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Spirituality, Personal Freedom and Social Justice
I believe, as did the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, that there an undeniable connection between spirituality, personal freedom and social justice. The human mind and spirit must be free from oppression in order to soar in thought to intellectual and spiritual heights. The human being must also be free from economic oppression so that it is not encumbered by concerns over its basic physical needs.
As each one of us grows in spiritual wisdom and development, we therefore, become more and more aware of social injustice and the need to speak out and take action against it. This is especially true of those who belong to minority religions. Minority religions and their members are keenly aware of the prejudices against them and the threat of the Religious Right upon their freedoms.In the United States, our Founding Fathers were quite conscious of this need, having already lived under the oppressive rule of a monarchy that was too closely aligned to one religion. As a society we are fortunate to have reaped the benefit of their experience, insight, and foresight. I wonder, however, whether we have not taken it too much for granted and as a result are complacent about the gradual erosion of our freedoms in many areas of our lives that is taking place in our country today.
The Religious Right claims that our country was founded by Christians and that this is a Christian country. In truth, our Founding Fathers held a variety religious beliefs. Many of them were Deists. A Deist believes in "what can be called natural religion, the acceptance of a certain body of religious knowledge that is inborn in every person or that can be acquired by the use of reason, as opposed to knowledge acquired through either revelation or the teaching of any church."
It was because of the diversity of religious beliefs, that the Founding Fathers supported the Right to Religious Freedom. And, they supported the individual's Right to Freedom of Expression of their ideas and beliefs. In this country, we do not have to agree with what is expressed by another, but we do have to support one another's right to speak their mind on any particular topic. What we do not have to put up with, however, is violence and tyranny as a form of expression for one's personal beliefs.
Tyranny and violence exist when one particular group professing a particular belief impose their beliefs upon others through the Local, State or Federal Judiciary System. The on-going Abortion Rights battle is filled with examples of tyranny and violence perpetrated by one group of citizens of one belief, upon the whole of another group of citizens who may not necessarily profess the same belief.
It is my position that those of us who are spiritual in nature must respect the dignity of each individual and preserve their right to make their own choices in such matters. And we must preserve all other personal freedoms by making our voices heard and maintaining a separation between church and state.
By virtue of not only self-reliance, but of the laws which govern an individual's activities in any given society, culture or government does the human spirit possess the freedom to evolve into its highest spiritual nature. Be, therefore, a guardian of that sacred trust for all humanity.
