Why Blame Religion?

Today it has become a fashion to criticize religion and brand it as the root of all evil faced by humanity. It is more common in groups that we know as intellectuals and elite. Even among them the leading group is made up of those who take pride in calling themselves secularists. Most of these people have only superficial and not in-depth knowledge of the religion they deplore or for that matter any other religion. To them Dharma is the Hindi rendering of the term religion. In their hands the term secular has lost its true meaning and secularism has turned into a cult that can be called another dogmatic form of religion.

In their mission of mudslinging aimed at religion they avoid the use of simple logic and prudence. They forget that for the misdeeds they blame religion for are, in fact, committed by the religious leaders who use religion for their self-interest. These selfish, ambitious and power mongering leaders play at the hands of politicians and other power mongers to distort religious principles and codes at their convenience. The fault lies with these self-proclaimed representatives of the almighty of every hue; and it is they who should be blamed and punished, not any religion. Punishing or redeeming of these criminals in the garb of religious and other leaders is the responsibility of law and order machinery, state administration and society.

Blaming religion or hiding behind religion has become an easy escape route for perpetrators of all kinds of crimes. The unending inter-religious and inter-sectarian bickering has made it all the more convenient. The high point of this lopsided mindset is that the moment a thief or a criminal or a murderer is apprehended, instead of his crime and evidence, his religion is discussed. Masses are mobilized and polarized to blame religion and defend it. The root cause and crime are conveniently put on the back burner and ultimately forgotten. Mind you, those who thrive on deluding masses will never find solutions to this problem. It is only we, the suffering common people, who should sincerely search for solutions and free ourselves from the influence of these religio-political leaders.

Here are two honest questions we should ask — 1. The atom is a source of unlimited energy. This is a scientific theory established by Einstein and other scientists. Based on that Atomic bomb was made by Openheimer and other scientists. On the command of politicians it was used by US army and an inhuman destruction followed. Who is to be blamed — politicians and army or scientists and science? 2. A doctor prescribes a high potency analgesic for relieving pain to a patient. The patient starts using it as intoxicant for enjoyment; gets addicted and dies. Who is to be blamed — patient, doctor or medical science?

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