Re: Elderly Christian woman paraded naked through streets of Egypt by armed muslim mo
John Lennon did say that organised religion was the worst thing to happen to humanity. To build on that, it's not the religions themselves, but rather the followers. Religion tends to be used as an easy justification for bigotry, hatred and a range of other nasty behaviours - I mean, the easiest argument to justify bad behaviour is "God says it's ok". Religion is very much the opium of the masses and it tends to attract the poor, uneducated, obsessive and other vulnerable elements in society who completely misuse and misinterpret the message. Muslims (NOT Islam) are unfortunately the biggest offenders, but I think that can be traced back to serious issues in the Arab world and the arrested development of those societies.
Christianity is not that much better and whilst it has improved over the years, it is still an offender. A quick look at Christian Evangelism in the US reveals an ugly picture. Having received 15 years of Christian education, I'm mystified as to how these people justify their bigoted and distorted beliefs under Christianity. The Christian Right pursues a range of positions and policies which cannot be considered Christian in any way (namely, the Death Penalty, social welfare and LGBT discrimination).
My point is, it isnt the religions themselves, but rather the nature of belief and the adherents who really give religion a bad name. Religion in the hands of the poor and uneducated is a dangerous thing, but unfortunately, religion primarily attracts these people (herein lies the problem).
