The very concept of religion - that one group of people, with no physical proof or evidence, can state that THEY ALONE have the TRUTH - is an appallingly horrifying idea with appallingly horrifying consequences, and always will be.
The moral and ethical level of religion is the same as that for a deceitful, controlling parent to a gullable child. Most human beings are gullible children. They lack the critical thinking skills necessary to defend themselves against egomaniacial religious "leaders" who take advantage of them at every turn. From the friendly local priest (don't question the faith or you'll see how welcome you really are in the community) to the suicide bomber who blows himself up along with a busload of kids for ALLAH.
Every outcome of religion ultimately serves to do only one thing: reduce the quality of life for everyone. How big a list of religious atrocities can you come up with that occur on a regular basis? From the tiny (my neighbor is shunned from his Amish community because he likes electricity...) to the enormous (whole populations "cleansed" in the name of some imaginary sky-fairy) to the millenium-spanning (the supprerssion of scientific knowledge off-and-on for all of human history because it contradicted someones dogma).
I despise all religion and pity those who are slaves to it.
The moral and ethical level of religion is the same as that for a deceitful, controlling parent to a gullable child. Most human beings are gullible children. They lack the critical thinking skills necessary to defend themselves against egomaniacial religious "leaders" who take advantage of them at every turn. From the friendly local priest (don't question the faith or you'll see how welcome you really are in the community) to the suicide bomber who blows himself up along with a busload of kids for ALLAH.
Every outcome of religion ultimately serves to do only one thing: reduce the quality of life for everyone. How big a list of religious atrocities can you come up with that occur on a regular basis? From the tiny (my neighbor is shunned from his Amish community because he likes electricity...) to the enormous (whole populations "cleansed" in the name of some imaginary sky-fairy) to the millenium-spanning (the supprerssion of scientific knowledge off-and-on for all of human history because it contradicted someones dogma).
I despise all religion and pity those who are slaves to it.