Just think of the Russian matryoshka, or nesting, dolls. They go from large to small, one nestled within another. The dolls began by portraying a mother in peasant dress and her children — the family members lined up in order all the way to the newborn.

Now try to adopt that imagination into thinking about a nation, while playing with the metaphors and substituting the older woman with people’s way of approaching their God — or not. Surely, not everyone comes from the same religion or has the same level of religiosity. But like the matryoshka dolls, they all live within the same society.

One likes to believe that once they're left free, they will easily find a balance, accepting each other as they are and living harmoniously, acknowledging that even the most extreme religious beliefs in society have an impact on the opposite extreme, even, say, on atheists. All chains keep constantly interacting and influencing each other. Freedom is then dynamically embraced.

Unfortunately, the world is not an ideal place. People choose to be defeated by their egos, and judge others who differ from them, trying to mold them according to their beliefs. Once the state — with all its power — gets involved in this business of shaping society, however, it becomes a challenge to talk about free will and individual choice.