It is the mindset of the religious community that creates the inhumanity so prevalent around the globe. Although many religious groups will claim the divinity of their God and his suggested path as the only truth of the Universe; however it is this belief that is the problem creating a false reality that has been taken much too seriously by the majority of humans throughout the world. The two primary structures in religion are monotheism, which believes in only one God whose gender is always male, and then there is polytheism that has various ‘entities’ that are believed to be “Gods” and “Goddesses.” It is important to mention the two structures that make up the majority of religions to justify the position of religion as a serious problem against the human race.
Monotheism is what constructs the majority of the violent religions engaging in fanatical wars against one another in the name of the right God. These include Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam as the most well-known established religions known to dominate the world. The religions most popularly practiced with a polytheistic construct are Hinduism and Buddhism. Numerous other religions fit into the category of monotheism, polytheism, and even dualism, but for the sake of a focused discussion only these will be used as examples.
Although the problems of evil and intolerance in the world could be blamed on all religions, it is the monotheistic religions that have the majority of the blood on their hands. Charles Kimball, an expert in the subject of religion who was a Professor at Wake Forrest University states the following in his book using the example about the problem of absolute truth in which, “People who believe they have God in their pocket and know what God wants for them have proven time and again that they're capable of doing anything because it's not their will but God's will being carried out” (Kimball, “Belief.net”,n.d.). The problem here is that the egotistical nature appears to make the idea of God as their own personal superpower, which encourages these groups to justify superiority over others. As history has shown, the majority of wars use religion as the excuse for their actions to serve their selfish agenda. How many of the conquered lands have been associated with groups assuming entitlement with their God and religion as an excuse? One must not look too much further than the ongoing challenges associated with the Middle Eastern regions that are in turmoil because of religion.
The detailed evidence of the Polytheistic religions is not provided, due to the limited nature of the discussion. Briefly I would like to mention that it appears the polytheistic religious groups appear to engage in less conflict based on religious beliefs due to the flexibility in their core beliefs that honors other religions. Therefore, the focus of the argument remains on the horrific results caused by the Abrahamic religions (all monotheistic) across the globe.
As one of the primary culprits of these self-centered agendas of atrocities against human equality and empathy stand the Christians. Declaring the Christians as a group who has suffered the most from these religious indifferences is inaccurate and bias. Even in the current climate of the democratic country of the United States, it is the Christians that all too often infringe on the rights of others in the name of Jesus and the Bible. One does not have to look too deeply into the savage acts of Christians throughout the centuries where those who did not accept Jesus as their lord and savior were not worthy of life. What kind of insanity is this?
It seems that the primary political dispute that is ruining the great nation of the United States is also the fault of Christians. For example, in an article for Time magazine online, contributed by Richard Dawkins and Robyn Blumner discuss possible 2016 presidential candidate Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. His attitude against non-Christians appear to be something he has publicly displayed through his support of the idea that all atheists working as elected officials for the government should be fired (Dawkins and Blumner, 2014). In addition the following excerpt from the article sums up the jest of how damaging Christianity is for the U.S. as well as the world, “This latest bit of hate was offered up – where else? – at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. The ritual hookup between Christian conservatives and Republican presidential aspirants is a right wing, Jesus-loves-us debauch of Homophobia, Intolerance and Militarism, a trifecta easily remembered by the acronym ‘HIM’” (Dawkins and Blumner, 2014, para.4).
I will conclude the paper discussing the title of the paper, “Agnosticism in the Answer,” as the only possible solution to find unity and empathy among citizens across the globe. It is not my belief that the idea of a God or Gods should not be honored, but the fundamental beauty of each of these religious messages has been lost by the greed of human nature. Religion may have been created for the improvement of humankind, but in the modern world it is evident that it no longer serves a purpose of progressive improvements for the human species. Whether or not religion should have ever existed is not the issue, but considering the damage it has done, it may be time to evolve to Agnosticism where the beneficial aspects of religion can be shared in a universal belief that removes intolerances based on spiritual practices.
Works Cited
Dawkins, Richard, and Robyn Blumner. "Atheists Aren't the Problem, Christian Intolerance Is the
Problem." Time. Time, 30 Sept. 2014. Web. 29 June 2015. <http://time.com/3450525/atheists-arent-the-problem-christian-intolerance-is-the-problem/>.
Kimball, Charles. "The Problem With Monotheism." Beliefnet. Web. 29 June 2015.
