All in the Name of Religion

More and more these days, religion is becoming a hotbed of debate among the peoples of the world. Not that it was never a topic of debate to begin with but still, lately it seems like it's coming more and more to the forefront. I suppose in a way it's not too surprising that it's a touchy subject with many people but I sometimes think that it's touchy for the sake of being touchy and not because people assume it to be a true insult to their own religion. What do I mean? Well, there were a couple of incidents recently at London's Heathrow Airport that involved British Airways and it sort of illustrates the misunderstanding and extremism that seems to pervade anything related to religion.

In the first incident, a Hindu woman who works for British Airways was asked to remove her nose piercing because BA has a policy against "flesh piercings that can pose a hazard to customers and co-workers". If you see a picture of the nose stud, it is a very small piercing that she wore and it was hardly in a position to 'hurt' anyone. Still, despite her protestations that this was a requirement by her Hindu beliefs, she was asked to remove it or be removed from her job. She refused so she was removed from service. In a similar incident prior to that, a Catholic woman was asked to remove her crucifix due to the BA policy regarding jewelry that can be worn. While this woman was removed from work, the intervention of the Archbishop of Canterbury helped her get her job back with the understanding that the policies of BA would attempt to be more lenient. Apparently the message didn't get through.

Earlier this month, a Catholic worker in the airport car park (i.e. parking garage) was cleaning out the office when he found a picture of Jesus on the cross. Not wanting to throw it away, he hung it up in his office. This action was much to the ire one of his Muslim co-workers. A formal complaint was filed and the Catholic worker was suspended for failing to comply with requests to remove the picture. So who is right? I frankly think they're all wrong. I'm not a deeply religious person and I'm not so naive as to think that all the religions of the world can get along. We don't live in a Utopia and that vision of the world will remain just that; a vision. It's not surprising seeing as how most people of the world generallly don't know anything about any other religion other than their own. Even then, their knowledge is generally limited to what is ingrained in their heads over the years.

I have been fortunate to be exposed to many religions in my time though I still have to discover many more. While I will never confess to understanding all religions, I have made efforts to understand my own before jumping to its defense or putting down any other religion. That's a problem that many people seem to have. They don't understand their religion, all they know is that their's is supposed to be far superior to any of the others and that being said, they will fight tooth and nail to prove that their religion is better than anyone else's. I think the recent spats at Heathrow are evidence of this. I mean I can understand the policy of not wanting to offend anyone due to having excessive piercings or hanging religions photographs all over the place but some of the reactions that have been shown here have been extreme.

In order for this Hindu woman with her nose piercing to hurt anyone with it she would either have to remove the stud and start pricking people with it or rub her nose against someone really hard to even cause a scratch. As for the photo of Jesus? What's the harm in it if this chap isn't going around espousing his religious beliefs on everyone who comes and goes from the car park? Many of the objections that come out of these discussions come from an inherent fear of the unknown and gross generalizations. I remember when a Hindu temple was being proposed for construction along a relatively busy road near the University of Maryland in College Park. One of the objections at the time was that there would be a sudden influx of traffic along the road during religions gathering times. While that may be true, it didn't prevent the dozens of churches of all denominations from setting up shop and delaying traffic along the road.

The reactions of some folks at Heathrow seems to be wanting to please everyone by treating all religions the same way; very shabbily. I say shabbily simply because if you ask a Catholic woman to remove her cross then you must ask a Hindu woman to remove her nose piercing since both are signs of religion. In the case of the Muslim protesting the fact that his co-worker put up a picture of Jesus, the objection comes on the grounds that the Muslim felt uncomfortable with the picture of a Christian icon in a common office. I do understand that Islam has certain rules against iconography in their religion but is any religion in the world that weak as to be set out on its ear if another religion sets up shop close by? Most of the major religions of the world have been around for thousands of years now. They have been cause of much strife in the past and will undoubtedly continue to cause strife for years to come.

However, if we can't embrace the fact that if our religions have survived for so long despite the fact that there are 'competing religions' out there then we will never get anywhere in progressing towards an eventual Utopian society. If the Catholic with the picture of Jesus began spouting philosophic about his religion to every non-Christian in his vicinity then he could be considered guilty of harassment, but for putting up a picture? Everyone out there, especially those with a peripheral or general knowledge of any religion (including their own) should try to learn a little more about the other religions out there. And regardless of whether you seek to learn more or not, be comfortable in your own religious skin. If someone tells you that their religion is better than yours, be the superior and say nothing. Rather than entering a prolonged arguement on this score... just be comfortable in knowing you are happy with your religion, if you aren't, then why are you practicing it anyways? Your beliefs are probably very weak to begin with.