Why are there no compulsory government health warnings associated with actively participating in a religion. Ok, we can pretty much give Buddhism a free pass but even this most friendly of religions still allows for 'just war'. I doubt such a statistic exists, but I do wonder, on a world wide basis, how the number of people that die from smoking related illnesses compares with those killed in the name of God or some other deity. I am in no way defending smoking but the process has a tangible result as a result of nicotine. The God of smokers is tobacco, it exists and is available 'in a store near you'. I wish I could say the same for Gods that are the basis of religions because there is not a single scrap of scientific evidence that they exist. I am not saying that they don't but world wide wars, persecution, torture and genocide based on a maybe is not a particularly strong argument and certainly should not stand up in court of law.
We tend to focus on historic and present day murder of Christians and Muslims in countries far from our shores and to an extent we have become immune to it. Media tells us that the Chinese government has incarcerated more than a million Turkic Muslims and they are allegedly used as a source of organs for transplants but we still trade with China, we all have Chinese products in our homes. It is easy to justify inactivity based on the fact that individually we have little if any means to prevent it from happening but that is not the case for religion based deaths occurring in the UK right now. We have two main religions, both espousing peace, respect and tolerance but the reality is something quite different. There is nothing peaceful about beheading a person because they worship the same basic God but in a different way. How can this tide of intolerance and resultant death of innocent people be prevented? Even where the intolerance is not severe enough to result in crime it still puts a barrier between communities and leads to a feeling of distrust.
I am tired of religious leaders promoting violence, being involved in drugs, alcohol, sexual impropriety and all in the name of Gods that may or may not exist. When I read about a so called religious person being found stuffed full of cocaine or to have sexually abused children, it makes me sick.
Religion has become a tool used by evil people to separate us and kill so why not have your own personal religion that does not require a place of worship. Just be good to others and treat all around you with respect!
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