Organized Hatred

Call me a cynic, but it seems to me that a lot of "organized religion" is just "organized hatred". What I mean by that is that there seems to be a kind of permission granted from on high to hate certain groups of people that are outside the 'true faith'.

It wouldn't be called "hate", of course--not by the haters. That would be too bold, too shocking. For Christians: Too obviously out of line with the clear teachings of Jesus.

The haters don't generally think of themselves as haters. They typically see themselves as just trying to do what God wants them to do, to live the 'right' kind of life, to be a 'good' person. The problems start when someone comes along who doesn't agree with your vision of the 'good' life--either because he doesn't agree on what God really wants or because he doesn't care what your God has to say at all.

What do you do with a guy like that? His example might lead other people astray, cause them to go off the rails! That would be Bad, and must be Prevented. A conflict is set in motion that will have--must have--winners and losers, and this usually leads to further escalation rather than resolution.

When one group of people attempts to impose its beliefs or lifestyle on another group, that group will defend itself, which tends to really irritate the imposing group. The imposing group--secure in the belief that its own position is the only Right one for everybody--interprets resistance to reform or conversion as further evidence of the depravity of the imposed upon group. Carried to its logical extreme, that process results in the dehumanization of the 'enemy', and provides the exemption, the free pass, that says, "You don't have to love this person. He is not lovable. In fact, he's not really even a person."

When religion is used to identify those people who are the 'enemies of God', it provides a channel for organized hatred. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and be kind to them. Carried to its logical extreme, that process results in realizing one day that you don't have any enemies....