From birth, people are taught to live a certain way and be a certain person by those who raise them. Many people are born into Christianity, attend church from birth, attend religious camps, and live the lifestyle of a good Christian, it's a label they carry with them for the rest of their lives. Christianity is a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus, who was brought down to teach the word of God. His word is said to bring peace and happiness to those who follow it, and if followed correctly, they gain eternal life . Over the past thousands of years, its popularity has skyrocketed, reaching two billion followers and is considered the largest religion practiced worldwide. Despite some positive outlooks, it has affected the world in a more negative than positive way, producing a plethora of ignorance and stagnation on the part of Christians who feel comfortable feeling hatred towards individuals who do not live the doctrine set forth in the Bible. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay These hateful thoughts can influence those who come in and out of religion, from blaming “bad” Christians to murdering those who live sinful lives; Now that Christianity plays a major role in politics, the problem only seems to get bigger. The name Christianity comes from the Bible and was used as a degrading word to describe followers of Jesus Christ, but Christians loved it and accepted the name. To become a Christian, one must be willing to change their sinful way of life, and when they do, they are able to convert. The conversion process is simple, the individual must be baptized in water in a church and accept the Spirit of God within himself in order to call himself a Christian. Once the process is completed, they must live up to certain standards; worship God from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, be compassionate and loving toward others, and follow God's Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments according to Mike Bennett read “You shall have no other Gods before me. You shall not make for yourself any idol, nor bow down to it, nor worship it. You shall not abuse the name of the Lord your God. You shall remember and sanctify the Sabbath day. Respect your father and mother. You don't have to commit murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not provide false evidence against your neighbor. You must not be envious of your neighbor's possessions. You shall not be envious of his house, nor of his wife, nor of anything that belongs to your neighbor.” While these commandments may seem easy enough to follow, they are often broken by Christians in simple but varied ways. Sometimes these commandments can be broken unintentionally, but even more so because not all are perfect. These people cannot possibly accomplish all the things that are asked of them in their entire lives. There are temptations that cannot be overlooked and sometimes can act as a positive benefit to their life, but it seems like a sin in the eyes of God. Guilt is a horrible feeling that people feel when they do something wrong for Christians , is the most common feeling. Christians are supposed to live a certain way according to the standards set forth in the Bible and when they don't, it is considered sin. Sin can range from small mistakes like not praying enough and having premarital sex to larger mistakes like murder and rape. While some of these sins deserve far more than God's punishment, they can easily be erased with Hisforgiveness, which is supposed to relieve tension from an individual's shoulders; at least in some cases. Often guilt is the reason many Christians become ex-Christians because they feel as if the set of rules they are required to follow is just a mirror reflecting their wrongdoings back to them. Everyone is affected by Christian hate crimes, the LGBT community, people of color and other religious groups: if you are not a white Christian, then you have sinned since birth. In the article Religion, Religious Bigotry, and Hate Crimes in the United States, Mokhtar Ben Barka compares these religious hate crimes to terrorism. Often these crimes are committed by an individual, but occasionally they will be committed by a group, such as Aryan Nations, the anti-Semetic group of the 1970s. The group was founded by the pastor of the Church of Jesus Christ, Richard Girnt Butler, who had the goal of liberating any race other than white, God's "chosen people". They targeted unsuspecting victims and sometimes managed to reach the their goal, but not always. Victoria Keegan, an Indian American, was walking with her son on the night of July 1, 1998, when they were attacked by the Aryan Nations. They shot at his car, blowing out its tires. They were immediately violently removed from the car and threatened. Victoria and Jason managed to escape after a car started approaching the scene and the group had fled. The Aryan Nation slowly began to become something of the past, many groups still spread their beliefs and refer to themselves as members of the Aryan Nations, but none of the original group are still around. However, not all religious people have lost popularity, the Westbro Baptist Church is an anti-gay activist organization founded in 1955 to attack and harass the LGBT community. Following their acts of physical violence, they also host demonstrations such as riots. One such riot occurred outside Matthew W. Shepard's funeral in October 1998. Shepard was a 21-year-old gay male who was tricked into going into a Wyoming bar with two strangers, who they would be beaten with a gun and tied to a post. fence where they would leave him to die. This criminal act shocked everyone around the world, but what was most shocking was the Westbro Baptist Church shouting anti-gay slurs at the grieving Shepard family, not allowing the funeral to continue in polite behavior. They continue to spread their beliefs through the website, God Hates Fags, where they discuss Bible verses in which they can justify their hateful acts. Although this century seems to be more open towards diverse communities, due to the recent 2016 election, hate crimes have increased because people feel more comfortable being hateful with a hateful president in office. Of all religious people who voted in the 2016 election, Christians made up 139% of the population who voted for Donald Trump. Donald Trump, the same man who has talked about female genitalia in public settings, the same man who is working to separate families, was voted best suited to run a country by people who were taught to love their neighbors and to honor women. Not all Christians felt comfortable calling themselves Christians knowing that they made up the majority of the population and did not want to be part of such bigotry, like Elizabeth Baker. In Baker's HuffPost article, I Don't Want to Call Myself a Christian Anymore, he talks about his experience realizing the truth of religion. Baker was the definition of a good Christian; he read the Bible every day, attended religious camps, youth retreats, and attended a Christian fraternity in college. All.