If we look back in time one of the main reasons for which people have been fighting among each other, have been involved in endless and merciless killings, and for which there seems to be a never ending acrimony, is religion.
Religion has always been an integral part of human beings. It is believed that the earliest Homo-sapiens also had some kind of religious beliefs. Of course, as time went by many religious beliefs emerged and now there are so many religions in the world that it has even become difficult to count and name all of them.
History is witness to the various religious enmities that have occurred. Be it Jews-Christians, Jews-Muslims, Muslims-Christians, Hindu-Christians, Hindu-Muslims, Muslims-Sikhs, or Hindu-Sikhs. All this hostility has led to a lot of killings, including people who were not even part of this callousness. Some incidents of religious violence come immediately to the mind and shed greater light. First, there were the Crusades, religious wars between Christians and Muslims, in which Christians attacked and tormented a large number of Muslims while trying to capture land where Christianity had originated and in doing so crossed the limits of cruelty causing conflicts between Christianity and Islam. Then there was the infamous Holocaust, in which Hitler due to his fanaticism, slaughtered many Jews and drove them away from Germany. There were also the post Indian independence riots between Hindus and Muslims, where people from both groups brutalized and decimated each other. There was also the incident of Kashmir in which the Muslim extremists harassed and drove away the Kashmiri Pundits from Kashmir and forcibly made them to live in refugee camps in Delhi and lead a miserable life. More recently, the 9/11 attacks of Osama Bin Laden’s men on the World Trade Center in New York, known as the greatest terrorist attack till date, killed thousands of innocent people in a day. There was also the brutal incident in which a group of VHP activists burnt alive the Australian priest Graham Steins and his two sons. Finally, there were the unforgettable Mumbai and Gujarat riots, in which thousands of Muslims were massacred by Hindu fundamentalists. It is true that only a smaller section of the society has been involved in such incidents, but it cannot be denied that it has had adverse affects on the larger section of the society.
No religion preaches to its followers to disrespect other religions and use violence towards others who are from a different religion. One of the reasons that this kind of behavior results from, is the belief of “mine better than yours”. People have these thoughts and beliefs that their religion is better than the others and use violence and rancorousness in trying to prove it. They may not agree with certain beliefs, ideas, or issues of a particular religion. This leads to pointing out flaws and thus, questioning and criticizing other religions. These questions and criticisms are baseless, because most of the times they do not even know much about the other religions. Many a times they do not even know much about their own religion, let alone knowing about others. If there is a lack of knowledge about the other religions, then there is no point in criticizing them. It is rather illogical to indulge in such criticisms. It is these baseless criticisms that give rise to conflicts, which lead to extreme steps of violence.
The lack of knowledge of other religions, in fact, is in itself the prime cause that gives rise to such criticisms. Before making any kind of criticisms about a particular religion, the best thing that one can do is to try to find out about that religion and try to know that why is that religion endorsing a particular belief. There must obviously be some reason and some kind of logic behind certain beliefs of any religion. Rather than criticizing them, a more logical action seems to trying to find out the reason behind it.
The best way to know about different religions is to read the religious scriptures, books, and try to know more about it from other reliable sources. This includes reading about one’s own religion also. Reading them as religious beliefs of different religions is just one perspective of doing so. Instead of religious beliefs, they can also be read as philosophy, history, and science. In this way a lot more interest can be generated. A little care should also be taken while knowing about the other religions from different sources other than the scriptures and books. All of the religions were formed years ago. Because of this many things have been twisted, turned, and thus misinterpreted. A lot of people follow certain beliefs blindly, without knowing about them and therefore, give out a wrong message to others who belong to different religions. Hence, knowledge is necessary, but there should also be a little care and caution while gaining that knowledge.
The more we know about different religions the better it is. This will help people in getting a much better understanding about the other religions. Understanding the views and ideas of other religions will also enable a certain level of respect for them, and might help to reduce the insanity that people have towards different religions.
Religion was not at all formed with the intention of spreading hate and involving people into violence. Religion, even remotely, should have nothing to do with the attitude of “mine better than yours”. Each religion, obviously, differs from the other in its customs, rituals, traditions, and practices. This in no way gives any indication that one religion is better than the other. All religions are equal. The ways of expression may be different, but on the whole all the religions, by and large, have the same things to say.
The sole purpose of each religion is to spread peace and love towards humanity. This is what religion is all about and this is what it should be. The need of a religion can be debatable. But, religion has been here for quite some time and it does not seem that it will fade away easily, at least in the near future. It is, therefore, better to know about, understand, and respect each and every religion. This will definitely help people to abstain from violence in the name of religion. Violence and religion do not go hand in hand. Violence in the name of religion is a big “NO”. When it comes to religion, the attitude of “mine better than yours” is fallacious and completely nonsensical.
