Religion is not something a person choses after thoughtful evaluation, rather it is something absorbed by birth and shaped by the family, society, and cultural environment one is born into. From early childhood, religious language, rituals, and beliefs are introduced as unquestioned truths, and are adopted long before one is capable of reflecting on them or considering alternatives.

This highlights the role of chance over choice in matters of faith. A child born in a Christian family is likely to be raised as a Christian, just as one born into a Islamic, Hindu, or Jewish family inherits the associated beliefs – not necessarily because of personal agreement, but because that is what was handed down, expected, and normalised.

Of course, some do eventually convert, leave the religion, or adopt new worldviews, but such shifts are rare and often difficult. They involve social or internal friction, because going against the inherited norm is rarely easy or welcomed. For most people, the religion they practice remains the one they happened to be born into.

I wonder about a world where religion wasn’t inherited by birth. Where everyone was given the chance to explore every religion in depth with its texts, values, history, and contradictions, before making a personal choice, free of any expectation.

Such a world would probably look very different. The distribution of religious followers in various regions might shift dramatically, and who knows how many might step outside organised religion altogether – simply because, reflection was allowed before commitment.

Maybe that’s a nice idea for a movie?