Victor Benedict: A religious force for division

In response to the Dec. 25 letter “Only one resurrection”: Although religion can be a force for good, in just a few short sentences we see a demonstration of why religion can also be a force for division, hatred and strife.

The letter writer assumed Christianity to be unique and therefore superior to all other faiths, since only Jesus rose from the dead. Pity all the Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and many others who do not believe in that resurrection. Believers in other religions, of course, have similar feelings about their own faiths.

And so it becomes: “My God, or my prophets, or my faith’s miracles, etc., etc., are true and superior to yours. What’s more, I’ll be going to heaven whereas you – well, you haven’t been saved, have you?”

These attitudes effectively divide people, foster distrust and suspicion and can lead to real hatred of the other. We need to look for commonality and for ways to treat each other with love and respect even if our belief systems are very different.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Victor Benedict: A religious force for division."