A terrible feeling invaded me. It took me a while to understand what was happening in my mind. I had never perceived religion in this way. For all of my life, religion was a choice. I chose whether to believe in a God. And now, I confronted a scenario in which religion was a given. Of course, according to religion, there is nothing to choose. One simply is part of a religious community. And the rules that the religion defines are non-negotiable. They simply exist as well, and no amount of resistance or rebellion can change them because they are given by God. The thought scared me to death. Freedom is limited in many places on Earth, but it is theoretically possible to rebel against that oppression because it comes from other humans. But if God dictates how things should be, nothing can overturn those rules. All of this is well known, but facing it closely made it real. I cannot imagine anyone wanting to be part of such a system voluntarily.
The cathedral of Palermo. As long as religion is a choice, it provides great guidelines.
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