FOR a while, I have made a conscious decision to not comment on anything religiously-related. Often, I find I come off preachy and condescending when I talk about such things and that is not something I want. But, I feel that we need to call out these things when we see them, no matter how it may come across. Neglecting to do that often creates an unchallenged space for one to incite fear and hate. I saw two examples of this this week. The first was of ‘Brother Peter,’ who is a part of a team of missionaries from ‘Faith World Baptist Church,’ preaching about damnation in a public school. The second was of “Pastor,” Nigel London, preaching on his programme about “Gender disorientation.”

Often, in our debates about what is considered right or wrong and what should be condoned or not, we tend to forget that Guyana is a secular state, as laid out in our constitution. A lot of people have weird views about secularity and I gather that this is because they are not particularly sure what it is. Many believe that promoting secularity means that one is trying to stifle religion when in actuality it does the opposite. Secularity ensures that no one religion gains supremacy over another so everyone can practice their own religious beliefs without state involvement. It ensures that no one feels pressured to be in a religion that is not their own. This was why I found the incident with “Brother Peter” particularly disturbing.

In Guyana, a multi-cultural and multi-religious country, we should never have Christian evangelicals and the likes entering our school system and preaching about Christianity’s theories of fire and brimstone. We should not have students being told to bend their heads in prayer for a prayer that is not their own. We should not have children having to hear “There is one true God that created everything,” in a school that should respect their rights to freedom of religion and beliefs.

Aside from the fear-mongering that is so common in religious teachings, it was hard for me to even keep my mind open and take him seriously as he said and I quote, “If you go down far enough, you’ll reach hell,” because hell is a physical place of course. I can understand the wish to have children wait until marriage before engaging in sexual intercourse, but when we infer that the child who does not wait is somehow lesser than the one who did it, is here that the line is drawn for me. Is there no vetting or anything required from the persons we bring into our nations schools to speak to our kids?

On the issue of Nigel London, I have long since found this man an interesting character. Not so long ago, he reposted a photograph of two men kissing and spoke against it in condemnation on his Facebook page. When his followers followed suit and the heat began to rise from allies and members of the LGBT community, he changed his tune to that of love and respect.

Now again, during which I presume to be a regular programme, London criticised President David Granger, who is a Christian, for his commitment towards LGBT rights. He stated that the will of the people should be taken into consideration and majority must rule. The will of the people should definitely be considered yes, however when we unilaterally decide that because someone is in a minority group they do not deserve the same rights then we are treading into dangerous territory. President Granger is not the president of the majority; he is the president of the people. As such, it is his duty to ensure that every citizen is protected and has equal rights. We cannot continue refusing to provide services, jobs and justice to people because of their sex, sexual preferences or gender identity. While you as a citizen and individual have a right to your beliefs, this does not give you the power to impose it on others with differing opinions. That is not how democracy works, that is not how a secular state works. You can uphold your own rights and values without infringing on the rights of others.