Agree to Disagree

It is so difficult to agree to disagree. However, it is something that I had to do. It did not make much sense, and it seemed also impossible to put my beliefs aside just to get along with someone.
As a little girl, I have always loved, cherished, respected, and admired animals. I believe in animals receiving equality, meaning: animals who are abused, tortured, killed, and treated unkindly in any manner should receive the same justice that people do. Animals should not be slaughtered or chemically tested on for our needs. And just like any other human being, I was raised to believe that animals too, go to heaven.
I have always been an agnostic person. I used to say little prayers when I was little girl, but I was always so unsure of what actually existed. I prayed for the wellness of others, and I prayed for my animals. The only reason I ever had the slightest bit of hope in a heaven, was due to the promised comfort of being around everybody that I loved, and that definitely included my animals. It was something that I had to look forward to, something I still look forward to. My high hopes for heaven was the one thing that could mend my broken heart when someone I loved passed away.
My beliefs and opinions had never once been tested by a single soul. No person dared to tell me that I was wrong; no person told me that animals did not belong in heaven. It was not until I had been with a guy for about a year, that my beliefs were finally tested. I explained to him about my high hopes of being reunited with deceased animals in heaven. I showed him my blog about animal cruelty and how it must be stopped, and he laughed in my face. He had the audacity to laugh at something that meant so much to me. I must begin with the fact that he was of the Mormon religion. He immediately told me that I was wrong in my opinions, and that animals don't go to heaven because they don't have a soul. He told me that in his religion, he was taught to believe, the oh so holy, and