About this Blog

Being the Ramblings of a Religious Rebel

This Blog is a collection of "stray thoughts" about religion and spirituality. Special focus on common themes across religions along with issues related to interfaith relations and dialogue.

Please feel free to comment and continue the dialogue amongst yourselves. The author may also respond.

Author is a life long student of the world's religions, holding a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies and being a professor of religion at Northern Virginia Community College.

Professional website: https://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/

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Religious Intolerance: Causes and Solutions, some observations

Why do people of different religions seem to hate each other so much? Perhaps because they are simply ignorant of how much they really have in common! I generally find that intolerance is a result of ignorance, and such ignorance and intolerance is often passed down to the next generation when people in positions of authority (parents, teachers, etc.) remain ignorant. Ignorance often leads to fear, fear can lead to hate, and hate can lead to violence. Knowledge is the key to avoid going down this path. Conflict between people of different religions may begin with simple ignorance. People who do not really know anything about other religions just assume the others are very different. They are not aware that many religions share the same basic ideas. Thus these people assume that the other religions must be wrong. Some people have the idea that "if my religion is right then you and yours must be wrong (and we can't let people go around thinking they know the truth when they do
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When I was an agnostic…

I was also anti-religion. In hindsight, I can now say it was because religion frustrated me. To be specific, it was the question of God’s existence that frustrated me. Or, more precisely, not being able to find an answer to the question is what frustrated me. I was in high school when it came to a head, when I gave up trying to find that elusive answer.   It followed me into college. Religion was not just something I “would not touch with a ten foot pole.” It was something I consciously and intentionally ran from, went out of my way to avoid. But I do feel that secretly – even hiding if from myself – I wanted to be religious; I wanted to believe. Now, when I come across an anti-religion atheist – you know, those outspoken “evangelical” atheist types who argue the “evils” of religion and the “childish silliness” of God belief – I believe that they do are as I was – a frustrated “want to” believer. All their anti-religion, anti-God talk is their way of reinforcing their fai
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Eastern Philosophy for Westerners

by Laura Ellen Shulman - Dec. '85   "Why do bad things happen to good people?" is a common question asked by Westerners. This situation is cause for much religious doubt in traditions based on a concept of an all good and just God. "If God is good why is there evil in the world which God created?" It is not justice when good people suffer. Job asks the same question and discovers that "his is not to reason why, his is but to do or die" without questioning what he cannot comprehend. The question is asked by all people in all times and places. Our solutions to the problem are diverse. When the philosophers of ancient India asked the question they came up with a much more psychologically satisfying answer. The Indian answer to the question is the basis of all later Indian religious development (including Jain and Buddhist as well as Hindu) while the Western "answer" continues to make religion very hard for many people to hold on to.   Indian Wor
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