Honor all religions

It is very disconcerting that just a few months after the Tree of Life attack, Ross Douthat produced the Dec. 30 Forum “The Return of Paganism,” which was laced with sectarian arrogance.

Even though his own religion is struggling with a pedophilia scandal and internal dissension and controversy, he thought it a good idea to insult, ridicule and label Christian heretics, fellow Americans exercising their First Amendment rights.

As America has no state religion and everyone is free to follow his own conscience, it follows that there can be no heresy in America as all religious views and interpretations are equal before the law. Also, Mr. Douthat should know that our Constitution is like a contract; it can only work if everyone supports it, especially the Bill of Rights.

Mr. Douthat also needs to remember our own history as a nation. There was a time when certain religious and philosophical views were not acceptable: Catholicism, Judaism, Native American religions, agnosticism, atheism and even minor Protestant groups. Politicians even opposed immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe because they didn’t want American culture “tainted” by Catholics and Jews.

Inquisitions and pogroms don’t just appear out of thin air. They begin when people of influence — self-righteous religious leaders, “holier than thou” politicians and even snide columnists — choose to insult, ridicule and marginalize any who think differently than they do. That just stokes the glowing embers of bigotry and hatred. LEO NAGORSKI Shaler