Let’s face the truth. Religion in adolescents is less significant than before.

From 1930s to 2010s, religiously unaffiliated people have declined from five percent of the US population to 20 percent, according to UC Berkeley researcher Claude Fischer.

My atheist friend once told me that religion is just a way for people to find answers in life.That statement can be read in two different ways. My friend believed choosing religion  to be naive and pointless, thus she has strayed away from any religion.

There are hundreds of possible reasons of why decline in religion has occurred. From increase in technology, evolution and science to religious violence, more Americans are giving up religious affiliations.

Religion hostility has been at a six-year high: 33 percent of 198 countries recorded high hostility in 2012, according to Pew Research.  A high of 47 percent of countries also reported abuse of religious minorities by individuals or private groups because of acts considered offensive or threatening to the majority.

That is honestly ridiculous. How can citizens in almost 100 countries be so offended by others? Did they never learn what first graders learn: treat others the way you want to be treated? No matter how devout one might be to a religion, there’s no reason why we should go against human nature and murder people.

Violence both against religion and because of religion has been prevalent the past few decades. Recently, two gunmen part of the Al-Qaeda killed eleven people of “Charlie Hebdo,” after the French satirical newspaper published controversial comics depicting Muhammad.

Many religions, such as Christianity, encourage to “love thy neighbor” and “love your enemies.” Islam also encourages nonviolence. The Quran states, “If you should raise your hand against me to kill me – I shall not raise my hand against you to kill you.”

I find it ironic there’s still so violence prevalent concerning all religions. It makes sense that this brutality can decrease religious affiliations. If churches, mosques, temples, synagogues, etc. do not want their followers to decline, it’s obvious that decreasing violence can help.

The development of science and evolution is also a cause to the religious decrease. Pew Research reported more than half of young adults (55 percent) believe evolution explains the development of human life, a controversial topic addressed by many religions. With increasing scientific research, more people are siding with scientific fact than belief.

However, I must give my opinion. Even with all the violence and research, I believe that religion is still an effective way for people to understand the world they live in and have something to believe in. I’m not here to push for others to become associated with religion, for I believe this country tried to build itself around freedom so everyone deserves to find their own beliefs.

But people cannot hate on religion. It does not always cause evil and violence in the world. Sometimes it can be too extreme, but Albert Einstein once stood up to his atheist professor and asked: “Does cold exist? In fact cold does not exist. Cold in reality is the absence of heat. Darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Evil does not exist. It is just like darkness and cold. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love in his presence.”

There are millions of arguments for or against different beliefs. There are also so many defending justifications. I only named a few.

As of now, in this 21st century, it makes me sad to see so much hostility to religions, such as Islam. If all the past religious wars and conflicts have not taught us anything yet, it’s to learn from our previous mistakes.  We are so far along with our technology and lifestyle; why can’t we be far along with our acceptance?

Maybe this is why religious presence is decreasing in our society as well. The lack of acceptance is also pushing people away.

Possibly in the future, as society grows and changes with beliefs, we will more peace and acceptance instead hatred and violence. But for now, we can only work on it. Until then, I really hope the topic of religion doesn’t get even more sensitive.