How sad it is, in the year 2015, to see a law passed in the United States that legalizes discrimination by religion, sexual orientation, or any other factor. This is a big step backwards for Indiana, a state already saddled with a tragic history of racism and klansmanship. While many of us are focused on brightening our shared future — a mission that calls us to highlight our similarities and embrace our differences – others remain to drive wedges between us, fearful of a future that doesn't recognize their privilege, afraid that progress may call past lives of prejudice into question.
I am a proponent of religious freedom. I am not, however, willing to accept as a religious "belief" anything that allows for discrimination and violence, physical or psychological, toward non-believers. For millennia such beliefs have only lead to hatred and war, and they still do today.
Indiana is 84% White and 80% Christian. The state legislature is 80% male. It is likely that the majority of these individuals have not expe