How is it that humanists/atheists claim religion is the major cause of cruelty, war and oppression when the 20th Century (surely the most irreligious century ever) hit the jackpot on all three ?
major cause of cruelty, war and oppression
- Thread starter china
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I don't know if thats exactly factual.I don't think any thinking person would blame anything on war except greed and power and land claiming. Look at the great Indian wars of the americans. They slaughtered Indians by the tens of thousands. Now of course they did tell their people that these savages were Godless...sigh....
Religion has been a tool for war. It's a great tool to con everyone with. The Romans were masters. When ever they conqoured a people they would claim that One of their gods slept with or married one of the conqoured gods and a new god was born that "We" can both pray to for things together.....
I don't think it a irreligous century either....Huge shifts in people's belief system yes, the Catholic church lost a lot of it's influence, Moslems grew stronger together,India has about a billion hindus, Eastern thought filled the void for many westerners who could no longer believe in the literal bible message.
Atheism became popular and accepted. It's still a belief system.
War is primary greed and power driven. Look at what China did to Tibet. This totally peaceful non violent people. The butcher Mao viewed this as an apple to be picked, or some fruit don't recall the variety.
They did a sort of genocide by not just murdering one million but brought in millions of Chinnese to displace the Tibetans and water down the indigonous people. You can't tell me Mao was some sort of altruistic nice guy who wanted the best for all Tibetans....
Dear China the poster,
I know i sound really harsh on your government, but please understand it's your government and not the Chinnese people that are the brunt of my posts here. I actually admire your people and think highly of the accomplishments of your country . i know that the average chinnese would be appalled at the fact of the pet food and the poisoned toothpaste now showing up in dollar stores here....I realize that the majority of Chinnese people are just as much honest family loving wanting a better life people...they have a strong and wonderfull community of beautiful Chinnese Candaians here....please do not think me a racist....I'm just appalled at the present chinnese governments failure to be civilised and "nice"
Cheers
DD
add on \p.s. I'll try to lay off the rehashing spamish stuff here for you ok....
I know i sound really harsh on your government, but please understand it's your government and not the Chinnese people that are the brunt of my posts here. I actually admire your people and think highly of the accomplishments of your country . i know that the average chinnese would be appalled at the fact of the pet food and the poisoned toothpaste now showing up in dollar stores here....I realize that the majority of Chinnese people are just as much honest family loving wanting a better life people...they have a strong and wonderfull community of beautiful Chinnese Candaians here....please do not think me a racist....I'm just appalled at the present chinnese governments failure to be civilised and "nice"
Cheers
DD
add on \p.s. I'll try to lay off the rehashing spamish stuff here for you ok....
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Well, I don't know that they all claim it's the major cause--it'd be pretty hard to pin the 20th Century's two world wars directly on religion, though Nazism did have certain characteristics of a religious movement and Hitler justified the extermination of the Jews in religious terms in Mein Kampf -- but there's no doubt it's a major cause. Europe was convulsed for centuries by battles between Catholics and Protestants that were quite explicitly religious in origin, the destruction of aboriginal societies in North and South America was justified largely in religious terms, you can find justification for slavery in the holy books of the three monotheisms, the conflict in the Middle East is largely religious--God is reported as promising the territory to both Jews and Muslims in their texts--only religious fervor creates suicide bombers, and so it goes.
I don't think you can claim the 20th Century was the most irreligious century ever either, though it's certainly true that Christianity in particular lacked the direct secular power it once had, thanks to the Enlightenment and the Reformation. Separation of church and state is one of the better ideas that came out of those. I doubt very much that the general level of religious belief was much different though. We still see successful political parties in Europe calling themselves things like Christian Democrats in officially secular states. The horrors of the 20th Century were no different in principle than the horrors of any other century, it's just that technology and industrialization made them far more deadly, and much better documented. The 'jackpot' you speak of is only apparent, not real. Things are pretty much the same as they've always been. But with better weapons.
I agree with everything pointed out by Dex and only wish to add that religious fervor and the associations employed by "religions" have been used by (usually fanatics) to legitimize war and destruction. In addition, Monarchies, a structure of government that regards the leader as a direct instrument of 'god' have used religion as means of control and expansion of the leaderships power and authority.... It's not just in poor "taste" to flout the authority of the Monarch but against "god's will"...
Belief in a creator entity that controls everything from harvest bounty to reproduction has been and is used by many forms of government to coerce behavior. Social structures established to preserve the patriarchical uppermost hand also employ religion to influence the concept and ideal of "rights" by gender. Religion has been used to equivocate and exterminate on the basis of any "supportable" interpretation from holy books and ancient ceremonies and rituals passed along as part of the oral tradition of many many human societies.
Belief in a creator entity that controls everything from harvest bounty to reproduction has been and is used by many forms of government to coerce behavior. Social structures established to preserve the patriarchical uppermost hand also employ religion to influence the concept and ideal of "rights" by gender. Religion has been used to equivocate and exterminate on the basis of any "supportable" interpretation from holy books and ancient ceremonies and rituals passed along as part of the oral tradition of many many human societies.