Questioning and Criticizing = Disrepecting?

Why is it considered “disrepectful” when I question someone else’s religious intentions? Somehow, I’m supposed to be “tolerant” of others’ beliefs. If they question their own religion, it’s okay. It’s okay to have doubts about your own religion. Then, why can’t I have doubts about your religion?

If a well-known writer uses biting satire to criticize religion, it’s genius, it’s cool. But if I say similar out-loud, I’m a smart-ass. I’m disrespectful. This isn’t right.

Why can’t I question directly, aggressively? Why can’t I question your beliefs? Does it make you uncomfortable? Maybe you should address the questions instead of avoiding them, instead of saying I’m being disrespectful.

It’s hard for me to be tolerant when I can’t understand the mindset of the other people. I can learn all I want about religion, but I can’t understand what the people are thinking. I can’t understand how people can just believe in something without any evidence.

In one of the songs used during Mass today at school (I go to a Catholic school), it mentions people being the sheep of god’s flock or something. I don’t know, but I find the usage of the word “sheep” amusing. Like, they’re just followers with no mind of their own. If they use sheep to describe themselves, it’s good. I can’t use the word. That’s disrespectful.

Note: When I use the term “You,” I’m usually not speaking directly to “you” the reader. Just imagine this imaginary person, maybe. And yeah, I’m making some generalizations. That’s how humans understand big things. You have to generalize to analyze large trends in human behavior.

I’m probably going to be writing a bit more about religion over the next few days.