Holidays Underscore Religious Diversity
by Jim Greer
LW contributor
Perhaps no other time of the year displays American culture’s diversity than the last months of the year. The holidays are a wonderful time for all of us to acknowledge and support the expression of religious diversity in our community.
“Religion is not a hobby,” stated the recently released Beckett Group’s annual Religious Freedom Index.
For a solid majority of Americans, religion is “not just a series of rote actions on Sunday or privately held beliefs,” stated the Deseret News editorial board in reporting the release of the Index. Religion “is a part of who they are and the core of their characters.”
The Beckett group, a nonprofit, public-interest, legal and educational institute with a mission of protecting the free expression of all faiths, affirmed that “religious identity cannot be quarantined. Religion is part of who Americans are, not just something they do.”
This year’s Index included new questions on how religion and religious freedom relate to the COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice and the 2020 election.
More than 60 percent of respondents said that religion and people of faith are part of the solution to our country’s issues.
More than 60 percent of respondents said that faith or religion was important to them during the pandemic.
Not surprisingly, respondents over 65 were much more likely than all others to say that faith and religion were extremely or very important to dealing with the pandemic.
In an unexpected finding, Gen Z respondents—those born between the 1990s and the early 2010s—who tend to be less religious, felt that faith and religion were extremely or very important during the pandemic.
The Index further revealed that religion is part of an individual’s identity. Most respondents thought houses of worship should be treated with at least the same priority for reopening as businesses.
Respondents in the Index supported protections that reflect the reality of religious identity. They felt religion had played a significant role in filling the political leadership gap in advocating for racial justice.
In summary, the Index found that Americans are anchored in their opinions on religious freedom and that religion sustains them through difficult times.
The holidays are not a time to discount the value of our religious pluralism.
They are a time to support the expression of religious diversity. Phrases such as “happy holidays” do not discount the value of any one religious group’s observance.
Wishing all a happy holiday places equal value on everyone’s beliefs and acknowledges their right to celebrate the joy they find in living them.
In affirming religious freedom, Nathan Sproul, managing director of Lincoln Strategy Group, stated, “Pluralism works. Freedom of speech and religion and the press work. This time of year should remind us of all the blessings we have and what unites us instead of what divides us.”
To all living and working within Leisure World, happy holidays.
May your celebrations be joyful and your holiday worship meaningful. And may fortune and providence bring us health and prosperity in the New Year.
