Religion is a very predominant part of many people’s lives, and organized faiths, as we know, have their own set of moral code and conduct. What is and is not okay according to them–in other words, morals. Being born and raised Roman Catholic (and still going by that title even today), I was raised with a very firm set of moral beliefs. Things that were acceptable and things that were not. Many of these I still hold true to: murder is still bad, no matter what way you look at it, and I definitely can’t steal your stuff. However, growing up I realized something. Many of the “moral” codes set down by my denomination were a far cry from what my political outlook was. This is what I call the “moral dilemma.” What do I hold onto? Faith or freedom?
There are many different questions that can pose this problem, though not all on a political level. Premarital sex, divorce, polygamy, abortion, and gay marriage, to name a few. In the mind of a devout Catholic, completely and utterly dedicated to their faith, the answer to the question, “is any of this okay?” would be a simple, concise, “No.” However, I, and many others, find ourselves thinking, “Wait. What’s the BFD?”
Morality and liberty are two very different mindsets and codes, and they should be taken as such. For example, on a moral level I am against abortion, and yet I am pro-choice. Why? Just because I would never get an abortion does not mean that you shouldn’t have the right to if you so choose. The same goes for many political controversies that I find myself on the more “liberal” side of. Gay marriage? I am not gay, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think they should have the same rights straight couples do. I do not smoke pot, but that doesn’t mean I think it should be illegal. I wouldn’t really walk around naked (sorry, guys!), but if I DID want to, I think I should be able to. It is the same on a moral level: my morals are personal. You have no right to push your morals on me, and I have no right to push mine upon you.
For me the solution to this “moral dilemma” was simple. My faith and my morals are on a completely different level than my political outlook, and holding them in complete disregard to one another did nothing to discredit the merit to either of them. Religion, as with most things, is a choice, and the moral code that goes along with that is not something that can be forced upon any individual. If something does not infringe upon the rights of others, even if morally it is considered “evil” by your faith, what right do we have? Is the fact that we consider something “sinister” enough for us to condemn it without taking into consideration that it may not actually be violating another’s rights?
I don’t think so. You have your morals and I have mine: let’s keep it that way.
