Religion is supposed to promote more love and less hate. After all, they preach to do good and be a blessing to others. Unfortunately, many of the world’s conflict are often rooted in religion. How can we then expect salvation when the religion we swear by does the opposite?
Many people say that if a religion teaches you to hate other religions, then you need to look for a new religion. And it likely has merit. We have more pressing problems right now than to bicker and argue amongst ourselves because of differences in opinions and religious beliefs.
I take great exception to the article “A Scientist’s New Theory: Religion Was Key to Humans’ Social Evolution,” (March 5). The article quotes evolutionary psychology professor Robin Dunbar saying, “Somehow it’s clear that religions, all these doctrinal religions, create the sense that we’re one family.”
If that is so, we are an extremely dysfunctional family. Does religion do good? Yes, without a doubt. As the article stated, religion does help humans create social networks. But these networks, groups, countries, states, empires are not always there to do good. In the name of religion we had the Crusades, the Thirty Years War (although other factors helped that one along), the French Wars of Religion 1562-1598, the Bohemian Civil War 1465-1471, India and Pakistan, Northern Ireland, and Spain and Islam. Well, I hope you get the idea.
Unfair treatment to women is also a trait shared by many of the world’s religious orders.
…It’s sometimes difficult,