and rules, and in a way society has somewhat turned against itself, scrutinising everyone for “faults”.
I think the only way out is to simply allow people to be people. Let people express who they are, and live their lives the way they want to. So long as they don’t harm anyone, there shouldn’t be a problem. The vast majority of people are law-abiding, and generally respectful of one another.
Restrict people too much, and resentment will brew… allow them to breathe, and I think it will be a significant step towards a happier life for all.
~~~
One of my readers asked me to include some essays on religion, and would like to see essays on all the great religions of the world. They feel that by learning about other faiths, it helps us to understand and appreciate them. I agree, and therefore I would like to hold a little informal event.
I invite you all to write about your faith/spiritual path. Why is this the right one for you? How does it affect your daily life, your views, and who you are? What would you like other people to learn and understand about your faith?
I welcome essays, but also stories (fiction or non-fiction) and poetry, so long as they are relevant and give us all some insight. Please keep the content to 18+ or under, and the intro to E. There are no restrictions on item size - just please keep it reasonable!
Little disclaimer - please be respectful of other faiths - I'd like to read about {i]your faith, not why another one isn't the "right" faith, so to say  .
I'll give out some small prizes (Awardicons and Merit Badges) to the ones I feel are the most insightful. I might bring in a guest judge if I receive a good amount of entries. And, of course, I'll include as many entries as possible in my Editor's Picks.
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I look forward to reading your work .
kittiara
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The Spiritual Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in!
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In my previous Newsletter, I asked of you what you would like to see in the Spiritual Newsletter. Below are some of the responses - thank you so much for your feedback! I truly appreciate it, and you've all given me a lot of inspiration for months to come. I hope I'll make you all happy, and that I will be able to provide you with some interesting and challenging reads .
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Zeke  - Spiritual writing for me is almost always done on impulse. I think of a concept and I just have to write it down. Most of my spiritual essays were written in fifteen or twenty minutes.
Zeke
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pooja_sr - Interesting newsletter indeed. I think it would be nice if you ran a contest with prompts. I've never written anything spiritual, only read such pieces. So it would be nice if you could kick-start a writing exercise as such. Happy Writing, it's always a pleasure to read your newsletters, Kittiara.
~~~
VOTE:ObamaDramaOverIn2012:D  - I would like to see how current government policies are eroding our Freedom of Religion Rights all over our great country. We read about it, see it on TV on a daily basis. It seems Christians in particular are being penalized for their faith, and God is no longer respected in our society. Could you address those legal issues next time or some time before July 15th? Thanks.
~~~
Prosperous Snow celebrating  - I read this newsletter for both the inspiration and education I receive from it. Each time I read the newsletter, I find something to inspire me. I am interested in the various faith paths, what are their similarities and dissimilarities.
I always find something uplifting in the newsletter either in the letter from the editor or in the editor’s picks. I am open to informal events, prompts and quotes. In fact, I occasionally use prompts to inspire my writing and give me ideas.
~~~
Acme - I read the Spiritual Newsletter because people are the bottom line. All the other newsletters are great, but they tend to focus more on technical application of genres, writing, the site and information. The Spiritual Newsletter can do this too, but always--always--there is a nod toward the person behind the pen.
~~~
Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,
The Spiritual Newsletter Team,
Sophurky  , northernwrites, kittiara
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Spiritual: June 24, 2009 Issue [#3124]
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