The Right to Believe

I’ve always been aware that Christians held outrageous beliefs, but I recently became aware that they also believe in Jedi mind tricks. I’m not talking about some obscure Christian cult, either. I’ve heard this from Catholics, Protestants, and many other mainstream Christians. By now you’ve probably thought of opening up a new tab to search for something that would back up my claim, so I should clarify.

I’ve heard Christians claim that atheists are trying to take away their right to believe. My conclusion is that they must believe in Jedi mind tricks.

Theist: “I believe in God.”
Atheist: “You don’t believe in God.”
Theist: “I don’t believe in God.”

Anyone who is interested in the truth and not merely being right would gladly welcome any criticism of their beliefs (I gladly welcome anyone to comment on this post). It’s only the intellectually weak that choose to shield their beliefs from criticism by hiding behind this absurd notion that their right to believe is being threatened.

I once heard someone say that he was glad to live in a country where he has the right to believe anything he wants. Well, everyone in the world lives in a country where you have the right to believe anything you want. This is not a state-given right. This is a right that we all have as a result of nature giving different people different brains. There are, however, countries in which people are not allowed to practice certain religions freely. The United States is not one of those countries. Since Christians in the United States wouldn’t dare claim that criticizing their beliefs equates to taking away their right to practice or express their religion freely, the “right to believe” has become the buzzword of choice for those with a persecution complex who attempt to raise mere criticism to the level of a violation of human rights.

Initially, the “right to believe” seems like a rather effective scare tactic. When one claims that people are trying to take away their right to believe, images of brain probes, dystopian novels, Ellen Page and Leonardo DiCaprio invading elaborate dream cities, and stormtrooper-duping Jedis may come to mind. It’s an attack on everything that makes us who we are: our brain. Fortunately, the Force is not strong with our species, and that keeps us from having anyone ever take away our right to believe.

Complaining about someone trying to take away a right that couldn’t possibly be taken away is an attempt to distract everyone from the real issue: actions that are the results of beliefs. If a therapist is fired for refusing to work with a gay couple, he is not being fired for his religious beliefs; he is being fired for not doing his job. If a couple is arrested for not taking their dying child to a hospital, they are not being arrested for their religious beliefs; they are being arrested for neglecting their child. I wish those two situations were just hypothetical situations.

The irony of this empty Christian rhetoric is that Christianity does not respect people’s right to believe. Since when is childhood indoctrination--essentially, forcing children to believe what you believe instead of allowing them to form their own beliefs--respecting a person’s right to believe? According to Christianity, thought crimes are punishable by eternal torture, and the worst offense of all is disbelief in God. Quite simply, believe or burn. Why doesn’t God respect my right to believe that he doesn’t exist? The next time a Christian asks me to respect their right to believe, I’ll simply say, “well, that’s not very Christ-like.”