We are born as differentiated individuals and grow up to become even more different from one another. We are Muslims, Hindus, Christians or Jews not by choice but by birth. It's our birth which mostly decides which side we will be on and the by the time we are mature enough to make a choice for ourselves(which doesn't happen to most of us), the thought of being a Muslim, a Christian or a Hindu has been hardwired into us. We have been given a name Ram, Andrew or Salim. Our friends know us by the name and the world associates us with that name and the accompanying religion. We rarely get the opportunity to choose our faith and faith is something one must have a choice about like sexual orientation, life-partner and friends.Religion encompasses the sum total of human lives. It has led to people committing genocides, suicides, infanticides and even sexual abuse of young ones.
Islam and Christianity both have procedures for religious conversion. While it may seem logical- a ceremony to mark a change of faith but it has a flipside. It gives the fanatics an opportunity to exploit the deficiencies in their religion and to use their interpretations to forcibly change people's faith. That may be the case with Aurangzeb in the middle ages and the aggressive conversion policies of the Christian missionaries worldwide. However if done fairly, it gives the individual an opportunity to embrace a religion or faith that he believes in rather than one which he blindly follows.
Every religion needs its share of mysticism and legends to inspire its followers. However there is a need for reinterpretation and rewriting of the holy books which are followed so blindly by most people. People on suicide missions quote religious stalwarts of the middle ages citing their words as true knowledge unable to see the fact that they can be more enlightened than their predecessors ever were. The sum total of the world's knowledge is increasing. People no longer burn books or people if their views don't conform to their's. People sometimes can act ignorant but what we are today is definitely better than what we were a hundred years ago. We are closer than ever to enlightenment because we have multiple avenues to acquire knowledge and share it with others.
Giving people the opportunity to choose their religion will lead to questioning of the dogmatic beliefs which often plague religions. It will help the religion to grow along with its followers. More importantly, it will provide meaning to the people who give up their lives without properly understanding that human life is more divine than any teaching, any book or any god that they believe in.
