Aug. 19, 2005 - Freedom TO Believe

In the booklet called The Way to Happiness , a non-religious moral code written by L. Ron Hubbard, Mr. Hubbard wrote the following on religious tolerance:

Tolerance is a good cornerstone on which to build human relationships. When one views the slaughter and suffering caused by religious intolerance throughout all the history of man and into modern times, one can see that intolerance is a very nonsurvival activity.

Religious tolerance does not mean one cannot express his own beliefs. It does mean that seeking to undermine or attack the religious faith and beliefs of another has always been a short road to trouble.

 

Today there is so much controversy about the separation of church and state and what this means, and how to correctly implement it. But what is the real concern these controversies address?  Isn't it the basic concept that all men should be allowed to worship freely according to their own conscience?  Isn't that what the American founding fathers had in mind when they established the separation of church and state?  Freedom of religion has been interpreted, in countries like France, to mean "freedom from religion," rather than the freedom to worship as one sees fit.

The Creed of the Church of Scientology expresses the concept I support very will, where it says:

That all men of whatever race, color or creed were created with equal rights;

That all men have inalienable rights to conceive, choose, assist or support their own organizations, churches and governments;

Consider this ironic fact.  In Belgium the humanists are classified as an official religion, but over 300 religious practices including my religion, the Church of Scientology, are not. 

Who determines what is a legitimate belief?

Again, I quote from the writings of L. Ron Hubbard on the subject. In an article called "Personal Integrity" he wrote:

"WHAT IS TRUE FOR YOU is what you have observed yourself"

A bit more tolerance would go a very long way.

And speaking of The Way To Happiness the essay on religious tolerance is only one small part of this booklet.  It is amazing how much ground this booklet covers.  The contention of the work is that if one were to adopt a common-sense moral code and really live by it one's life would be better and one would experience true happiness.  Is that true?  Well isn't it worth a try to find out? 

You can click here to download a free e-book version of The Way To Happiness.