Comment by yoyohello13
10 hours ago
I agree wholeheartedly. Religion, practiced as designed, is extremely positive in my experience. I think the issue is that religion is and has been abused throughout history. I’m really not sure how to deal with this issue though. It seems the Abrahamic religion are quite vulnerable to this kind of abuse, likely because a core part of the doctrine is submission to authority.
I’ve never seen a Buddhist led genocide for instance, and I think a big part of that is the emphasis on looking inward for answers instead of outward.
I don't know if it ever was labeled a genocide, but Sri Lanka has a long history of Buddhist lead attacks against Tamils and other minorities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_violence
Fair enough. Seems like the common thread is religion + government = atrocities
The common thread is groups of people = atrocities. Religion and government are two common properties that emerge from groups of people, but there are also countless examples of atrocities that involve neither.
Centralized power + sentient beings who occasionally produce sociopaths = atrocities.
This is why no one person should have so much unilateral power.