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A random quote triggered this question.
Is it that the act of having absolute and unswerving faith in God or an ideology can corrupt your humanity as effectively as the possession of absolute power can?
We've all seen how badly the Christians behaved with the Earth religions, how badly the Muslims behaved with everyone else and sometimes even their own, how badly the Hindus behaved with untouchables, how badly....... the list goes on, but you get the point.
All this was possible because each thought that they have sanction for their acts from their patron deity, or from scripture, or from some (any) authority they trusted. All these people genuinely believed that what they were doing was right, that it was just, that it was the best thing that they could do.
Today, most of these religious traditions have reformed themselves. Christianity does not try to actively burn people at the stake (though, given their behaviour in India, I'm reluctant to call them fully reformed - they still try to get away with the old methods of "Slay the infidel! Drive him out!" whenever and wherever they can). Untouchability is banned and a criminal offence (and though it is still rampant in many parts of India, specially the rural and underdeveloped ones, at least all religious leaders have unequivocally condemned it). Islam is rather peculiar in this regard, because not only has the orthodox clergy not reformed, they also have power, so we have laws which were regressive even by the contemporary standards of the time they were created in being imposed in the modern world. But given time, I'm sure that Islam will either reform itself, or die.
The question then arises - does the act of having absolute faith in something - anything - tend to corrupt your moral sense as much as the exercise of absolute power would? By subordinating your thought process and your sense of empathy and your ability to feel to your faith and your authority, do you lose the moral instinct altogether? Do you become blind and insensitive to the injustices and moral wrongs committed due to the exercise of your faith, or in the name of your faith, or even associated with your faith?
Note that in this context, faith is not merely religious. It could also be the blind following of an ideology. Communism is a good case in point - 20,000,000 killed by Stalin, 40,000,000 by Mao - it has probably killed more people than all religions combined, and it was an actively atheistic ideology. And not just an ideology, but any idea at all.
Is it that the act of having absolute and unswerving faith in God or an ideology can corrupt your humanity as effectively as the possession of absolute power can?
We've all seen how badly the Christians behaved with the Earth religions, how badly the Muslims behaved with everyone else and sometimes even their own, how badly the Hindus behaved with untouchables, how badly....... the list goes on, but you get the point.
All this was possible because each thought that they have sanction for their acts from their patron deity, or from scripture, or from some (any) authority they trusted. All these people genuinely believed that what they were doing was right, that it was just, that it was the best thing that they could do.
Today, most of these religious traditions have reformed themselves. Christianity does not try to actively burn people at the stake (though, given their behaviour in India, I'm reluctant to call them fully reformed - they still try to get away with the old methods of "Slay the infidel! Drive him out!" whenever and wherever they can). Untouchability is banned and a criminal offence (and though it is still rampant in many parts of India, specially the rural and underdeveloped ones, at least all religious leaders have unequivocally condemned it). Islam is rather peculiar in this regard, because not only has the orthodox clergy not reformed, they also have power, so we have laws which were regressive even by the contemporary standards of the time they were created in being imposed in the modern world. But given time, I'm sure that Islam will either reform itself, or die.
The question then arises - does the act of having absolute faith in something - anything - tend to corrupt your moral sense as much as the exercise of absolute power would? By subordinating your thought process and your sense of empathy and your ability to feel to your faith and your authority, do you lose the moral instinct altogether? Do you become blind and insensitive to the injustices and moral wrongs committed due to the exercise of your faith, or in the name of your faith, or even associated with your faith?
Note that in this context, faith is not merely religious. It could also be the blind following of an ideology. Communism is a good case in point - 20,000,000 killed by Stalin, 40,000,000 by Mao - it has probably killed more people than all religions combined, and it was an actively atheistic ideology. And not just an ideology, but any idea at all.
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