The existence of people who are abused or targeted because of their identity remains an ongoing and growing reality, with the number of victims continuing to rise each day. The concept of “identity” itself plays a crucial role in both cultural and social division, serving as a marker that separates communities and individuals from one another. In these circumstances, there are generally two groups of people who play significant roles: those who hold the power to impose separation, and those who are subjected to it. Those who are separated are often left in vulnerable positions, facing the harshest consequences. They are not only marginalized and excluded from social life but are also at risk of being uprooted from their land, stripped of their sense of belonging, and in many cases, murdered or entirely eliminated from their homeland. Indeed, identity drive people’s emotions, feelings and actions towards other (the foreigners) human being. However, I acknowledge that there are a lot of identities such as gender, religion, race, ethnicities, nationalities, political view or believes towards specific objects and discussions. Yet, I want dive into the identities that mostly segregate people from each other which is religion and believes.
Believing to something or defending something you believe is huge part of our identity as a human. You are free to say anything to anyone, until you cross some authorities border, or until you become a target to the authorities just because of your stance toward an idea or a norm that you believe. However, once you cross that border, the ones that are not sharing the same norms with you, is going to hold defensive stance towards you. Yet, every states have the right to defend their border, that means that defensive stance will become an attacking stance. I don’t mean that authorities as political leader or states as a nation, an authority and state can be anything in our life. For example, your mom can be your authority, or your nation can be your church. However, no matter what your authority or state is, once you cross the border you will get harm either physically or psychologically and forced to get separated from your ideas if not, you will be separated from your family, from the land you called home or from the last minute of your breath. Those who consume more power from others, have genius techniques to abuse those trespassers. They either entitle you with something to be ashamed of until one dies, or the ones with less patience will end your life in different ways. Entitlements play a significant role in shaping how individuals are perceived within society, functioning almost like an identification tag that defines their place in the social order. Labels such as “president, fascist, communist, terrorist, traitor, or even derogatory ones like non-religious devil” serve as markers that both categorize and confine people. These designations are not neutral; they carry weight, authority, and judgment, often determining who is granted privilege and who is condemned. In this sense, entitlements and imposed identities become powerful tools, deliberately used to create divisions, to separate one group from another, and to reinforce systems of exclusion and control. For example, imagine that some people enjoy eating olives at breakfast, but suddenly an authority declares olives forbidden. Those who cherish this simple practice may protest, and some may even be driven to extremes, becoming guerrillas, retreating to the mountains, and taking up arms against the authorities. Yet, in such a situation, whom should we truly blame: those who fled to the mountains in rebellion, or those who imposed the unjust ban that forced them into resistance? The tragic reality remains that every unfair prohibition has the potential to create its own rebels.
Religion-driven segregation, perhaps more than any other form of identity, has served as one of the deepest lines of segregation throughout history. Unlike cultural preferences or political labels, religion touches on belief, morality, and the very meaning of existence, which makes divisions along these lines even more intense. Faith has the power to unite entire communities under a shared vision, yet it can just as easily become a boundary that excludes, stigmatizes, or demonizes those who believe differently. When religious identity is politicized or weaponized, it no longer functions as a source of spiritual guidance but as a tool for separation, fueling conflicts that can escalate into persecution, displacement, and even violence. History offers countless examples, such as the Crusades, where religious passions drove centuries of bloodshed between Christians and Muslims in the struggle for control of the Holy Land. In more recent times, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict demonstrates how religious identity, intertwined with politics and land, continues to divide communities, sparking cycles of violence and deepening mutual mistrust. These are just some significant examples from thousands of conflicts that religion or religious people started.
Long story short, this bloodshed and this segregation between humans will not come to a conclusion with these violent perspectives. We need to understand that we are humans, before we are muslim, he/him or communist or we need to come to a conclusion that we are no different from any other animal but with a political views.
“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
Desmond TUTU
From Dio, to who dare to question!
Dioizm 
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