Originally Posted by
Meursault
"Religion if the opium of the masses" karl marx
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
"Religion is excellent stuff for keeping the common people quite. Religion is what stops the poor from murdering the rich." Napoleon
'When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called a Religion.' Robert Pirsig
So many people die in the name of religion. Its all a lie.
Unfortunately if religion ceased to exist, another control system would spring up to take it's place. There is a basic human need, manifested in every society, to control the thoughts and actions of others and if anything this is even more pronounced in societies which have largely rejected religion.
I'm thinking here particularly of past and present communist regimes, but it's worth remembering that Sweden, one of the most secular countries on the planet, also has one of the most draconian regimes against sex workers. This is driven by both feminist ideas and a desire to shape society in the 'correct' way. The views and basic rights of sex workers are blatantly ignored in an attempt to 'improve' society -- the false statistics and blatant lies are merely the means to what is effectively a dictatorial end.
In Ireland we have a proud tradition of allowing a predatory and vicious church to act and dictate as it pleases. In 2014, we have a situation where said church is being more or less excused for presiding over child deaths on a staggering scale, while simultaneously denying women abortion on a platform of the absolute right of the unborn. Hypocrisy doesn't get much more blatant. And just to add to this nightmare, the church has joined forces with radical feminism to leverage govt legislation and funding on the small but emotive subject of sex work. It's cynical and disgusting, but can only succeed if the political will to resist blatant lies and bullying is weak. I think I'll stop there....
2014 in Northern Ireland:
Number of reported attacks on sex workers 70
Number of sex trafficking cases ZERO