Agreed, I’m more in the “anti-theist” camp than the religious tolerance camp as they were, but the destructive effects religion has in general can vary in severity by religion and local cultural histories. It should be obvious the overwhelmingly negative, wide-reaching influence Catholocism has on the people, as well as the extreme influence it has on world politics for instance, contrasts pretty harshly to a native religion with many followers like Vodun. Numerous syncretic indigenous religions have arisen out of the colonized ashes of Catholic imperialism, and those colonized peoples’ belief systems are not what’s preventing revolution.
I have no disagreements with anyone criticizing the iron grip Christianity wields over Christian-state policymaking or the horrific cultural ideals propagated by religious groups. Mostly just focusing on cults in the U.S. like the JWs and LDS that wield significant political power and capital (more than you’d think!), while harboring (more like promoting) sex pests and preaching hate-speech apokalypsis.
I’m with you, and I do have consideration with context, even though I will for sure not treat animal sacrifice as a non significant matter, since we are talking about the gratuitous slaughter of sentient beings of which even some theorize as “animals as a societal class bellow the working class”, and even science is recognizing their intelligence, which has been drawn back precisely by religions.
The thing is to compare religions like other similar power structure:
Is the same an Spanish Monarchist than a Hawaiian one?
This is the fule of thumb I use.
Also, regarding cults, I know of the LDS church, but not many of the political influence JWs hold, since it’s a religion of political asceticism(or to not partake in any political issue, only what the Governing Body(Popes) says to do).
Agreed, I’m more in the “anti-theist” camp than the religious tolerance camp as they were, but the destructive effects religion has in general can vary in severity by religion and local cultural histories. It should be obvious the overwhelmingly negative, wide-reaching influence Catholocism has on the people, as well as the extreme influence it has on world politics for instance, contrasts pretty harshly to a native religion with many followers like Vodun. Numerous syncretic indigenous religions have arisen out of the colonized ashes of Catholic imperialism, and those colonized peoples’ belief systems are not what’s preventing revolution.
I have no disagreements with anyone criticizing the iron grip Christianity wields over Christian-state policymaking or the horrific cultural ideals propagated by religious groups. Mostly just focusing on cults in the U.S. like the JWs and LDS that wield significant political power and capital (more than you’d think!), while harboring (more like promoting) sex pests and preaching hate-speech apokalypsis.
I’m with you, and I do have consideration with context, even though I will for sure not treat animal sacrifice as a non significant matter, since we are talking about the gratuitous slaughter of sentient beings of which even some theorize as “animals as a societal class bellow the working class”, and even science is recognizing their intelligence, which has been drawn back precisely by religions.
The thing is to compare religions like other similar power structure: Is the same an Spanish Monarchist than a Hawaiian one? This is the fule of thumb I use.
Also, regarding cults, I know of the LDS church, but not many of the political influence JWs hold, since it’s a religion of political asceticism(or to not partake in any political issue, only what the Governing Body(Popes) says to do).