Religion

I read this article about religion in the Economist last week, and there are a few things I need to say about it...

1. What is Pentecostalism, where did it come from, and how come I've never heard of it before?? Ok, so you can find the information on what it is and where it came from here, but that doesn't answer the question why I have never heard of it before. According to the Economis, it is "the most remarkable religious success story of the past century", and they now have something like 400 million members, most of them (about 30 million) in the United States. WHAT? I just find it so bizarre that I've never heard of it.

2. That whole 'seperation of church and state" thing is such a ruse! We are made to believe that our religion shouldn't really matter, and has no business in governmental affairs, but if we're honest... is that the reality of it? I've said this before, but I have to say it again now: Our president has based decisions about war on the fact that if he prays, god will help him make the right decision (which clearly it didn't). And if religion had no place in politics and matters of the state, then why are all the presidential hopefuls telling us what religious affiiation they have? Because unfortunately it does seem to matter - at least to some people. Regardless of Mitt Romneys political beliefs, he is disregarded as a serious candidate by many because of his religious beliefs. Would a Mormon really make a worse president than a Catholic?

And worst of all, it's all a double standard. How can Bush pray for guidance on war decisions, but little school chilren can't have a visit by Santa in their schools? It's ok to bring religion into the state when it serves the right people. But why can't politicians be politically correct and stop talking about religion as much as they do!?!

3. And here is my last point (although I could go on about this all night): Religious wars. Hmm... let's look at some of the conflicts that are happening in the world: Isreal and Palestine. Sudan. Northern Ireland years ago. Sri Lanka. Iraq. And of course the U.S. and other western countries against whoever the current enemy may be. While the main reasons are usually not tied to religous beliefs, almost all wars have an underlying relgious issue? Secular conflicts between governments and countries exist, but they are rare and always have been. As the Economist says "A squabble over land (which can be divided) or power (which can be shared) or rules (that can be fudged)becomes a dispute over non-negotiable absolutes" as soon as religion enters the equation. "If you believe that God granted you the West Bank, or that any form of abortion is murder, compromise is not really possible". Hmm... that's something to think about.

So what does this mean? Does it mean that as long as people have different beliefs, and strong beliefs, there will always be war? Most likely. How does that equate to a seperation of church and state?? Will this go on until there is only one religion left in the world, or will we one day be able to accept each other for what we believe? Or will we one day stop believing?