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Arrogant Religions’ Danger to Humanity

by Gil Villagrán, MSW (gvillagran [at] casa.sjsu.edu)
At one time, many religions may have improved human understanding of our place in the world, compassion for others, and how to live a good life. However, an honest history of religious organizations displays a perennial tendency to divide humankind to a degree that many of the most brutal wars have been instigated by religious leaders. Many so-called "holy men (and some women), men of god, of the cloth, clerics" have encouraged, performed, and even invented, some of the most grotesque brutal torture upon others for the "sin" of disbelief in the brand of god worship they sold to the masses in their domain. These arrogant religions present a critical danger to humanity.
Arrogant Religions’ Danger to Humanity
by Gil Villagrán

The problem with arrogant religions is that they command believers, their flock, to believe absolutely, without doubt, question or the possibility of other belief. Statements as “our god is the only true god, and all who do not believe are heretics, pagans, infidels or devil-worshippers, condemned to eternal damnation,” identifies arrogant religions.

Self-centered certainty is the absolute belief that there is only one truth, now and forever for all people, and that truth is our belief. Such religions condemn non-believers, or believers of slightly dissimilar worship. Religious absolutism often becomes brutal, even bizarre, as the practice of genital mutilation of children based upon a covenant with god. If god created us in his image, why is the slicing of babies’ genitals required?

Religions are often deadly, reaching genocidal dimensions, with clerics torturing and burning heretics during the inquisitions and witch trials, crusader wars to liberate the so-called holy land by killing hundreds of thousands of “non-believer” Muslims, and vice versa, the killing by Muslims of “non-believer” Christians. Curiously, both agreed to kill the Jews who also claimed that god gave them the region as their exclusive holy land. Truth be told, each side suffered from too much self-delusional root-bound belief, which continues to this day.

Many religions believe they have a monopoly on god, as if god selected one tribe of humans to love at the exclusion of all other humans on one Earth. Such a god seems quite petty and arbitrary--more human than divine. Worshipping such a god is naive and self-serving, as worshipping a monarch who claims to be god or at least conveniently divinely selected. In prior times all monarchs claimed divine selection, supported by their court clerics in divine agreement for the state to collect taxes for armies, jails and cathedrals.

Many modern societies no longer consider priests, nuns, bishops, or other clerics as divinely selected. Yet most religions continue to believe in the divinity and infallibility of their highest priests, popes, reincarnated lamas, or ayatollahs. Clerics may be inspired (with spirit) by personal experience or brain chemistry-caused visions (delusions or illusions), sometimes derived from fungi or cacti eaten while wondering in the wilderness. We must only judge a person by their words, and even better, by their actions.

War and religion are a deadly mixture. Religious holy wars are the hottest, seeking total annihilation of enemies. Most wars, between competing nations, fight over disputed territory or foolishly over national honor, while some wars are outright invasions for land, resources or slaves. Wars for national expansion end when one nation steals territory. Wars for slaves end when enough slaves are kidnapped. Wars for markets end when trade begins to take place without killing enemies, who can be transformed into customers.

But religious wars begin and end with total de-humanization of an enemy defined as less than human because they do not believe in the true god, thus heretics—already on their way to eternal damnation. Clerics can whip up the vilest hatreds—commanding and bribing god-fearing true believers to kill for god and offering great rewards—eternal life in heaven, perhaps with 72 virgins. It is convenient to make such a promise, payable after death, without cost to the religion.

Martin Luther King’s life-long non-violent quest for social justice indicates his character, as well as that of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Mother Theresa. I consider these leaders for peace to be compassionate religious leaders for the rights for all humans, not just members of their religion. The universality of their belief and their work is what makes them transcendent spiritual teachers. I know of no instance when they preached “death to the infidels” instead of “love one another.”

How are we to judge ministers, priests, clerics, popes and ayatollahs? Judge them by their words and actions. For your sanity, world peace and human survival, do not blindly follow any religion claiming absolute righteousness. Religion can be an illusion with tragically real consequences.







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