Agreeing to Disagree

It's always very interesting to find quotes on people's blogs that are in tune with my own thoughts...like this one, from Stan Anderson's blog:

What I dislike is when people try and convince me of their religion, yes, i can respect that they have their own beliefs but it doesn't mean that these ideas have to be opposed onto me...If I thought what you are trying to explain was correct, then wouldn't I already be a part of that religion? And besides, If i am respecting the fact that you have your own beliefs, then why can't you respect mine?

This particular quote, at least, is something I agree with completely. It is my considered opinion (which I realise sounds a little pompous) that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. Now I, in fact, am Pagan, a belief system which is misinterpreted quite often. I have known people to call it devil worship, which is not true at all, and there are many prejudices against it in general. I see no reason for this. Just the fact that someone does not share my beliefs does not give them the right to assume it's something specifically against theirs. I am not a Christian, but I don't go around saying that Christians are all terrible people who, I don't know, eat babies or something. There is no reason to say that, because it most definitely isn't true. I don't know anyone who eats babies. Keep in mind that this is an extrememe example and I've never been accused of cannibalism either.

And then there's the issue of people trying to convince you to believe what they do. I am perfectly willing to accept the fact that you believe in one god or five gods or no god at all, but when you start telling me how much better your belief system is than mine, that's where I begin to object. Why can't we all just let people be as they are? There are a lot of issues that work like that, actually. Nobody is ever willing to say, "Who cares what your religion/race/sexual orientation/fill-in-the-blank is? You're still a person anyway."

I guess that's what I'm really trying to say: we're all just people, regardless of how we think. As long as you don't go around doing terrible things to people, I will respect your beliefs and I will consider you to be as much of a worthwhile person as anyone else I know, and I will not make accusations to the effect that you do the aforementioned terrible things. It would be much appreciated if you would do the same, and maybe that's the first step toward changing the world.