What is the most dangerous idea in religion? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wanted to know.
Religion is one of the most potent forces in human affairs. It has inspired some of history’s most sublime moments, but also some of its most barbaric.The Inquisition, the bombing of abortion clinics, suicide bombings in Iraq - all have their roots in some form of religious ideology.
To get a grasp on just what is so dangerous about religion, writer John Blake asked five leading religious thinkers to answer the question. Obviously, he didn’t ask me, but I’ll answer at the end, anyway.
1. Violence in the name of God.
–Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.2. Follow our rules or else.
–Wayne Dyer, prominent self-help speaker3. My religion is right.
–Rabbi Harold Kushner, influential Jewish thinker4. Converting others to your religion. (Some things seem to keep popping up around here.)
–Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naiim, internationally recognized scholar of Islam and human rights5. A tribal view of God.
–Depak Chopra, chairman and co-founder of the Chopra Center for Well Being
The illustrative quotes are, well, illustrative and well worth reading, even if they are being used as yet another attempt to cast religion as the root of the world’s evil.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say they are all wrong.
Let’s look at these points again, from a different angle.
1. Violence in the name of turf. Also known as gang violence.2. Follow our rules or else…mass executions, also known as the Red Terror.
3. The state is right. Also know as Tiananmen Square.
4. Converting others to your…disbelief. Also known as the Cambodian genocide.
5. An evolved view of human relationships. Also known as Darwin’s body snatchers.
The problem is not religion, per se, but men seeking power who subvert religion to gain that power. It has historically been a convenient means to gather people around a cause, but certainly not the only means. The real problem with religion is that it is frequently controlled by humans.
As we seem to be moving out of the age of moral relativsm and into the age of scientism, these are moments of human history which cannot be forgotten. And exactly what we are dealing with cannot be ignored. From PBS’ Faith and Reason glossary:
Unlike the use of the scientific method as only one mode of reaching knowledge, scientism claims that science alone can render truth about the world and reality. Scientism’s single-minded adherence to only the empirical, or testable, makes it a strictly scientific worldview, in much the same way that a Protestant fundamentalism that rejects science can be seen as a strictly religious worldview. Scientism sees it necessary to do away with most, if not all, metaphysical, philosophical, and religious claims, as the truths they proclaim cannot be apprehended by the scientific method. In essence, scientism sees science as the absolute and only justifiable access to the truth.
In other words, they are guilty of exactly the same type of absoultist thinking so often attributed to the religious. They see in those who believe otherwise as a danger which must be eradicated.
Principled Discovery is a place to stop and discuss news and information related to faith, family and particularly education. Pour yourself a cup of tea and join the conversation! 
Excellent post! Hearty clapping in agreement coming from PA . I hope I have your permission to share this post with my kids…as religious intolerence is something we discuss a great deal!
Thank you for stopping by Mother Crone, and by all means! It is a wonderful compliment when someone wants to share what I’ve written.
I love all the ideas and topics you ponder, Dana!
I have to say I do agree with the 1st three points:violence in the name of God, follow our rules or else, and my religion is right. It is these that turn me away from religion and lead me toward a more universal spiritualism.
In the view from a different angle, I see what you are saying, but I feel those are too modern for a good point as the Holy Wars were long before them…and I feel those Holy Wars illustrate those three ideas I said I tend agree with.
But I will say that just because I don’t think religion will supply all of the answers does not mean I believe science will either. I truly feel it is a balanced blend of science, faith, discovery, and perspective…and a many other things that can provide answers to our many numerous questions and concerns and explorations.
Love that you make me think!
I really should reread my post before submitting LOL I need an EDIT button.
I wouldn’t disagree with you, Shawna, except that those aren’t really religious issues.
Everyone believes they are right or they wouldn’t really believe what they believe. I have no problem with people with strong convictions opposed to my own…the problem is when a group decides that there can be no other opinion, belief, etc.
I can’t speak so well for other religions, but what has happened in the name of Christ defies Christ’s teaching. That isn’t a problem with Christianity but with men using Christianity as an attempt to control over other people.
We’ve had genocides numbering in the millions for no other reason than to eradicate religion.
The root of evil is not religion, but sin. And people will use whatever they have at their disposal to maintain control, power or wealth if they believe they can hold it.
“The problem is not religion, per se, but men seeking power who subvert religion to gain that power.“
Could it be that the problem is not religion, but false religion (including those who falsely call themselves Christians)?
Yes, but I think the root of the problem is sin, not really religion. Even false ones.
I enjoyed your post. I didn’t read the original article, but I think I can kind of see where the author was coming from.
I’m with you, though. Religion is hijacked when man focuses on himself and what can be done for him.
satan is the most dangerous part of religion.
Excellent post! I definitely agree with you that the capability for wickedness is an intrinsic part of the human psyche. Religion doesn’t cause individuals to choose evil over good (or vice versa). Evil can be done in the name of religion and so can good, but ultimately it comes down to individual free will. That is the great gift God gave to humanity, but it is also our great burden.