Looking at history from the beginning of written records,

[MineralMan]

it is clear to me that religion, organized religion in particular, has been more of a force for ill than for good. From the Israelites laying waste to those in their surroundings who were not Israelites to today's Islamic extremists who wield terror as their primary tool, what we see is one religion fighting another or the non-religious throughout recorded history.

How many wars were fought over religion? How many indigenous peoples and cultures suffered genocide at the hands of those who invaded their lands in the name of religion? How many Muslims died during the Crusades? How many Jews were killed in the concentration camp ovens by people who quoted Martin Luther as partial justification? Wars, even between denominations of Christianity, have taken uncountable lives over the centuries.

How many were enslaved, transported, and subjected to cruel treatment in various parts of the world, including in our own nation, by people quoting religious scriptures in justification? How many were persecuted and sometimes murdered for loving people of the same sex? How many women died in childbirth due to a prohibition on contraception by the largest segment of the Christian faith? How many children have been tortured, killed or sexually abused by "holy" men who held religious power over them and who acted with impunity? How many are still suffering in that way, unseen, unnoticed, and unable to resist?

That is not to say that there are not kind, generous, tolerant people who are religious. Of course there are. But, all of those combined could not stop the horrors that have been perpetrated in the name of, and encouraged by, organized religions. Religion is power, and power overwhelms those who do not have it, often leading to destruction and death.

That is not to say that all religious people and organizations do those horrible, deplorable things. But many do. Many have done. Some continue to do them. And in the name of their invisible deity, which has no evidence of even existing. Religion has allowed, and still allows, the very basest, cruelest and most obscene aspects of human nature to operate. Not all religious believers behave that way, but enough do to make the world an unsafe and dangerous place.

There is no denial that such horrors have occurred. There cannot be. We have all the records of those events. It is a shame. It is unconscionable. I cannot, in any way, excuse such behavior in the name of religion. Those who can excuse it or who do not make efforts to put an end to it are also culpable. I reject religion on those grounds. It is of no benefit to human society. Just the opposite.

Rant off.