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A wise man once told me there are two things one never brings up during polite dinner conversation: politics and religion. As a liberal living in a very conservative state, I often have to bite my tongue to keep from arguing in public, a futile act I try to avoid because at least one party inevitably ends up offended. At times of weakness, I can easily be baited into a political discussion and, with the right antagonist, even come away having enjoyed myself. Religion, on the other hand, leads to conversations rich with misery, a mine field waiting for a misstep.

Being good and being religious do not necessarily go hand in hand as many people believe. People can be good without being religious, and, conversely, people can be religious without being good. Some of the vilest events in history have been committed by religious people (See: the majority of wars throughout time, The Inquisition, The Crusades, The Holocaust, Priests and child molestation, 9/11, et al.)

Although I'm not ashamed of my views on religion, I do have the tendency to keep them to myself because I know how people will react. Several times I've had people say to me, "But you seem so nice!" when I tell them I'm agnostic. My response is always, "What's that supposed to mean?" It implies that one cannot be nice without also being religious. It is also vaguely insulting when people end these reluctant discussions by letting me know they'll be praying for me. They wouldn't like it if I responded, "Thanks, and I'll be hoping you see the error of your ways, as well!" So instead of being snide, I choose to be kind and keep the last jab to myself.

For one thing, agnostic is not atheist, although it's often very difficult for people to understand the difference. The Greek word for "not knowing," agnostic means I don't believe there is proof that God exists, but that I also don't believe there is proof that God does not exist. Confused? Metaphysically speaking, one could say I'm sitting on the fence, although that's not how it feels to me.

I'm a good person because I treat others the way I would want to be treated, purely for the reason that I want to and not because a divine book or holy man reminds me I should so I can get into heaven. I believe the Bible was never meant to be taken literally and was always intended as a sort of moral guidebook to remind people, among other things, "Hey, don't kill or lie or steal." Because when all is said and done, the world would be a better place if everyone followed

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