Quotation: “Sir, no nation has ever yet existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has been given to man, and I as chief magistrate of this nation am bound to give it the sanction of my example.”

The above-referenced quotation was alleged to have been made by Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father, Principal Signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Third President of the United States of America.

Many today debate whether America was founded as a Christian nation or not. It appears to me that while the Constitution makes no direct reference to God, circumstantial evidence existent at the time of its drafting and passage clearly support the idea that it was indeed founded based on Christian principles.

For me (a Christian by birth and a believer in God), the issue today facing America and the world is not whether America is a Christian nation or not. There is a larger issue, in theocracies where they exist (as in the Middle East and elsewhere) and in other countries, of how best to safeguard the rights of those within who share dissenting beliefs.

Certainly, in God’s good earth, very few would argue that a nation should expel individuals who do not subscribe to the prevailing religious doctrine. Likewise, too, it is a tough idea to sell that governments and constitutions must be required to obliterate all religiously-inspired principles of right and wrong in their establishment and functioning.

Constitutions, statutes, judicial rulings and interpretations are not created in a vacuum. Human beings are behind the drafting, enactments, and rulings. Human beings are influenced by what they believe in and their ideas of what is just, what is evil, what is right, and what is wrong.

Therein lies toady one of the biggest challenges facing many countries around the world – how to reconcile religious conviction with the rights of other citizens who may be atheistic, agnostic, or of differing religious beliefs and interpretations of divine principles. It is not an easy road to travel.

Today, one often turns on the TV or goes online, and sees horrific examples of people in many parts of the world becoming victims of atrocities committed by others inspired by their religious convictions. Throughout history, there has been much violence, bloodshed, and victimization of others because they were considered heretic or evil for deeds deemed punishable by scriptures.

As a believer in a Divine Being, I enjoy the company of believers, but I also recognize that, as with all other living species, there is diversity in the human race. We must live and let live. We often have to tolerate without approving. We must ensure, as best we can, our own rights, while safeguarding the rights of others who may not be part of the majority consensus. This is all easier said than done.

As a writer, I explore and question. Unfortunately, an artist cannot solve the world’s dilemmas. He or she can only raise questions, or address the consciousness to issues that matter.

It is collectively as human beings that we must find answers. And one of the most pressing matters we face today is how to balance religious beliefs with the rights of non-believers and those whose beliefs are dissimilar to our own.