Came across this and would like to hear your thoughts...
"Religion is at its best when it is furthest away from power."
Explain how you find this statement to be valid/true (or invalid/false) and provide examples that support your opinion to validate (or invalidate) the statement.
2007-12-03 16:53:36 · 20 answers · asked by Rukh 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Religion and power shouldn't have anything to do with each other. Religion is a private relationship between a person and the divine, or sometimes a group celebration of that connection.
Power is something that should belong to all the people, but if religion gets mixed up with it, the religious authority always props up the tyrant for mutual benefit. The benefit of the people takes a back seat in those arrangements. Better that everyone works together and leaves speculations about who is going to heaven out of the affairs of state. There's more than enough work to do without trying to factor in the will of a deity or deities that may or may not exist.
2007-12-03 17:13:57 · answer #1 · answered by Morgaine 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I think it's true. Just take a look at history, even current events. Anytime people combined religion and power, there were always bad results. Just a few examples: the Crusades, the Holocaust (endorsed by the Catholics), the Inquisition, even George W Bush trying to turn the country into a theocracy and dictating according to his personal beliefs (for example telling people in the military what religions are acceptable and what don't exist because they don't agree with him). This country was founded mainly because our forefathers didn't have any religious freedom in the old world and now it's being yanked away by our president.
2007-12-03 17:06:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
I have to agree. The best example that I can give for why I feel this way is the book, "The Crucible." Many of you have probably read it in high school.
It depicts the witch trials of Salem, Mass. during the American Colonial period. The most important thing to remember of it, is that because of what the people of Salem believed...a 16 yr old girl was able to manipulate an entire town. And as a result, many people lost their lives to her whims.
Another reason would be the Spanish Inquistion.
2007-12-03 17:10:58 · answer #3 · answered by Patrick P 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Separation of Church and State
when religion is a power, freedom is soon lost. How many Christians have been killed or driven out in Islamic countries? Mormons kill a wagon train of settlers passing through. Catholic church involved in crusades and the Inquisition. The Jacobite wars between Scotland and England. French Catholics killing protestants. White settlers killing Indians as "godless heathens"
2007-12-03 17:01:42 · answer #4 · answered by Aravah 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
A fantastic example of this is Islam; it managed to go from the pure form of the nomads to centralized, bueracratized oppressive bullshit when the Caliphs took over, centralized the Muslim Empire in some city and grew ridiculously ******* wealthy and corrupt.
Religions were created to help the common man, but once you give a religion an earthly authority you give them power over the believers, and power like that inevitably corrupts, or attracts corrupt people to it.
2007-12-03 16:59:28 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
Love? Plenty of those systems talk about love. Hasn't brought them together though. Seems that your analysis is incorrect, love has not brought them together. I think your assessment that we need love rather than open debate is also incorrect. Every belief system should be challenged by every other belief system. Though it would be nice if everyone could be nicer to each other while doing so, but some of them have ideas that make them mutually exclusive, these ought to be challenged as well.
2016-05-28 02:35:30 · answer #6 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Power corrupts.
Religion with power is corrupted religion.
Therefore religion is at its best when it is furthest away from power.
It's valid, but I don't know if it's sound.
2007-12-03 17:10:24 · answer #7 · answered by Sophrosyne 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
There is no religion without power... for the purpose of religion was to seek power over others... for all things in nature can have peace without the presence of religions
2007-12-03 16:59:07 · answer #8 · answered by Gyspy 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Yes. Religions are all based on outdated fundamentally flawed belief systems, and should not have any power to change things.
2007-12-03 17:01:27 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
To prevent the power hungry from destruction,by way of religion.
2007-12-03 17:08:58 · answer #10 · answered by Life goes on... 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