Or atheism.Now be nice, Rod, I didn't name a _specific_ religion, did I?
I _would_ argue though that religion in one form or another is responsible for a LOT more deaths than atheism (unless you take the point that being an atheist is the cause for a non-atheist to kill someone). Political beliefs which _include_ an atheist perspective (i.e., Stalin's Cult of Personality) may be responsible for a lot of deaths, but blaming atheism for that is like blaming Christianity for Hitler's National Socialism and the deaths it caused.
We're really not going to start this discussion again, are we?Actually, what I'd LIKE to see is a discussion of the psychology of religion _in general_, instead of focusing on any one single religion. That is, what are the psychological basis of faith and belief? What would cause an individual who was not raised religious to select one religion over another? What psychological results come from changing religion (radically--as in moving from, for example, Christianity to Wicca--not just moving from one sect to another) as an adult? What are the long term effects of having been "inducted" into an extremist cult (i.e., the Moonies, Scientology, the "Children of God," the Branch Davidians, etc.)? Etc.
That could be a discussion that had real merit here--particularly if we tried to avoid "pointing fingers" or claiming that one particular "flavor" of religion (ANY religion) was "different" from the others in those areas (e.g., logically, there should be a similar effect on an individual whether he or she moves from--for example--Islam to Christianity or from Christianity to Islam).
Rick
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Rick Adams [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"... and the only measure of your worth and your deeds will be the love you leave behind when you're gone."
-Fred Small, J.D., "Everything Possible"
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