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What Is Religion?

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What is Religion?

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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") was also applied, to the wars against pag...

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Submitted by: 4freeessays
Date Submitted: 07-12-03 12:01pm
Category: Religion
Words: 409
Pages: 1.64