what does "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction" mean

Question

i was condering what that quote ment.. thanks

Answer 1

Why is it that when you have religion on your side you are able to do such horrors as torture; the Spanish Inquisition, Genocide; the Spanish policy in the New World, or sentence the majority of the population to a life of servitude and slavery; the Feudal System in the Middle Ages?

The saying means that when people feel they have God on their side they are no longer controlled by the decent morals of society, or even of their own religion. This is the biggest crime of ANY organized religion. I named the examples from Christianity, but remember that Muslim extremists use religion as an excuse to blow up car bombs; Baghdad, kill hundreds if not thousands of people; 9/11, and rape women dozens of times; Darfur.

I don’t know the sins committed by the other organized religions, but non are guilt free and all of them institutionalize mass murder, subjection of the population, control over their worshipers, and more sins and more crime than any single force in human history.

Yes, religion has done the world a lot of good, but it has all come at a terrible price and we must never forget that. Organized religion is the greatest form of organized crime that makes the worst done by Al Capone and his friends look like a cake walk!

Answer 2

When you are doing God's Will you are absolved of any obligation to consider the ethics or morality of the situation. Nor do you need to consider the goodness or evil inherent in your own actions. The only imperative is to succeed in His name, by whatever means necessary. This ability to raise Hell without worrying about payback because you know you are on the same side God is, doing His work, takes the worry out of the conflict. Which might make a man very cheerful indeed. This is why the terrorists get promised all those virgins, so they'll know that Allah approves and wants them to be happy.

Answer 3

I guess it means that religion has such an overarching influence on the upbringing of so many people that as kids we accept its role in our lives with little incredulity. As a result we can become servants of this influence, for good or evil. A pawn, or foot soldier, can be someone with 'bad moral luck' who happens to come under the influence of a society driven to hate, and become a killer. Such societies have always been able to drag religion into their corner as a means of justifying the unjustifiable.

Answer 4

It means that actions carried out under the motive of religion are completely and %100 "all or nothing" (for lack of a better term). Simply put, there is no room for doubt or lack of conviction when carrying out something based on faith-for better or worse.

That's about as much as I can say without delving deeper and showing bias.

Answer 5

In short, it means men never participate in bad business or dealings more happily and wholeheartedly as they do when they think that their religious beliefs condone or call for these actions. (an example of this would be when men kill in the name of their god, because we know murder, under any circumstance, is wrong, but some people feel justified in killing if they feel called upon to do so from a higher power)

Answer 6

The quote is a waste of thought because whomever wrote it has impure thoughts to think that someone of sound religious beliefs would commit evil.Stop dwelling and keep positive.

Answer 7

Because when deeds are done in the name of religion, or their particular God says it's OK to do so, it absolves them from being evil. They use religion to hide behind and justify their actions. Every religion is guilty of having people who have twisted their teachings to suit their evil purposes.

Answer 8

When people believe that their religion demands and encourages evil deeds (e.g., terrorism, killing innocent people), they are extremely motivated to do those deeds. Religion is a very powerful motivator of human behavior.

Answer 9

It means, as humans we are naturally mean/evil/cruel, but we are even more evil when we think it is right because of what their religion states. (I.e. slavery, converting others/calling them heathens, etc)

Answer 10

When you're religious and you do something bad, it feels naughty, and when something feels naughty, it's oh so much more fun.