It is time for Americans, and people around the world to challenge extremist thinking, especially when it comes to religion. Currently, there are too many people that believe there exists a higher power that picks and chooses his people, based on the words of men written centuries ago. The truth is, that the idea of an existence of a higher power for the past two thousand years has lead to countless numbers of deaths. It is also true that ethnic cleansings and brutality were inspired by extremist thoughts. History has seen countless wars based on the ancient texts. Centuries past, people blinded followed because that was the truth without dispute. Today however, thanks to science, we know that many ancient texts no longer contain truths. We stand at a point in history that we should no longer be guided by religious intolerance. It exists because we allow it to exist. We teach false truths to our children. Our public schools are not allowed to teach science without being challenged by evolutionists. Thus, we remain silent instead of teaching the truth. 
We live in an age in which absolutism in religious thought should be challenged and extinguished. There is no need for tolerance of faiths that practice extremist thoughts that include the denial of human rights. The Bill of Rights or similar documents around the world never were intended to protect religious freedoms that exist in today's context. Governments around the world need to end the practice of tolerance towards ideas that promote the hatred of another individual or groups. Our leaders should not be misled by religious thoughts that are simply not true.
The problem with religion is the teachings found in most books. Most religious books teach inaccuracies to children and born again adults. At this point in history, there is no reason, to believe that any group is targeted by God to be considered sinners or immoral based on outdated ideologies. For example, the idea that a man can not be with a man or a woman can not be with a woman is not factually the word of any higher power. The truth is that authors of ancient texts did not have the knowledge we have today, and wrote the stories based on cultural norms of centuries past.
How does religion impact generous thoughts? We spend more time online denying the rights of the transgendered to use bathrooms than we did acknowledging the people who died in Orlando. The priorities are skewed because people do not challenge the ancient thoughts of religious teachings. People do not realize that the religious books they are reading have been rewritten from their original authors. Over time, men have changed the context as humans have developed. The claim that a book is infallible, when it has been rewritten for modern audiences is in itself is absurd.
There is a pattern to hate that involves believing that the bogey man exists. The pattern I am about to describe is just as dangerous as a loaded weapon. In the right hands, it can kill someone. Here are some examples that need to be challenged regarding conventional thinking: When someone believes the earth is 6600 or 10000 years old, they lack rational thought. We live in an age that it is indisputable to accept such a concept. When a person thinks the Old Testament or Koran is Infallible, they need to understand they are putting things into context that simply are not true. The new religious leaders claim the opposite. They claim that it is non-believers that take things out of context. Leviticus is Levitics is Leviticus. The truths proclaimed in that chapter are barbaric and obscene. It is a fact that women have been subjugated by such thoughts for thousands of years. Same sex couples have been harassed and killed over Leviticus. The same is true for the stories of Allah destroying the people of Lut. Countries have the death penalty for homosexual acts based on the teachings of ancient texts, and the world community needs to challenge such thinking moving forward.
The global community needs to rise against the many injustices sponsored by religion similar to the fight we waged against fascism in the 20th century. We can start by acknowledging that the bogey man in the sky that discriminates is a figment of one's reality created by men centuries past. Once we conquer the man upstairs that sponsors hate, we will go along way in ending global extremism and terrorism.
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