Is Religious Tolerance Destroying The Earth?

The title is a question that has been asked for generations and is being asked in many circles now. Another one is "Are Religions profitable enough to us or should they be removed?"  I am aware that through the ages Religion has been the biggest supporter of the poorest and neediest amongst us, but that has to be weighed against the high incidence of death that it brings with it now and has brought with it in the past.

Religion has always been like a good drug that has good effects and bad affects. On the one hand it cures the ills of Society while on the other hand it causes more deaths on a daily basis than poverty, in fact Religion is gravely responsible for much of the poverty it helps to alleviate around the world. In many countries the restrictions put on the communities by religion are the said rules that prevent certain conditions that are beneficial to the community.

 One major example is the restriction of women to become educated, which in turn keeps the whole community down. I am sure you have all heard the saying ...If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (community or nation) You also have had in the History of the Earth, many millions of deaths by Religious wars, The Inquisition, The Crusades, The era of Christianization, which spanned hundreds of years and by itself took millions of lives. The Holocaust was as much a Religious duty of Hitler in his eyes, as it was an act or attempt of Genocide. The Iraqi war is view by some to be some kind of twisted continuation of the Crusades by modern Evangelists because we had no reason to attack Iraq before first attacking North Korea and other Regimes who are hostile to us.

One has to decide if the good that Religion has done for the Earth as a whole outweighs the destruction it has done. Religion in my opinion is responsible for the Retardation of the Human race in its quest and destiny of becoming a Space-bound species. We do not have to look further than the Middle East region to see the destruction Religion encourages between one Religious group and the next. Hamas bombs Israel today and Israel retaliates tomorrow. The Kurds, The Shiites, The Sunnis are sometimes warring against each other, The Hindus and the Pakistanis wars and the list goes on... Religion can be seen as the most destructive force on Earth, barring Greed which is inexplicably linked and interwoven into the very fabric itself, of Religion.

We do not even have to go that far to see one Religious group's Bigotry against another, we need only take a look in our own back yard, at the newest religious controversy brewing in New York with the proposed plan to build a Muslim institution in the form of a 13 story building that houses a Museum and many other things...including a place of prayer for Muslims, and other Religions. 

I heard an interesting discussion on a radio program by Patt Morrison, where her guests were Firstly, The Acclaimed Author Sam Harris, co-founder & CEO of Project Reason; author of the books,The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation;  his upcoming book out in October, is The Moral, and Secondly her guest the Acclaimed editor at the Daily Beast and internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions; his latest book is Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism In the Age of Globalization. There was a female caller to that program who brought to light the opinion that we could entertain the idea of banning the building of All Religious houses...for various reasons. Her charge was that the Methodist Church was refused a permit to build around the  same area.

I would like to also ask the question of how far away from Ground Zero should Religious Buildings be constructed. Now bear in mind there is a Church within 2 blocks and a Mosque within 4 blocks of Ground Zero, so you have to use these existing buildings as the guidelines for your decision. Perhaps a ban should be placed from building Religious houses of worship any where within a 50 block radius from Ground Zero for ALL religious houses, or maybe for that matter on the entire Island of Manhattan. This is of course after the removal of all existing Religious houses of worship within the boundaries of Manhattan.

It is my humble opinion that 9/11 was a product of Global Religious tensions and it was only a matter of time before it occurred in the location and fashion that it was done. As Technology advances so too we will see this reflected in future attacks upon us. The Earth is being overrun by Religion and the Fanaticism it ultimately produces, this has a profound affect on the way our society thinks and acts toward each other, War being the approved and preferred method of engagement, rather than an engagement of minds and ideas.

 Because of these Wars, we are truly paying for the privilege of having  Religion... with our Blood...literally, with dead and wounded people by the Millions. I think animal sacrifices was a better idea, instead of sacrificing  innocent people... who are victims, termed  "collateral damage" and soldiers in Religious wars. You see the craziness of Religion when you realize that Judaism, Islam and Christianity all come from the same source, and they share certain traits found in Hinduism as well.  Obviously there will be many in agreement and many who disagree with my Building  ban on Religion, but we should respect  each other's right to have an opinion. I invite your thoughts to this dialog...