Religion

According to the dictionary "religion is the service and worship of

God or the supernatural."1 I challenge that definition. It is true that all

religions do involve the worship of some supernatural force, however, it

is also true that no religion in history has ever stopped at that. For a

more complete definition of the word religion we also have to examine

two other aspects. How has it affected man over the centuries? And

what is the true motivation of its leadership? Some would have you

believe that it has brought peace and harmony to the world and that its

leaders are motivated by the service of their god.

I suggest that a more accurate definition of word would be as

follows. Religion, a feudal system of government which uses fear, hate and

sometimes lies to control and manipulate people for the betterment of a

select group

of individuals.

To better illustrate this point let's look at just three of the countless

examples that human history has to offer. The Inquisition, "judicial

institution, established by the papacy in the Middle Ages, charged with

seeking out, trying, and sentencing people guilty of heresy."2 Heretics

were considered enemies of the state. The penalty for heresy was

torture and death. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ, "Jesus was taken to

Golgotha and nailed to a cross, the Roman punishment for political

offenders and criminals."2 The Crusades, "The name Crusade (from

Latin, "Cross")