The sanctimonious views of Christians and the heavily dominated Christian culture of the United States is exclusionary, hypocritical and devoid of merit. Love is not reducible to religious dogma. Hope is not an inquisition. Justice is not a function of the Ten Commandments.

The hatred that I’ve experienced from Christianity seems to be in stark contrast to what I perceive to be the great lesson of Christ -- love. How a religion that has its origins in a man of tolerance, acceptance and love can degrade to a tyrannical force crusading against social deviancy has always been a mystery to me. That mystery has led me to question, doubt and ultimately reject the religious beliefs that had been so carefully instilled in me by unthinking adherents of the Christian machine. That mystery has caused me to inquire into my own belief system and the faith of others. That mystery has brought me to the conclusion that religion in general, and Christianity in particular, is a vehicle for social coercion that is directly opposed to its ostensible goal -- encouraging its adherents to seek the good life.

Religion does not foster an inquiry in right and wrong. Rather, it uses social manipulation and coercive force to compel desired behavior. The compulsion needed by religious institutions to validate their own existence is indicative of their intellectual weakness. Is it possible for reasonable people to disagree on matters of morality? Are freedom of thought and liberation of consciousness so anathema to understanding the difference between right and wrong? They aren’t. And yet the Christian Church continues to insist that they are. That is why I believe that Christianity is inherently tyrannical.

I was raised in a Catholic household. In my youth, I remember sitting in mass and feeling the power that religious belief had on those who chose to participate in it. To the childish mind, religion must be taken seriously simply because of its immense cultural dominance. Any institution which depends on such domination in lieu of a valid defense of its inconsistencies lacks an important ideological component -- that is exactly the kind of social coercion which serves to consolidate power into the hands of the church elite. That incredible power, when consolidated in the hands of church leaders, is dangerous.

Rather than being a catalyst for my belief that Christianity is a hypocritical farce, I came to realize that my experience with the church was symptomatic of it. Practicing evil under the name of salvation and divinity has been a mainstay of the religion since it overshadowed Roman domination centuries ago. Not only that, but the sanctimonious mantra propagated by Christians that they bear the sole path to eternal salvation smacks of ignorance, a delusional state of grandeur and a fatally limited worldview. My personal experience, harrowing and upsetting as it may have been, was not an isolated incident. The Christian church is characterized by the hypocrisy of those who adhere to it.

Liberating oneself from the tyranny of religion is not an easy thing to do in a society as deeply religious as ours. When I decided to free myself from the bondage of moral servitude, I was stuck by the level of hostility I encountered from those whose religious beliefs had been deeply entrenched. While enduring long-winded and futile attempts to proselytize me, I began to realize an interesting perceptual divide. Ostensibly, Christians proselytize to aid the recipient in salvation. But my experience with pushy Christians was much different.

It occurred to me after suffering through long hours of pig-headedness that these Christians weren’t at all interested in my salvation. Rather, the act of upholding their arbitrary and superstitious beliefs necessitated forcing my acceptance of them. Without universal acceptance of the Christian farce, disciples of the ruse are left in doubt. My acceptance of their beliefs became an end of such weight that discussions often turned hostile, mean-spirited and, ultimately, violent.

Being free from religion grants a new perspective on morality. As I shed the religious biases that had been inculcated in my youth, I began to notice a contrast between the dictates of morality and the commands of religious dogma. For example, when the United States Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott writes a regularly appearing column for a white supremacist group entitled the Conservative Christians Council, his actions are more informed by the Christian illusion of right and wrong and less informed by moral considerations in pursing what Socrates called "the good."

It was, in fact, Socrates who led me to question my religious beliefs. His oft-repeated mantra "the unexamined life is not worth living" is not just sentimental classicism. It has very real meaning in my life. Indeed, it was Socrates who freed me from religion by forcing me to question the assumptions of my beliefs. For example, did a dead carpenter suddenly come back to life after several posthumous days of asphyxia? What about this Red Sea bit? Are all those Chinamen who have never heard the name Jesus really condemned to an eternity of hellfire and damnation just because they didn’t read the right book?

When you get right down to it, Christianity is pretty silly. Of course coming to question a superstition with such a strong grasp on the American psyche inevitably results in the fear, resentment and ignorance of those whose identity is validated by it. In a country where 86 percent of the population identifies themselves as Christian, theological inquiry is not welcome. Nor is individual decision making, moral debate or personal freedom. But, alas, the battle must be waged and won. The freedom I have been able to achieve from religion has broadened my horizons, taught me the importance of coming to moral conclusions on my own volition and liberated me from the shackles of hypocrisy, ignorance and servitude that characterize beliefs of divinity.