There are roughly 4,200 religions in the world. For centuries, humans have persecuted each other for their religion, while other people understood that God protects and looks out for us if we have faith and rely on God.
Humans are spiritual beings with feelings of love, happiness, anger, and hate. We also have empathy, envy, and a need to be loved by caring people. Religion, in America, is a choice and a support system for the human spirit. Religion offers leaders who use rituals to remind us to pray and worship God. Houses of worship inspire us with songs, music, art, and prayer to help us be better people as we create community.
The dark side of religion can become a way for self-absorbed people to seek power and control because we are spiritual beings. According to the Associated Press, 1,700 priests and clergy have been accused of sexual abuse of children over the years. As we all should realize by now, an outward vow does not necessarily mean an inward change.
Abused and hurting people look for love and community, which was an opportunity for cult leaders Rev. Jim Jones, David Koresh, and Marshall Applegate to engage and control their followers. Many of these followers died by fire or suicide. A small group led by Charles Manson controlled young girls who killed innocent people, and they went to prison. We seldom discuss communities led by cult leaders like Warren Jeffs. In her book “Born in Polygamy,” Rebecca Kimbel states, “I was born a slave, sold as a slave, and bred as a slave in the United States of America.”
What would change if every living person understood that God’s many blessings are within all of us?
We don’t need religion in our public schools. If we teach “religion” in public schools, it may open the door to teaching many different religions, including Satanism. Just look at the facts: 1453 mass shootings in schools from 1997 to 2022.
Human beings are not powerless. All humans are spiritual beings who are born with different degrees of talents and abilities. Everyone is born with an imagination, intuition, creativity, insights, instincts, a sense of humor, hidden talents, and a self-protective conscience that can protect us if we listen and ask for God’s guidance.
We need our children to have a God-given, truthful spiritual understanding of themselves so they don’t become victims or turn on each other to bully, victimize, or kill. Understanding our inner, God-given power can give youth the tools to forgive, rise above pain and anger, and become contributing community members, which leads to inner peace.
Finding a life of freedom and inner peace with compassion and real love is a do-it-yourself personal transformation project. Personal transformation is not legislated from the outside in; it starts from the inside out. It takes a combination of the heart and the head working together for our children’s best life.
Regardless of hardships and difficulties, every child needs to understand the power of self-discipline, self-control, and self-determination and how to discover their inner potential. We can teach youth that they have the power to find inner freedom, excel beyond their limitations, and live a prosperous life.
Cullen Hightower stated, “Discipline without freedom is tyranny: Freedom without discipline is chaos.“
To be or not to be. You decide.
Stephanie L. Mann, Crime and Violence Prevention Consultant
Author of five books on family, home, neighborhood and city safety
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men” – F Douglass
www.safekidsnow.com
