December 2002
French articles
news
opinion
junior reporters
entertainment
arts and expressions
about SNN
newsroom
classroom
magazine archives
links

OPINION

Observations on Religion
By Christopher C., Grade 12, Fredericton High School, Fredericton, NB

Every day I walk through the halls of FHS, and I can't help but be proud of the spiritual mosaic I am presented with.

Christianity, Atheism, Agnosticism, Judaism, Traditional Native Spirituality, Paganism, Islam, Budhism - there's a faith for everyone. Moreover, few of my peers really seem to care what one believes - everyone's considered equal.

Sounds utopian, doesn't it? I'm not going to say everyone subscribes to this equality bit - indeed, I've even come upon a few people of my own religion, I'm embarrassed to say, who would benefit greatly from a course in religious tolerance (curious; one would think someone who holds such a minority belief would support tolerance all the more for it). But, for the most part, people are courteous enough to "agree to disagree" with each other when it comes to spiritual matters.

Strangely enough, I've actually heard arguments against this mindframe. The loudest cry seems to be, "we've used 'freedom of religion' as an excuse for freedom from religion." Maybe I'm just biased, but I say so be it. I'd rather have a world of self-fulfilled Atheists than yet another series of "Holy" Wars.

But, despite the fears of certain religious factions, teens today don't seem to be less interested in spiritual matters - just less vocal about it. Maybe this just spells an end for evangelism, not religion altogether, so it's not that big of a loss. At any rate, I'd have to say FHS is a pretty decent place in terms of religious tolerance. You're allowed to believe whatever you like, and there are rules in place that punish intolerance. All things considered, that's not a bad deal.


     



Back to Front Page