Why do so many religions have so much hatred as one of their

[RKP5637]

central themes? When I read/hear about various religions it always seems they have hatred toward this one or that one woven into their preachings.

I've just never gotten it, they talk all about love for mankind, this and that, yet out of the other side of their mouths they preach hatred and bigotry.

Just thinking of history, so many hate groups have preached the bible and held the cross. It's always been a WTF to me. And why I avoid religions and when possible religious people like the plague.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

1. Yeah .

Oh and there's the dodge of "Love the sinner, hate the sin."



I refuse to have anything to do with a religion whose symbol is an ancient Roman torture device.

Or a hateful, mass murdering, psychotic god.

[redqueen]

2. My theory is that it's part of our tribal roots.

Religion, IMO, is more of a social club than anything else. Also a tool for enforcing social mores, but mostly just a social club, with similarities to team sports. Special clothing, customs, etc. People are told they have to get together in special places, where they talk about how important the team's work is, how great the team is, slap each other on the back and feel really good. But you can't have that team mentality without another team to feel superior to.

Some prophets have attempted to chip away at that mentality, but most people seem to just love following leaders, and we know well what kind of people usually tend to like being leaders/having power (i.e. not the kind you tend to want in those positions)... and power tends to corrupt.

[RKP5637]

12. This sums it up quite well IMO. Thanks! n/t

[trotsky]

14. "you can't have that team mentality without another team to feel superior to"

This is precisely it, I think. Well stated, redqueen. We see it even among the "ecumenical" liberal believers - oh sure, all beliefs are equal. But you can tell, behind the curtain, they think their beliefs are just a little more equal.

[lindysalsagal]

26. Metaphysical sibling rivalry.

If you're in the club, you get all the perks:

1. First in line in heaven
2. meeting deceased parents/siblings/spouses/friends in heaven
3. eternal life (Thanks, I'll pass)
4. harps
5. cherubs
6. no-iron pretty white gowns
7. self-righteous self-grandiosity

[Fix The Stupid]

21. Thats a great summary there...

Agree 100%.

The team mentality...

Also, I have another theory that meshes with this one... it might be a little harsh but... there is also the aspect that religion does not require any special skill sets or qualifications to join..(Other than the obvious, gay, etc)... So.. IN MY OPINION, you have some people who genuinely suck at, or do not excel at anything in life and find a built in acceptance within their church...It's all they have...all they can use as a crutch or as evidence that they belong to something and that someone, anyone, even an imaginary deity loves them and listens to them...

Maybe not so eloquently put... but I think you get my drift.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. This sort of thing was my first step

toward becoming an atheists. It started with shunning all religions because of the hatred and self-righteousness of the followers. After that, it wasn't much of a journey to realizing that this whole "god" thing was also a sham.

[RKP5637]

20. It's the hatred that really gets to me. If they have their religion and it's

so F'en great for them, fine, I'm OK with that. ... but many don't stop there, they have to hate others, rip them apart, coerce others into being like them, and then want to legislate religion as laws into others lives, trying to force them to be believers. I see so much evilness in religion.

[dimbear]

4. Think of the preaching as the ads. Think of the hatred as the product.

Buyers remorse is the result.

[onager]

7. Yep. Also: "Religion is the only business...

...where the customers blame themselves for product failure."

Said by somebody smarter than me. Which is everybody. Robert Heinlein, I'm pretty sure.

[libodem]

23. Love that saying

Makes sense.

[awoke_in_2003]

5. Hatred and fear of the different...

goes back to our caveman days. Some people can't get past those primitive urges.

[AlbertCat]

6. Family

Steven Pinker talks about an expanding circle of acceptance.

In hunter gatherer groups, it's the family.... real people related to each other, that are accepting and others are shunned. This is a survival technique. Then as families come together, the circle expands to the tribe.... then to followers of the same religion, which is just ancient government. ( then governments/countries.... and race..... etc....) They even keep the family terms "Father", "Mother" "brethren and sisteren" in religion. Those not in the family are shunned and hated. It used to be a survival technique but now it's just divisive.

[mzteris]

8. You can safely assume

that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.

Anne Lamott

[RKP5637]

10. Excellent! We see this each day! n/t

[Odin2005]

9. Tribalism.

In many "primitive" societies they will actually deliberately modify their myths in order to polarize the "us-them" thing.

