INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Religion is the problem

Reporter Laura McPhee did a splendid job in warning us about the Evangelicals’ attempt to violate the U.S. Constitution by preventing the “pursuit of life, liberty and happiness” (Cover, “Evangelical Lobbyist Eric Miller,” March 7-14). The hypocrisy of religious fanatics is well-known, whether it’s hundreds of priests preying on innocent boys, the many well-funded televangelists who have had affairs outside their marriages (a few with men), the many who are divorced and the numerous financial crimes within churches all across America.

A bi-monthly publication in Wisconsin lists with each issue about two newspaper-size columns of serious crimes committed by clergy and church personnel. Obviously, not all of them are Evangelicals. That so many gullible Americans continue to pour money into religion (does God really need billions of dollars?) only emphasizes how powerful the religion business is.

Trying to prevent the “pursuit of happiness” is clearly unconstitutional, yet Evangelicals have the audacity to call birth choice “zealotry” when in fact true Evangelical zealots have murdered medical doctors and nurses at clinics!   

History clearly tells us religions are at the forefront of violence, mass murders, vicious hate crimes, dating back 16 or 17 centuries, with no end even remotely in sight. The very book the religious so often call “God’s word” is filled with countless passages of God-and human-inspired violence of the worst kind. They won’t read those passages, of course. Ignorance is so blissful!    

I close with this: Not until all religions have perished from this planet shall we, the people, have the peace we want, an end of so many pious hatreds, an end to deadly religious wars so apparent today and, instead, have lives governed by principled, reasonable and just laws acceptable to all.