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Same thing with 9/11. I heard the "but" left and right. I remember at uni the convoluted things I've heard from an Iranian neighbour (otherwise a decent bloke) to justify the attacks. After the Charlie Hebdo massacre, I think it was even worse: "It was wrong but people must respect our religion and the Prophet", "it was wrong but you can understand why some were upset", "it was wrong but CH was racist", "it was wrong but... was it really terrorism? More like an isolated incident from misguided minds."
Never heard anyone justify murder or other attrocities because it was in their horoscope, though.
I think all delusions are potentially harmful. Tarot, tea leaves or other kinds of soothsaying,yes can be believed without much harm done, unless say you decide to give a lot of money to a charlatan for guidance, or you act upon false information trying to better your life. The Secret may not have been calling for violence, but it was a very harmful book.
But this is not what I am saying. We have to remain conscious of the harmful nature of unsupported beliefs and when necessary act accordingly. I don't think for instance a family should have the right to refuse its children vaccination. This is harmful for the children, regardless of the family's personal belief and it is harmful for our society as a whole. I don't think we should allow some religious organizations to "reeducate" homosexuals. And if we can and even must allow an Islamist preacher to preach his insanity and his hatred for the West, I do not think we have to give him a stage for it, allow him to preach sedition or say death threats. And on a smaller scale, I don't think creationism should be taught at school in lieu of evolution and I don't think Muslim pupils should fast during school hours during Ramadan.
1st story - Muslim terrorist bomb in Lahore.
2nd story - the hunt for the third man in Muslim terror attacks in Brussels.
3rd story - Gains made by Syrian army against IS.
4th story - Georgia passes a law allowing the religious to discriminate against homosexuals.
Spot the common thread? But we are ordered by the government to 'respect people's beliefs' and told that religion is a force for good!?!? Fuck off. I'm sick of the rest of us having to put up with this shit.
When was the last time atheism monopolised the news like this with stories that are only about death, fear, war and intolerance? Or conversely - when was the last time there was a positive story about religion?
It's about time religion was treated as what it is - a mental illness.
I think fighting religion in a direct conflict is impossible.
My answer is education. Countries that allow free-spirited education and force it upon boys and girls alike, also tend to become more secular over time.
If only they realised this is Arkansas and the likes...
Education the answer? Difficult when the likes of David Cameron and the rest of the Islingtonistas are forever extolling the virtues of 'faith' schools.
Teaching kids to have 'faith'. That's brilliant. So why would they listen when you say 'You need to study hard to pass your exams' when in the previous class they have had it drummed into them to believe in God's grand plan for the universe and nothing they do can change that.
One for all the kids at faith schools here: next time your teacher gives you earache for dicking around in class just say 'It's ok I don't need to study because I have faith I will pass. Blindly believing in something without actual evidence to support it what this school is all about isn't it?'
Oh to avoid any ambiguity I agree. What I meant is to keep religious authorities out of school and religious dogmas as well. Pupils need to know about different faiths, but they need to know these are faiths. NOT have religions take over science classes, sex ed classes and school assemblies. Which I have seen when I was a teaching assistant.
I'd take issue with the notion that pupils 'need to know' about different religions. Perhaps as a background to modern conflicts and terrorism but would it be a bad thing if a child actually grew up ignorant of religion?
It should be an offence to expose a child to religion before they reach the age of 18. At that point they are free to make up their own mind about the world but I wonder how many you'd find, who without being brainwashed by their parents as children, would turn to religion of their own volition?
I'd sooner any child of mine took up smoking rather than religion.
Regarding not teaching before the age of 18, the problem I have with this is the most susceptible are going to hear about it anyway (most likely from home) so I think it's best to head it off at the pass early and put it in the proper context. It's best to frame the narrative and give examples of the positives and negatives as soon as possible, just like sex education, before unsafe practices form.
Regarding those not being brainwashed early turning to religion, I'm not sure what the stats are on this. I can imagine that parental (family elders & other loved ones etc.) teaching and brainwashing definitely impacts a child's perception and world view, so probably it could reduce the numbers dramatically. However, there are still those who turn to religion late in life. It's been my experience that this is more on account of some trauma or personal loss, which leads to 'finding god' as solace. I have encountered many like this, and they are the most zealous & difficult to dissuade. In fact, the same apparently applies to many of the Daesh/ISIL followers - namely late & 'free will' converts to the 'cause'.
Well in a Wizard dictatorship kids getting exposed to it at home wouldn't happen because they would be taken into care and the parents prosecuted for child abuse.
In terms of teaching it should be taught as something dangerous that they should steer clear of. Strange how keen schools are to teach kids the horrors perpetuated by the Nazis but not religion which surely has a higher body count through history.
Well that's fine if you are studying history. Also you need it if you're studying world politics as there are still too many countries who let it have some say but those are the only contexts in which it should be studied - historical background and as an anachronism of how less educated people used to think in the olden days.
These days religion has all the relevance of the coccyx; a reminder of our primitive origins but serving no useful function.
Pope Benedict XVI got a free pass for being in the Hitlerian Youth.
An ex-Nazi in charge of an organisation that hordes billions in its vaults and is a haven for paedos. Sounds like the plot of a Frederick Forsythe novel but apparently it's something we should all respect.
The truth is always stranger then fiction. But looking at the way the Catholic churh behaved during those years you shouldn't be surprised...