Religion has always been an integral part of human beings. It is believed that the earliest Homo-sapiens also had some kind of religious beliefs. Of course, as time went by many religious beliefs emerged and now there are so many religions in the world that it has even become difficult to count and name all of them.
History is witness to the various religious enmities that have occurred. Be it Jews-Christians, Jews-Muslims, Muslims-Christians, Hindu-Christians, Hindu-Muslims, Muslims-Sikhs, or Hindu-Sikhs. All this hostility has led to a lot of killings, including people who were not even part of this callousness. Some incidents of religious violence come immediately to the mind and shed greater light. First, there were the Crusades, religious wars between Christians and Muslims, in which Christians attacked and tormented a large number of Muslims while trying to capture land where Christianity had originated and in doing so crossed the limits of cruelty causing conflicts between Christianity and Islam. Then there was the infamous Holocaust, in which Hitler due to his fanaticism, slaughtered many Jews and drove them away from Germany. There were also the post Indian independence riots between Hindus and Muslims, where people from both groups brutalized and decimated each other. There was also the incident of Kashmir in which the Muslim extremists harassed and drove away the Kashmiri Pundits from Kashmir and forcibly made them to live in refugee camps in Delhi and lead a miserable life. More recently, the 9/11 attacks of Osama Bin Laden’s men on the World Trade Center in New York, known as the greatest terrorist attack till date, killed thousands of innocent people in a day. There was also the brutal incident in which a group of VHP activists burnt alive the Australian priest Graham Steins and his two sons. Finally, there were the unforgettable Mumbai and Gujarat riots, in which thousands of Muslims were massacred by Hindu fundamentalists. It is true that only a smaller section of the society has been involved in such incidents, but it cannot be denied that it has had adverse affects on the larger section of the society.
No religion preaches to its followers to disrespect other religions and use violence towards others who are from a different religion. One of the reasons that this kind of behavior results from, is the belief of “mine better than yours”. People have these thoughts and beliefs that their religion is better than the others and use violence and rancorousness in trying to prove it. They may not agree with certain beliefs, ideas, or issues of a particular religion. This leads to pointing out flaws and thus, questioning and criticizing other religions. These questions and criticisms are baseless, because most of the times they do not even know much about the other religions. Many a times they do not even know much about their own religion, let alone knowing about others. If there is a lack of knowledge about the other religions, then there is no point in criticizing them. It is rather illogical to indulge in such criticisms. It is these baseless criticisms that give rise to conflicts, which lead to extreme steps of violence.
The lack of knowledge of other religions, in fact, is in itself the prime cause that gives rise to such criticisms. Before making any kind of criticisms about a particular religion, the best thing that one can do is to try to find out about that religion and try to know that why is that religion endorsing a particular belief. There must obviously be some reason and some kind of logic behind certain beliefs of any religion. Rather than criticizing them, a more logical action seems to trying to find out the reason behind it.
The best way to know about different religions is to read the religious scriptures, books, and try to know more about it from other reliable sources. This includes reading about one’s own religion also. Reading them as religious beliefs of different religions is just one perspective of doing so. Instead of religious beliefs, they can also be read as philosophy, history, and science. In this way a lot more interest can be generated. A little care should also be taken while knowing about the other religions from different sources other than the scriptures and books. All of the religions were formed years ago. Because of this many things have been twisted, turned, and thus misinterpreted. A lot of people follow certain beliefs blindly, without knowing about them and therefore, give out a wrong message to others who belong to different religions. Hence, knowledge is necessary, but there should also be a little care and caution while gaining that knowledge.
The more we know about different religions the better it is. This will help people in getting a much better understanding about the other religions. Understanding the views and ideas of other religions will also enable a certain level of respect for them, and might help to reduce the insanity that people have towards different religions.
Religion was not at all formed with the intention of spreading hate and involving people into violence. Religion, even remotely, should have nothing to do with the attitude of “mine better than yours”. Each religion, obviously, differs from the other in its customs, rituals, traditions, and practices. This in no way gives any indication that one religion is better than the other. All religions are equal. The ways of expression may be different, but on the whole all the religions, by and large, have the same things to say.
The sole purpose of each religion is to spread peace and love towards humanity. This is what religion is all about and this is what it should be. The need of a religion can be debatable. But, religion has been here for quite some time and it does not seem that it will fade away easily, at least in the near future. It is, therefore, better to know about, understand, and respect each and every religion. This will definitely help people to abstain from violence in the name of religion. Violence and religion do not go hand in hand. Violence in the name of religion is a big “NO”. When it comes to religion, the attitude of “mine better than yours” is fallacious and completely nonsensical.
