Religion is antithetical to life as a human.

Submitted by Ralph C Whaley MD (United States), Feb 7, 2006 at 16:04

To the Editor:

There can be no respect for those who demand your submission on threat of death.

Humans have only two choices in dealing with each other when they disagree. They may choose persuasion or force. If they disagree and fail to come to a common view using persuasion, each can peacefully go his own way. The alternative is to compel submission by force. Force is the ultimate method of all religious proselytizing. Thus: The history of the Crusades, Christians and Muslims in the Balkans, Catholics and Protestants in Ireland and Hindus and Tamils in Sri Lanka slaughtering each other over conflicting religious beliefs and now Muslims murdering infidels in America, Spain, Britain, Israel, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia, Yemen, Indonesia etc...

The only context for religious groups to live in peace and safety is a nation which protects individual rights, a government that bans the initiation of force in human affairs. America, founded on the moral principle of individual rights, is the only nation in which it is safe to be religious or to have no religion.

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