Unfortunately, most religious texts (e.g. the Bible) tend to be very complex and full of seemingly conflicting information. The average follower depends on religious leaders to interpret these texts so that they can better understand the meaning behind them. This is where the problems tend to arise. Unscrupulous but charismatic opportunists who brand themselves as religious leaders are able to gather a following and then convince their followers to do terrible things that are supposedly sanctioned by their "correct" interpretation of the religious text. Unfortunately, people, especially uneducated people, are more than willing to follow an authority figure if the authority figure is able to convince them of some reward that is guaranteed by the highly regarded religious text.
This is what scares me about organized religion. It has many good points, but it also has a huge potential for abuse. We can see this has happened to many religions throughout history.
This is what scares me about organized religion. It has many good points, but it also has a huge potential for abuse. We can see this has happened to many religions throughout history.
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