Religion taught us to love one another when our empty bellies and empty wallets goaded us to fight one another
Religion has never been the cause of violence. It’s been the only constant preacher of peace from the time we became conscious enough to desire the things our neighbours have and vicious enough to kill for them.
The real reason for human rage is inequality. Religion just happens to be the preferred language of power-seekers who manipulate the appetites of the poor and disenfranchised. Yes, religion is used to manipulate us because it has power over us. It has power over us because it touches upon the primal, psychological core of humankind.
But, that’s also why it unites us. It’s our common denominator. It’s the language of symbol and yearning that humans have used to speak to each other since before we could speak to each other.
Religion taught us to love one another when our empty bellies and empty wallets goaded us to fight one another. It taught us our Golden Rule – ‘treat others as you wish to be treated’ – over 2000 years ago, when Buddha, Socrates, Confucius, and Jeremiah all taught it to different people at the same time.
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Mohammad N Miraly holds a PhD from McGill University in Religion, Ethics, and Public Policy.
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