Admiral,
Quote:
… It's the fundamental groups that create the problems Natzi, Comunist party in Russia or china may no be religus in nature but i think we can all agree that they come from a fundamentalism ideals so the difrense become rather mute.
The problem is not in basis the religon itself but the peopel that twist it in to a fundamental ideolegy…
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If you are suggesting that intolerance, whether secular or religious, is based on a rigid and unyielding interpretation of some ideology, then we are in complete agreement. It is precisely such an arbitrary interpretation of Islam that serves as the basis for “Muslim extremists” or “Islamic fundamentalists”, etc. This type of “us versus them” mentality in the U.S. led to the Red Scare hysteria exploited by Senator Macarthy in the early 50s.
It might be a good idea to take the time to
read the article before dismissing the research. Ignoring the facts is what extremists do when confronted by evidence which runs counter to their beliefs.
In re people using religion to further their own agenda; well, people have been doing so since the beginning of recorded history, do so today, and will I suspect, continue to do so forever – or until it stops serving their purpose. This, I think, speaks volumes about how people follow and are led, but says very little about religion.
If, when you refer to ethics, you refer to the rules or standards governing the conduct of an individual, then you will find that many, if not most, people’s ethical choices and behavior are attempts to do what is “right”. For better or worse, religions claim to provide the knowledge to identify what is right, and how to make those choices correctly.
Should or ought religion influence political decisions? I certainly wouldn’t want to try to prevent that from happening. Doing so would be intolerant of the belief systems of other citizens. I would say what others have said – that an educated electorate is needed for an effective democracy. If political debates and arguments are taken to the literate and numerate voters of this fair republic, and the voters are persuaded one way or another, then “vox populi, vox Dei” – if you’ll pardon the expression.