"Men never commit evil so fully and joyfuly as when they do it for religious convictions."?

Question

"Men never commit evil so fully and joyfuly as when they do it for religious convictions."
– Blaise Pascal

True or false?

Hitler was religious!

Answer 1

False. Non-religious people can be evil, too. Look at Hitler/Staling/Pol Pot/ Genghis Khan etc

PS All atheists will support the statement, all religious people will deny it.


This is a no-brainer.

Hitler wasn't religious. He claimed, when it suited him, to be Catholic, but his personal doctrines were very broad.
Also, Christians who go around gassing each other, aren't exactly following the line of Christ - "Do unto others as you would have them do to you." So he certainly wasn't following the words of his Master.

Answer 2

Well, this could apply to this quote to any 'cause'. I'm sure many despots were delusional not to admit to themselves that any evil acts they desired to commit stemmed from feelings of inadequacy or lack of power.

Ofcourse what is an 'evil act'. It is universally agreed upon? I suppose when a cause or religion is followed, a set of guidelines exist whereby you can rationalize any action you perform so long as it's within the limits.

All a religion contains, is an organised set of values. For you to choose to enter a specific religion, it's obvious that these values must seem attractive or superior in some way i.e. the content and the justification for them.

Thus I believe that a religion is only as good or bad as the people who follow it.

Answer 3

Nice qoute!

Yes, it's true if men decide in thier own reasoning to do this or that. Unfortunately, the Roman Catholic Church has given ample evidence to prove this point during the Dark Ages, also known as the Medival Church.
The complexity is that only during the judgement day of the Lord will we know whether or not it was God's hand in some instances. I know without a shadow of doubt God wasn't involved in the crusades and heretic trials of the Dark Ages, but that isn't the only instances this can apply to.
Was it God's will that slavery be done away with through the Civil War?? Probably so.

Answer 4

True.
Let's See...
Sun Myung Moon
Jim Jones
Osama Bin Laden
Fred Phelps
Marshal Applewhite
Jim Bakker
Peter Popov
L Ron Hubbard
The Crusades
the Salem Witch Trials
The Catholic Church tolerating slavery, pedophilia, and the Inquisition.
And for the record Hitler was a pagan in his adult life and a very superstitious and dangerous man.
Can't bring myself to be religious given a track record like that.
Proud to be an American and live in country where I can be free FROM religion if I choose!

Answer 5

Sorta true. It is a fact that non-religious people can be evil too, but it is an evil that is lacking.
When a man commits evil in the name of religion, he has no conscience. He acts without scruples, in the name of religion. The truly fanatic religious person can excuse any crime, however horrible, in the name of religion. Suicide bombers are only one example.
The thing with religion is that if you are a fanatic, then the ends justify the means, because the result and reward are un-earthly, the afterlife. Therefore, if a man does an act of evil, and is convinced that he does this in the name of religion, then that is the purest form of evil, untainted by any other ethics.

Answer 6

It depends. I have never known people of religious convictions who could fully enjoy evil because of the, Jesus sees us, element.

If evil is violence then a person who stops evil through righteous convictions will prevail fully though it takes violence to stop violence. I'm sorry pacifists happy thoughts don't do the trick.

Answer 7

Yep, religion gets involved in politics, war, nationalism etc. Not to mention big business and god dishonouring doctrines like hell fire, immortal souls, the trinity and many other non scriptural things... Interestingly Jesus mentioned these religious hypocrites when he said; (John 16:1-4) 16 “I have spoken these things to you that you may not be stumbled. 2 Men will expel you from the synagogue. In fact, the hour is coming when everyone that kills you will imagine he has rendered a sacred service to God. 3 But they will do these things because they have not come to know either the Father or me. 4 Nevertheless, I have spoken these things to you that, when the hour for them arrives, you may remember I told them to you.. . .

Answer 8

I enjoy stealing from my workplace and beating up people that have insulted me or my close family or my race. On the other hand, I wouldn't commit so-called 'evil' for religion. That is just too much.

Answer 9

I would say for an ideology and not just religious
fanaticisms. Atheists,especially antitheistic or nationalist,kinds can be just as rationalizing in their love of doing evil-and better at it actually since there is no real right or wrong or afterlife payback.

Answer 10

Number one reason/cause for war throughout human history: religion.
Religion: set of values, standards or beliefs that always includes being kind to and caring for your fellow man. Um, how is going off to kill them being kind? Isn't that just a bit self contradictory?