The Negative Impact of Organized Religion

Organized religion is something that many people cherish; it is something that many people live their lives by. Organized religion is a concept that was meant for good purposes, but it does not always serve good purposes. When mass amounts of people are influenced they can do horrible

things and wonderful things in the name of God, but the people that head most organized religions do not always promote what is good and righteous. There are many benefits of organized religion, but there are many negative impacts as well. War and hate crimes are two negative effects that organized religion has had on society.

War is an obvious effect of organized religion, and there are many examples of this. The Catholic Protestant war in Ireland is a perfect example of this. The crusades are another fine example of organized religion creating havoc. The most recent example is the World Trade Center and the Iraq war. It is supposedly because of religion. I believe that there are a lot of religious fanatics in the United States and the world, but I also feel that our government makes it seem like something new when it is not. I think a lot of the problem is our occupation of their country, but it still has ties with religion. Organized religion is meant to unite people, but in many cases it has only accomplished separation, stereotypes, and war amongst peoples.

Hate crimes are another effect caused by organized religion. When the World Trade Center was attacked many Muslim and Arab people were victims of hate crimes. A lot of people thought it was patriotic, and that anyone who was Muslim was a terrorist. A lot of innocent people were and still are discriminated against and abused because of this. The KKK is also another example of hate crimes due to organized religion. The KKK, a form of organized religion, has strong religious beliefs yet they lynched and abused many African American people. Hate crimes come from ignorance and organized religion can promote ignorance instead of alleviating it.

It is amazing to me that people can take such a beautiful thing, such as religion, and turn it into such an ugly spectacle. It is sad when people use religion as an excuse to hurt each other. It is astounding that hate and war can come from religion when the basic ideas in all religions are love and unity.