Should Religion be in More Mainstream Fiction?

This is an idea I came across while I was looking around the internet for blog post inspiration. I wanted to share my thoughts on this question, mainly because this is such an interesting question to think about.

So, should religion be in more mainstream fiction? For me, the answer is yes. However, there's always more behind such a simple answer. This is what I want to talk about in this post. I'll be addressing 3 points for how religion can be in portrayed mainstream fiction.

Religion doesn't need to be portrayed negatively.

Yes, I know that there are a lot of people out there who don't portray their religion in a positive light. I'm not going to name any specific religions, but I think we all can think of a couple of people from a variety of religions who made you question their religion. However, just because most of us have had at least one negative experience with an organized religion, that doesn't mean that religion needs to be portrayed negatively in fiction.

There are so many aspects of religion, any religion, that can be explored within fiction.

It really depends on the author how they portray religion in their fiction. However, there's so much about the various religions that can be addressed in fiction. Religion itself can be such a beautiful thing, which would be impressive to see in fiction. Whether it's the actual belief system, someone finding the religion in a good way, or anything else, it can be explored in a positive way.

Despite the negative people within religions, there are plenty more good people within those same religions.

While the negative people from religions can be fun to write about, that doesn't need to be the focus of fiction. And it shouldn't be the focus, in my opinion. Why? I personally hold this opinion because I think we need to be reminded that not everyone from a specific religion will be forcing their belief systems down your throat. Yes, there have been quite a few who've done this. But that's not every single person who's adhered to organized religion.