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From: tim@unc.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Views on Religions
Message-ID: <5312@unc.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 3-Jun-83 16:40:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: unc.5312
Posted: Fri Jun  3 16:40:07 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 9-Jun-83 01:30:46 EDT
References: ih1ap.151
Lines: 34


          What bothers me about all religions is they always
          exclude instead of including people. Each separate
          religious order has either Scripture based or Pope
          based laws which ultimately divide all people into
          classes. Yet science seems to search for universal
          understanding   that  provides  a  basis  for  all
          things. This exclusion makes religions  hipocriti-
          cal of their own beliefs.

Please do not make unwarranted assumptions about all religions if
all that you have known are popular religions.  These thrive by
feeding the lowest impulses of people and telling them that they
are noble.  That is how they get popular, by telling their members
that the mere fact of membership is sufficient to make them superior
to non-members.  There are religions (mine, for instance) which do
not require this attitude, in which our motivations are simply to
appreciate beauty and bring it into our own lives VOLUNTARILY.
Members of these religions do not necessarily desire all people
to belong to their religion.

          There is also a strong brainwashing effects of re-
          ligion.  Catholics,  of  which I was raised, place
          their children in sunday school at a young age and
          teach  the Catholic view. This view is usually one
          of why it is so neat to be Catholic.

It is unreasonable to expect members of a religion not to bring
up their children within that religion.  However, this need not
involve brainwashing and jingoism.  Your sweeping generalities
are very insulting to people of all religions.  Do not speak
of "all religions" unless you know virtually all.

Tim Maroney