"So, what is your religious belief?"

When I was in high school in Canada, I was taught by a teacher not to talk about politics and religion at parties. It is because these topics, especially the latter is very controversial and sometimes too sensitive for certain people. As of a Japanese myself, it was a bit hard to imagine people actively discussing and fighting over religious point of view, but I saw real examples of these on TVs and also at classrooms. There were many TV programs on religious issues and at classrooms, religion was a popular topic to talk about. So when I came back to Japan, I was surprised how religious is treated differently from North America. In my point of view, in Japan, it is considered too radical to devote oneself to particular religion. It is true that in Japan, it is not so common to see religiously active people compare to overseas, but because I have been brought up in christian schools from kinder garden to University(and surprisingly, I am not Christian !!), religion is not a special thing to pay attention. I thought it was something everyone accepts, until when I realized that for some people, it can be a object of fear. I don't really know the reason behind it, and I am very eager to investigate about it, but for me, religion is a guideline for people to determine their ways in their everyday lives but also in times of difficulties. For example, I can see that some christian beliefs, such as 10 commandments and messages from stories from the bible,  are ingrained in myself. It doesn't mean that I follow the 10 commandments and things that are written in the bible. However, I believe that it is important to respect and love my neighbors and to be nice to people around me without expecting something in return. When I came to university, I realized that these ways of thinking are not necessarily respected and I was very shocked by the ways people react when they encounter with any kinds of religion. Even at this university, some people despite Christianity without any reason, except for it being a religion..... and it simply makes me sad, not because I am familiar with the religion, but because these people are unconscious of the possibility that their actions can be hurting those people who believe in Christianity. Whether you believe in religion or not, I think it is very important to respect different beliefs and to treat people who believe in these beliefs with respect. I know I am talking about something really difficult to be achieved, but I believe sincerely that it is something we should aim for, for the better of the world.