Diversity & Religious Freedom in the Virtual World

Well now I have done it -- started a topic from which there is no escape!

What happens when anyone in the world can enter the same room (shades of “The Day the Earth Stood Still”) and begin to talk together thanks to the growing influence of “English” (in it’s many forms) becoming the language of commerce (as Greek once was) and due to a nifty little attachment you can wear in my virtual world, called the Babbler now version 3.1.7

So everyone can talk with each other. What do we notice first of all? Well scientific research shows we first notice “race”, then gender. From then we may begin to look for other similar reference points we can “relate to or start a conversation about.

Diversity Reigns Supreme

In my virtual world of Avilion, for instance, the smorgasbord of races and types of characters is too astounding to imagine – most races (we call classes) are welcome. As our Charter states:

“We welcome all to our land, human and creature alike. These include and are not limited to, Elven, Drow, Dragon, Faerie, Pixie, Dwarf, etc.” – The Avilion Charter

Everything from centaurs and mermaids, Drow (dark and typically cranky Elves), magpies, little white or light brown bunnies, werewolves, neko, vampires and just plain humans of various ages from 4-1/2 to grandpas and those of inestimable ages, such as the Druids and Elven. Even Furries are welcome in my realm ((and I have never quite figured out what they are about at all, but they look like a human being in a skin-tight furry fox outfit)).

With this diversity of races, sometimes-strange scenarios arise. For instance, I am a little (6’11”) Elven warrior woman and I may be speaking with a 10 foot tall blue orc with 8 inch white teeth. I may have to go meet with a 20 foot tall bright red, scaly dragon with wings twice as wide as he is tall arguing with a little 3 foot pink Fae with wings that look just like a rainbow.

Avilion - Open-armedly Diverse

Our Charter again tells why:

“Those with the gift of the mind, and of the sword, exiled themselves to the Island, and with the power gained by their unity, chose to save the Island by shrouding it in a Mist. Those of the Isle gave up all that they possessed, and chose the peaceful co-existence on Avilion Isle.” --The Avilion Charter

So, again, as in the film, “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, those who choose to here are here because there is no place left for them in the rest of the world. They have found their perfect sanctuary, and willingly sacrifice the natural enmity they may have for one another.

However, It is the 16th Century, or thereabouts depending on who you speak with, so there is sometimes even a little dangerous intrigue.

Religions Freedom

“After the King, King to all, Christians and Pagans alike, passed, those non-believers sought to destroy his work.” The Avilion Charter

Within Avilion there is not only diversity, but also accompanying and critical religious freedom and tolerance ((such as is guaranteed within the Declaration of Independence in the United States of America)). In Avilion, our Lord and Lady are Druid and Drow and have an openly benevolent tolerance for different religious beliefs.

This guarantees that no believer or non-believer has to worry about being thought less of, or more than, any other because of their religious or non-religious preferences.

I have the delightful pleasure of performing “hand-clasping” or partnership ceremonies (like a wedding in the modern world) and I must write respectful ceremonies for those with no faith and those with deep faith in a variety of entities and gods and powers and Unknown Gods and unknowable gods, as well as “the God as we know and understand Him ((or her)), a Power greater than ourselves” and for those who are happy to trust in themselves alone (dust to dust).

All are respected. For without religious freedom, our realm would not last long. Consider for a moment what happened in the 16th Century during Henry VIII’s time. His changing desires and appetites dictated religious preference for the subjects of his kingdom and eventually destroyed his kingdom and legacy.

War and Religion

The danger in proscribing religion for others is that someone’s relationship with their spiritual (or lack of spiritual) identity crosses the barriers of privacy and freedom and right.

In Man’s Search For Meaning – the author, Victor Frankl, who spent so many months in a concentration camp in the worst of physical conditions, learned that:

“When all the familiar goals in life are snatched away, what alone remains is, the last of human freedoms – the ability to choose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances -- this ultimate freedom, helps us all appreciate man’s capacity to rise above outward fate and circumstances.”

They say a war is started somewhere in the world every twenty minutes and many ((perhaps most)) are started when one person or group of people wish to impose their beliefs on another person or group. This has never worked and it can never work. Religious freedom in a world of increasing diversity is the only hope.

Sharing your beliefs with someone because they see your admirable and peaceful example is another thing all together and is the effective way of “spreading the word” of what works for you….perhaps a little more of this wouldn’t go astray. We are all looking for good examples…