Then again, why should I respect religion?
Focusing on Christianity for a moment, for the last few weeks I've had to assure my six year old daughter that she's not going to a awful place when she dies, that there's no Heaven to reward people that believe in God, and other such nonsense superstitious people pollute their kids' minds with.
Some Christians also demand that basic, proven, science be rejected because it refutes their book of mythology. Regardless that not all Christians are as dense as the most obnoxious fundamentalists, the fact remains always that the basis of their religion is a book we know contains numerous falsehoods.
Judaism is based on a variant of that same book, ergo it's cuckoo, too.
Similarly, Islam is also whacked, and then there's that 72 virgin nonsense of theirs. Virginity is much over-rated and I'll take an enthusiastic experienced woman over some broad hung up on her hymen every time.
All the reincarnation religions? The basic premise seems hokey.
Let's face the truth, gang. Religions are invented by man, every single one of them, for a limited number of reasons.
1) To provide an explanation for the unknown, from thunder and lightning to the wind to the origins of life and what happens after life ends. Lacking the honesty to say "we don't have a clue", all religions spew answers that make people feel good without having any basis at all.
2) To control the attitudes and behaviors of the tribe. If you don't beleive in exactly the right way, if you don't believe at all, most religions permit you to be executed, ostracized, or otherwise punished. Historically the State runs the Church, for just this reason.
3) To provide a living for people who dislike actually doing something productive. It's always been a refuge for con-men.
The better question is why should religion be respected at all.
