There is only one path to the truth, your own. Anyone in need of redemption, reflection, or reason needs to find their own path.

One of the reasons I find fundamentalist or evangelical religions so troubling is the incessant demand for acceptance or, even more troubling, acquiescence.

And Christian Nationalism is merely fascism masquerading as religion.

Social media and public discourse in this country is rife with the insistence on acknowledging the U S as a Christian nation. The argument being that since many of the founding fathers were Christians, or at least deists, then the foundation of all secular matters should be so guided.

What they’re demonstrating is a lack of confidence in their own path, the one with a monotheistic Christian bent, and seek reassurance by demanding others accept this as the only path.

But history would demonstrate otherwise.

There were people of high moral character before the advent of the Christian philosophy and there are those of similar character who do not embrace the Christian path.

It is this demand for homogeneity, particularly in the absence of any evidence of efficacy, that I find particularly troubling.

I know many people who hold their faith out of sincere belief. The most devout among them feel no need for outside validation. They do not need a government to adhere to their faith to the exclusion of all others. They do not need anyone to either acknowledge the validity of their faith or convert because they are not of the one true faith.

On the contrary, they recognize we all must find our own path.

It may be Christian. It may be Islam. It may be Buddhism, or Hinduism, or any of the plethora of doctrines derived by human thought and experience

Those who have overcome adversity, addiction, or other traumas in life often point to their faith as the reason for their recovery. I would concede the rituals of the faith gave them focus, but their success in their endeavor came from within their own innate human spirit.

Most people never recognize their own inner strength. If ever there was an argument for the absence of god is would be in the death camps of Nazi Germany. Yet, despite the horrendous conditions that erased all hope, a modern version of “abandon all hope, ye who enter here”, people found a reason to survive. Religion didn’t save them. I would argue that the prejudices of one faith twisted to further human depravity doomed them to the camps, but people still survived.

Something inside gave them reason to live despite it all. Some will claim it was faith, I believe it was the essence of being human, an inner strength and ability to survive, that allowed them a way to endure.

Everyone must seek their own path. Some find it in the company of others without really examining the route. Religion offers structure but often stymies intellectual curiosity and rejects introspection.

I recall a saying I often heard growing up. You don’t discuss religion, politics, or money. All these matters are, and should remain, private.

Embracing such a policy once again may serve us well.

Find your own way. The road I travel may not be your way. But we can share the journey even if we only cross paths on occasion.