[RKP5637]

11. That often seems to also be the main priority of many

religions today too, the "us-them" thing. I often say their god must be a very busy being fulfilling their polarizations and hatred for differing camps. Their god must be very conflicted ...

[Kennah]

13. Religion is also a source of considerable political power

When monarchs respond to Popes, there is serious voodoo wrapped up in funny hats.

It is never a good thing when one person has that much power over a larger group of people--not unlike a CEO.

The blind faith some put in their Pope is not all that different from the blind faith Faux News preaches about "job creators".

Of course, Enron and other corporate execs remind me more of corrupt Roman Emperors.

[dmallind]

15. This is especially prevalent in salvific faiths

While there are certainly often quite nasty conflicts among more philosophical faiths, the real deeply vicious stuff comes more from the desert monotheisms that posit some sort of final judgment before a deity, based on how well the deceased followed the faith. Since by definition the ones who pass are much more valued and rewarded on the highest authority possible, it's not just natural but intrinsically determined that followers who see themselves as passing grade despise and cast out the ones they see as failing in life too. Why would they not when their own paragon of virtue and wisdom is going to do the same thing, but much more finally, after death anyway?

Yes religion's like a team sport with hated rivals and a club that shuns non-members, but the ones based on final judgment from God himself are also built from first principles to promulgate a mirror of that same judgment on earth

[JNelson6563]

16. I have the most unique experience on this

I grew up Catholic in the suburbs of Detroit. I went to Catholic school too.

I have no horror stories of violent nuns or abusive priests. No bad memories of being threatened with hell or learning who among the populace I needed to hate because they were not just like me.

I was taught hell was a place where god was not, that's what made it such a sorry place, no light/love of god. I never heard a word against those of other beliefs. When I asked about Muslims I was told "we all worship the same god". Pretty much the same regarding Jews, except for the Jesus part of course.

I must've come from the most liberal, enlightened parish in the world because when I got out into the world and really witnessed how much hatred there was between religions, I was truly stunned.

Julie

[RKP5637]

19. I was raised Methodist in really a non-religious family. I think back then it

was just something many did, and my father being a prominent political figure thought it was good for winning elections (I think). We had an incredible minister, highly educated and liberal. I never heard any hatred about other religions and other people, etc., etc. However, I knew it went on, long story short.

Anyway, over the years I've been amazed by all of the hatred from religions against others, just stunned. It goes against anything I ever learned as a kid.

Another long story short, I've had no religion in my life for years and far better for it, I just have no need for it, and as a child I could never believe all of the stories and beliefs. To me, it just made no sense, none at all. And now I see it all as so diversionary.

[JNelson6563]

22. I had to be "ready" to figure it out I guess.

Though my home was not religious, we were Catholic. The only reason I ended up even going to Catholic school was because a couple years in a row the public school teachers went on strike. Summer couldn't end fast enough for my loving mother so she put us in Catholic school, where they at least started on time every year.

There were times in my young-adluthood where religion would serve me very well as a source of comfort. After the last of those traumatic experiences I got healthier and stronger, mentally speaking. I think those experiences, the really hard ones, forced me to grow up more emotionally as I'd never had to before.

That enabled me to see my faith differently, more objectively. Reading heavily on the period of the Reformation prompted a serious look into the different sects of Christianity. That led to in-depth look at the root of it all, the bible. Well a few years of a good solid look at that, while working, raising family, running house~~kinda had to squeeze it in as a side quest~~and I realized I found it all to be utter nonsense. Felt embarrassed at first and ANGRY. Oh so angry. Like I'd been so duped! And by fucking everyone!1!

Of course in time I came to realize they'd all been duped as well and most of my anger melted away.

Anyhow, there's a bunch of blather for you that you could've lived without.

Julie

[RKP5637]

24. Thanks!!!

[Lucy Goosey]

17. Because religions were created by humans

And humans, as it turns out, are frequently assholes.

[RKP5637]

18. I realize that more and more all of the time. For years I must have been

really naive. Probably with the reign of Bush for 8 years it really hit home to me how frequently many humans are really assholes, and there's no getting around that. I also recall well in the 80's, some DJ's talking about how they thought the asshole count in the US was going up and up.

[lindysalsagal]

25. Because, in order to have an "us"

you also have to have a "them."

[RKP5637]

27. Well said, that sums it up well!

[lindysalsagal]

28. nthnkyew

When I'm really bored, I head on over to the religion board. Quite amusing.