Originally posted by DaveMoral
Boiling all of mankind's problems down to "it's religion's fault" is simplistic at best, dishonest at worst.
I'm not an apologist here, I'm pointing out the inherent flaw in the argument that it's "all religion's fault." It's a blanket statement that is
asinine, and ignorant.
Furthermore, it's not about comparing body counts, it's about pointing out the inherent flaw of the statement "the world would be better of without
religion" as if religion is the sole force behind human on human violence. It's not, and in fact, is probably more of a backhanded excuse than
anything else. Rarely is religion the prime motivator at the outset. It may be given the prime motivation for calling peasants to the field, but it's
the greed of one or a few men at the top that kicks it off. I think the lie is put to your statement when you actually analyze how the Crusades kicked
off. The Byzantines called upon Rome to pull their asses out of the fire when they were crumbing before the Arab/Turk imperial march. Rome said "hmm,
this could be a chance to gobble up so territory for our control and benefit" called on Northern and Western European kings gave the excuse that it
was a religious war... then they proceeded to capture all the lands of the Byzantines they were "saving" from the "heathen Saracens." Sure, religion
was abused as a uniting force... but ultimately the greed of man was the prime mover.
And wez, your notion that "Jews don't fight Jews, Muslims don't fight Muslims, Catholics don't fight Catholics" is out and out bullshit and always has
been. Hell, Muslims are killing Muslims every day right now. Some supposedly because of different interpretations, others just because they disagree
on politics more than anything. And that's just taking into account the actions of al-Qa'ida, the majority of whose victims have been Muslims. That
doesn't count the conflicts between Sunni countries and other Sunni countries. Or Shi'a groups versus Shia groups. Let alone countries that waged wars
on each other in Europe. How many German soldiers in WWII were Catholic fighting American, Irish, British, Spanish etc Catholics? Protestants fight
Protestants all the time. Wars are primarily politics and greed. Religion has been, more often than not, simply the excuse given. Suitable for
suckering the masses into being the fodder for a king's greedy aspirations and little else when it comes to warfare. Patriotism is just as strong a
motivator nowadays, and just as blatantly abused.
Religion is easy to scapegoat when you are, essentially, attempting to take a positive view of mankind in itself that just doesn't bear out when put
to closer examination. Religion is simply one of a number of sentiments that are taken advantage of by people who wish to wield power and attain great
wealth. The notion that religion hasn't led to a great deal of good in human civilization is just as patently false as the idea that it has never led
to a great deal of evil done in religion's name. All that says is that religion is a tool that can be used to benefit or to ill, and I do not think
it's ill has been greater than its good. If that were the case, then essentially all systems of belief or political ideology are in the same boat and
often worse boat than religion.
And yes, most ethical codes have their roots in religious systems. Even those you may now consider barbaric or outmoded. Oddly, it has been the case
that more often than not the evolution of ethics has begun via internal critique by religious people. I'll also go out on a limb here and say that not
all religiously motivated warfare has been bad. In fact, I'll categorically declare that John Brown's guerrilla war on slavery was indeed one of the
more righteous wars in human history and without doubt good for all humankind. Religion has been used as a rallying cry against tyranny and oppression
at least as much as it has been used to oppress people. It's been used to unite people as much as it has been to divide. That's the kicker, religion
is a double-edge sword and depending upon the wielder can be a powerful force for good or a powerful force for ill. Why is that? Because religion, as
a codification of deep spiritual experience, is a man-made institution. It's a tool for accomplishing a goal, and like all tools can and has been
misused. |