Kryachkov 2!indd

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Д. А. Крячков
UNIT III
sure God was on their side, to the modern-day conflict in the Middle East between warring 
factions who are all convinced they have religious sanction for their battles.
2. Many of the worst atrocities would not have been committed. I'll mention just a few. The 
Inquisition in which believers (people of religious faith all) were tortured and killed because 
their brand of orthodoxy was not acceptable, burning at the stake of religious reformers who 
dared deviate from the party line, witch trials and drownings of innocent, simple people 
(most of them women) who found disfavor with religious (most of them male) leaders, slavery 
of Africans by staunch religious people who justified it on biblical grounds, and the shameful 
treatment of Native Americans who were considered savages in spite of their deep respect for 
the land and for the sanctity of their word (in stark contrast with their Christian plunderers).
3. Insidious prejudice could not hide behind religious shields. Without question one of the most 
powerful appeals of religion is the desire to be a part of the in-group. Religion promises that 
in spades, all the while claiming (and perhaps intending) to be egalitarian. When you've gone 
through the initiation ceremony, sort of like the plebes at a military institute, it's just real easy 
to feel superior to those who haven't. Such prejudice, sometimes masquerading as evangelis-
tic concern, is pandemic with religions.
4. All the money spent in support of organized religion would be available for more direct, more 
useful humanitarian effort. Think of the multiplied billions of dollars that have been poured 
into organized religion through the centuries. The temples, the cathedrals, the mosques, the 
churches. Edifices that glorify some god? Not unless the god is an idiot. It's easy to see that 
the religious gurus of primitive cultures, however sincere they were, however revered, were 
a drain on the system. Somebody else had to do the work they were not doing, to say noth-
ing of their demands for sacrificial giving to the god they represented. Today's professional 
religionists, again however sincere, are no different. They have to be paid, and their churches 
have to be supported.
5. It would be clearer that, although all people are created with equal rights to the pursuit of 
happiness, not all people are equally likely to live responsibly, no matter what. The church 
(as a symbol of organized religion) has some very good, generous, unselfish people in it. It 
also has some very bad, stingy, selfish people in it. If religion really, in and of itself, had the 
power to change people, all religious people would be beneficent and kind. I don’t mean 
“without sin,” to use the common religious phrase; I just mean basically good. Anybody with 
half a smidgen of intellectual honesty knows that’s not the case. It isn’t clear whether there is 
a higher percentage of responsible people within religion than without, but I suspect that if 
there is, it isn’t statistically significant.
We operate on the assumption that the overwhelming majority of people believe religion is 
important and good. I challenge that assumption. We know that at least half the population of 
this country seldom or never attends a religious function. If we think about it, we also know that 
a hefty percentage of those who are active religiously do so for something other than religious 
reasons. Community approval, social contacts, business and political expectations. I don’t know 
how large the percentage of people who are genuinely faithful is, but I suspect it’s much smaller 
than the noise it makes.
People have every right, of course, to be as religious as they choose, so long as the practice of 
their religion doesn’t infringe on the rights of others. Many, many good, honest, sincere people are 
totally convinced that their religious views are not only right, but are what make them good, hon-
est, and sincere. My parents are among them. I respect them, all the sincere believers. I also think 
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