People blame religion for a lot of things. I've heard it said, many a multitude of times, that if it wasn't for religion there would be less war, less conflict, less oppression. I can see exactly where this argument is coming from, and for a long time, I kind of agreed with it. But recently, I reached the conclusion that this is not the case.
Take the Taliban. They claim to be acting on Islamic principles, but it's pretty plain to see that their only objective is power for themselves. They don't care who they kill or suppress, whether it's an obedient Muslim or a blasphemous atheist. They only try to justify what they are doing in Islamic terms to try and convince the moderate Afghan majority that they are the good guys.
Take the Taliban. They claim to be acting on Islamic principles, but it's pretty plain to see that their only objective is power for themselves. They don't care who they kill or suppress, whether it's an obedient Muslim or a blasphemous atheist. They only try to justify what they are doing in Islamic terms to try and convince the moderate Afghan majority that they are the good guys.
As a Christian example, look at Northern Ireland. To the casual viewer, the conflicts here would seem to be an entirely religious issue. The reason the majority of Northern Irish wanted to stay united with Britain was because they were Protestant and Britain was a Protestant nation; the reason the IRA objected was that they were Catholic and Ireland was a Catholic nation. Virtually all the conflict in Northern Ireland still comes from those two groups; Catholics and Protestants.
But this is not a religious conflict. The division between those who call themselves Catholic and those who call themselves Protestant is not rooted in strong opinions about transubstantiation. To all extents and purposes, the two terms are merely words, words that represent abstract notions of community that you are born into, and does not change with your religious beliefs. Again, religion is only used as a scapegoat for those who would divide themselves from others.
But this is not a religious conflict. The division between those who call themselves Catholic and those who call themselves Protestant is not rooted in strong opinions about transubstantiation. To all extents and purposes, the two terms are merely words, words that represent abstract notions of community that you are born into, and does not change with your religious beliefs. Again, religion is only used as a scapegoat for those who would divide themselves from others.
It's the same everywhere. Yes, people have done atrocious things in the name of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism et al. But those actions, or actions very similar to them, would have happened regardless of whether those faith systems had been set up beforehand.
Acts of destruction and divisiveness are motivated by the same things they are always motivated by; desire for wealth, desire for power, the desire to belong to an "us" at the expense of a "them". The fact the perpetrators of those acts then tried to justify what they did in religious terms is irrelevant. People have done the same with national identity; Hitler declared he was doing what he did in the name of/ for the sake of Germany. Does this make the existence of Germany the cause of Nazism? Of course it doesn't!
The point is, people don't start out completely innocent, then open a bible or hear a pastor and are suddenly filled with the desire to oppress, divide, destroy, dismantle. It doesn't work like that, and has never worked like that. Those who kill and create misery in the name of religion already want to commit the acts they commit before finding a way to justify themselves with their interpretation of a certain faith.
The point is, people don't start out completely innocent, then open a bible or hear a pastor and are suddenly filled with the desire to oppress, divide, destroy, dismantle. It doesn't work like that, and has never worked like that. Those who kill and create misery in the name of religion already want to commit the acts they commit before finding a way to justify themselves with their interpretation of a certain faith.
If organised religion was to disappear, the world would remain 100% as conflicted as it is now. That is what I believe. Of course, not all of you will agree, and you are welcome to put your counter-arguments forward. Just keep it civil, please!
Happy websurfing!
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