People believe what keeps them alive and kicking: or they don't

This is one truism that I see everywhere. People either believe what keeps them alive and kicking or they don't and they die or go crazy.

I've watched this all over the world. People in transition from one belief system to another are the most vulnerable.

I personally have taken a different position than this. I started with one belief system and added to it things that seemed useful and practical along the way. Some things in our culture are useful. Some things in other cultures are useful. So, from my point of view gravitating to what works for you is sort of "customizing your personal religion for optimum effect" throughout your life.

For example, when you meet new people watch what they do and think about what might also be useful in your life too. This is especially true as one travels the world and meets people literally from every philosophy and religion on earth.

There are really no cultures ultimately better than others, there are only different strategies to life. Some work better than others for different people so often the people that survive worldwide are the ones most effective at adapting the strategies that work for them personally.

You always know when you meet someone who is totally in contradiction to what they were taught as children because if they try to force a belief system that doesn't work for them you see them slowly move towards insanity and self destruction.

It really doesn't matter how good you personally perceive a given system to be, it might not work at all for that person, and for that particular personality type. And forcing someone to do things that work ONLY for you is going to drive that person either insane, to suicide or to kill you in the process at some point.

So, I'm a firm believer in letting people believe whatever they want to as long as they aren't harming anyone directly because of it.

So, the tenant of "Freedom of Religion" has to be for all not just for you or it doesn't work at all.

To believe in freedom of religion and then to force your children to believe what you believe is wrong.

"You can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink".

If you watch "The Big Sick" that is really what this movie is about. In the True story the man is raised Muslim in the U.S. but then isn't interested in being a Muslim and lives with a white girl here in America which basically means she and he may or may not have any religion at all. So, more than anything the movie is about a Pakistani embracing "being an American" more than anything else in the movie.

He still loves and respects his family who is very Muslim. He is still a Pakistani American but he is not longer a Muslim Believer. Instead he is an Americanized Pakistani which happens to a lot of people no matter their religion when they come to America and grow up here as children to adulthood.