By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow
We live in an age obsessed with sensitivity yet strangely allergic to conviction.
Everywhere, the message is clear: don’t have strong beliefs — someone might be offended. The modern social code equates belief with intolerance, faith with judgment, and moral certainty with arrogance. But in our eagerness not to offend, we’ve created a culture that offends something deeper — the dignity of belief itself.
There is a difference between belief and opinion. Opinions are temporary; they shift with polls, headlines, and trends. Beliefs, by contrast, are anchored — rooted in identity, heritage, and moral formation. They are the soil out of which values grow. Opinions are convenient; beliefs are costly.
Every person carries a legacy of belief, whether they acknowledge it or not. Your family’s traditions, your community’s rituals, your people’s way of life — all are built upon systems of belief passed from generation to generation. Even before you could name them, these convictions were shaping your view of the world: what is honorable, what is shameful, what is sacred, what is despised.
To have no belief is to reject not only religion but also ancestry. It is to say that your forebears, who prayed, built, sacrificed, and suffered with meaning, were misguided. To disown belief is to cut the cord that connects you to something larger than yourself. Beliefs are not just private ideas; they are the architecture of civilizations. Our ancestors did not survive by cynicism. They endured because they believed — in God, in virtue, in duty, in love. To live as though belief is outdated is to betray the very people who handed us language, culture, and conscience.
Our country was founded on the notion of religious freedom. It is, after all, the first right given in the Declaration of Independence. But freedom for all has morphed into intolerance. Modern tolerance once meant respecting others’ right to believe differently. Today, it increasingly means believing nothing at all. The new moral code says, “If you truly care about others, you’ll silence your convictions, so no one feels uncomfortable.” But silence is not compassionate.
True cultural sensitivity is not achieved by extinguishing faith; it is by acknowledging and honoring it. To respect others’ beliefs, we must also be allowed to keep our own. Mutual understanding requires presence, not absence. A world where everyone hides their convictions out of fear of offense does not become kinder — it becomes disconnected. This is why “neutrality” often feels sterile. A society that refuses to name good and evil cannot create beauty or justice. We cannot celebrate diversity while demanding that everyone thinks alike — or thinks nothing at all.
Even those who claim to have no belief system still live as if certain things are right and others are wrong. Atheists protest injustice; secularists advocate for human rights. But where do these instincts come from? They reveal something fundamental: the human conscience recognizes moral truth independent of the current culture or ideology.
Philosophers from Aristotle to C. S. Lewis observed that humans share an intuitive sense of right and wrong — a natural law written on the heart. We might disagree on details, but no sane society honors betrayal over loyalty, cruelty over kindness, or cowardice over courage. This inherent morality suggests that belief is not an artificial construct; it is the blueprint of humanity.
When we suppress belief, we do not erase morality; we confuse it. We leave people adrift in relativism, unsure why anything matters at all. Without a transcendent reference point, “right” and “wrong” become matters of taste, like preferring vanilla to chocolate. But morality built on preference collapses the moment it becomes inconvenient.
Modern secularism promises freedom by removing the constraints of religion. In practice, it often produces anxiety, aimlessness, and alienation. When there is no God, there are no rules beyond personal appetite. When there is no higher purpose, success becomes the only virtue. When there is no eternal meaning, life’s sufferings appear senseless.
We see this emptiness everywhere — in the rise of loneliness, mental illness, and spiritual exhaustion in prosperous societies. People have more comfort than ever but less purpose. They have endless entertainment but little joy. The self has become both an idol and a prison. Without belief, humanity turns inward — and stays there. The result is not enlightenment but despair. Civilization itself cannot survive on cynicism; it requires faith in something beyond the next paycheck or pleasure.
Some claim that holding firm beliefs — especially religious ones — is “insensitive” in a plural world. But the opposite is true. It is culturally sensitive to honor one’s faith and heritage. Every people group expresses its dignity through worship, ritual, and reverence. To believe in your God, to cherish your sacred stories, to practice your ancestral customs — these are acts of identity, not arrogance.
A pluralistic society does not demand uniform disbelief. It flourishes when multiple beliefs coexist honestly and respectfully. Pretending that “all religions are the same” or that “faith is private” insults the depth of cultural diversity. A person who believes nothing contributes nothing to that dialogue. They become a spectator rather than a participant in the human story.
Belief is not about controlling others; it is about orienting oneself toward meaning. When people believe in something greater than themselves, they tend to sacrifice, serve, and hope. When they believe in nothing, self-interest becomes the only law.
History’s great acts of courage — abolitionist movements, civil rights struggles, humanitarian reforms– were not born from moral neutrality. They sprang from conviction. Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and countless reformers acted because they believed in divine justice, not because it was socially convenient. Without belief, “good” becomes whatever the powerful decide. And when power defines truth, oppression soon follows. Ironically, societies that silence belief in the name of peace often end up persecuting those who still have it.
Reclaiming the Right to Believe
It is time to reject the lie that conviction is cruelty. Belief need not breed hatred; it can inspire compassion. The problem is not belief — it is the misuse of belief for pride. True faith humbles us. It reminds us that we are accountable to something higher than ourselves.
To believe is not to impose — it is to exist honestly. It is to live in alignment with the moral law written on the heart and the story written by our ancestors. It is to stand in continuity with humanity’s long search for truth.
We should therefore teach our children that belief is not a threat to civility but its foundation. Teach them that reverence is not weakness but wisdom. Teach them that tolerance without truth is cowardice. A civilization without belief cannot endure. It drifts, it decays, it forgets who it is. The call to “believe nothing so no one is offended” sounds enlightened, but produces only emptiness.
To believe — deeply, reverently, and sincerely — is to honor your ancestors, your culture, and your own conscience. To have faith is not intolerance; it is identity.
Humans are moral beings. We know instinctively that lying, cruelty, and betrayal are wrong. That awareness points us toward something higher — a moral lawgiver, a Creator, a God. Denying that truth leaves a void that wealth, science, and technology cannot fill. What is culturally sensitive, humane, and courageous in our time is not disbelief but belief — belief that life has meaning, that right and wrong exist, and that there is a purpose greater than self. Without that, progress is an illusion, freedom is confusion, and the human heart remains hungry. The answer to emptiness is not less faith, but the rediscovery of faith itself.
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The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) is a terrorist organization that emerged in 2016 after splitting from Boko Haram. It is affiliated with ISIS and operates primarily in Nigeria and the surrounding region, targeting both civilians and military forces.
ISWAP has been responsible for numerous attacks, including assaults on Christian communities, kidnappings, and executions, as part of its broader jihadist agenda.
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These violent actions contribute to ongoing instability in northern Nigeria, where religious and ethnic tensions remain high.
The international community, including the United Nations and several governments, has condemned ISWAP’s attacks, recognizing them as acts of terrorism.
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