—-College is no longer just a place where people can come to receive an education.

Walking down the grassy quad in front of the Schauerman Library, there is a sign reading, “I am the way, the truth and the light, so choose your path wisely young grasshopper.”

What!

Wait a minute, there’s no such sign, you may be wondering, but the mixture of religious clubs on campus is as evident as any sign.

On one side of the campus, there is the Muslim Student Association for those students who are interested in studying the Qur’an.

On another side of the campus, there is the Sokka Gakkai International Club for the students who are interested in learning about the principles of Buddhism.

There are also Christian clubs on campus for students who want to learn about the Bible.

All in all, religious diversity is well represented on campus, and any student looking to declare a major can declare a religion, too.

Although we may have more selections to choose from than the 31 flavors at Baskin Robins, is there such a thing as too much religious freedom?

The answer to that question lies in how much people use their religion to promote their own agenda and say that they were inspired by God to say what they said.

In all honesty, religion has transformed from a purely spiritual aspect of having a personal relationship with God to a more self-indulgent idea of what people think God is.

Picking a religion to serve individualistic needs is a common thing nowadays.

In the 1970s, Jim Jones led hundreds of people to their death because they thought that he was the mesiah.

For ministers Creflo Dollar and TD Jakes, who base their ministries on amassing wealth as a sign of God blessing a person, their prosperity philosophy of these individuals is quickly becoming a worldwide phenomenon.

Religion in the United States has become commercialized, like everything seems to do, and God is not longer something that is sacred, but a propaganda tool.

In the days after the terrorist attacks in New York took place, Muslims were the victims of vicious hate crimes.

Now, this religion has become is the fastest growing religion in the world behind Catholism.

Speaking of Catholism, Pope Benedict the XVI visited the American capital, Washington D.C. a couple of weeks ago to spread his message of hope and unity among all religions.

Sounds good, but let us keep in mind that most of the wars that have been waged throughou the history of mankind have been caused because of religion.