Editor: I鈥檝e just read a particularly heated Eastertime opinion that 鈥淩eligion has been the root cause of almost all of the misery that is human history, and the sooner we can get past it the better.鈥�
I鈥檇 theorize, however, that rather than be the 鈥渞oot cause,鈥� historical societal misery may typically coincide with mainstream religiosity due to common societal characteristics that breed some of the worst in collective human behaviour.
For example, mutual aspiration traits may have motivated a large quantity of western migration to North America鈥攑erhaps an 91原创 drive for freedom from corrupt, bullish rulers and/or increasingly 鈥楪odless鈥� society 鈥� then also eventually resulted in societally dysfunctional conduct.
Indeed, instead of big religion playing the main role in humankind鈥檚 dysfunctional conduct, could it be that general human-nature flaw is making popular religion notably dysfunctional?
Is humankind鈥檚 predominantly religious nature via its high number of followers making mainstream religion superficially easier to blame for our great social woes?
Therefore, wouldn鈥檛 we see a reversed situation had we conversely lived in a predominantly atheist world, overwhelmed by the likes of the Khmer Rouge鈥檚 Cambodian Killing Fields and Russia鈥檚 often ruthless communist history?
Broad human nature may be to find and ardently follow some form of 鈥榝aith鈥� or another, be its leader the Holy Pope or Pol Pot.
Perhaps the most worrisome universal human traits, amongst the atheist and religious alike, is anger鈥攖hus the reduced ability for rational thinking鈥攚hich becomes noticeably even more prevalent in us men in later years due to cerebral changes.
I especially witnessed this in a man who鈥檚 always adamantly opposed to any liberal entity governing 鈥榯he people鈥� 鈥� so much so, that on a couple occasions he became so blindly angry that he, with his fist tightened before him, uttered to me, 鈥淚鈥檇 vote for the devil himself if that鈥檚 what it took to keep those Godless socialists out of office!鈥�
Frank Sterle Jr.,
White Rock
