"The Evil in Religion"
by Rev. Kimi Riegel
December 14, 2003

The question the song we just heard ["Where Are You Christmas" from the movie "The Grinch"] presents echoes for all of us. What is Christmas all about? If we grew up Christian we might remember it having to do with Jesus. For some of us it was -- and is -- a secular holiday having to do with Santa. Obviously if we grew up in a Jewish home Christmas might have made us uneasy or left us feeling marginalized. And what about our Muslim sisters and brothers how do they respond to these holidays? And, of course, today we are well aware that many of the traditions and symbols we use to celebrate are actually much older than any of these religions and date back to early belief systems about the sun and its return.

Christmas is a holiday full of ambiguity. Do good Christians celebrate with a tree that’s pagan? Do we celebrate it as a religious holiday -- and how does Santa fit into that? If it is a religious holiday why is it celebrated by towns and media no matter what other faith traditions might be present. And one cannot of course escape the materialism that goes along with it, which leaves much of the world and many people in this country feeling resentful or inadequate. Christmas, and what it has become, to a large extent exemplifies the issues that are present in so much of the world’s conflict.

Religion or those who claim its message seem to be leading the causes for conflict. If it isn’t the Christians and Jews and Muslims fighting with one another it’s the Hindus and Buddhists. And of course in our own circles we have faith traditions vying for recognition. Are we humanistic, Christian or eclectic and thus where is our center?

Charles Kimball has written a compelling book titled, When Religion Becomes Evil, in which he outlines the major components of what makes a religion evil. I will get to those in a moment.

His first metaphor captures much of this issue for me. He uses the NRA anti-gun control campaign slogan, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” to examine the question of whether religion is inherently evil. “Religions don’t cause violence, people cause violence” is both true and false. While it is true it takes a person to interpret the scripture, to promote the ideas, and to finally do the act of violence, without the violent and divisive nature of religions to begin with there would be little to build on, which isn’t to say that humans wouldn’t find some other mechanism to fight about. As the offertory song, “Imagine,” by John Lennon, suggests there are many things we would have to envision as non-existent to end our violent ways. But realistically religion plays a huge part.

Religion is the most powerful force on the earth. Kimball writes:

“Throughout history religious ideas and commitments have inspired individuals and communities of faith to transcend narrow self-interest in pursuit of higher values and truths. The record of history shows that noble acts of love, self-sacrifice, and service to others are frequently rooted in deeply held religious worldviews. At the same time, history clearly shows that religion has often been linked directly to the worst examples of human behavior. It is somewhat trite, but nevertheless sadly true, to say that more wars have been waged, more people killed, and these days more evil perpetrated in the name of religion then by any other institutional force in history.”[1]

Religions have so much potential for good and so much potential for evil. For the remainder of the morning I would like to take a look at some of the characteristics that can make any religion, any idea really, evil.

Any religion is susceptible to corruption and violence, even the Buddhists with a tenet requiring peaceful coexistence with all living things, even our own faith. However, I will claim this morning that like other religions we have safeguards in place that when attended to hold evil in check.

First on the list of causes of the corruption of religions begins with rigid absolute truth claims. All religions including our own have claims to truth, doctrines that serve as guides and charismatic leaders. It is when the claims to truth become unquestionable that the potential for evil increases exponentially. Kimball writes, “Corrupt religious truth claims always lack the liberating awareness that humans are limited as they search for and articulate religious truth”[2] We are fallible and remembering that is essential in promoting healthy religious communities.

When we decide that ours is the only right and true way to interpret a particular scripture we paint ourselves into a corner that creates defensiveness. As we look on the world today, we can all see how prevalent these truth claims have become. Kimball sights the particularly sad responses of our fundamentalist Christian brothers to the events of 2001. Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham publicly attacked Islam as a false religion. These men are certain that they have the one true right idea of God and faith.

Christians and Muslims are particularly susceptible to this evil. The Jewish faith has a strong scriptural tradition of questioning and interpreting. Midrash as it is called is the interpretive often-contradictory commentary that runs along side the Torah. This prevents a literalist approach to scripture. The literalist approach to scripture that often involves selective reading is a prominent part of the absolute truth claims for both Christians and Muslims. You can read a part of the Koran that calls on Muslims to be peaceful and only fight in self-defense and other parts that call for violence against all who don’t believe. Selective reading that claims to be true could be a call for hostility.

Kimball, a Baptist minister, writes, “Christians who say they take the Bible literally are either ignorant or self deluded.  … I am not aware of people who advocate self mutilations in obedience to Jesus’ words in Mark 9:43-48 or the execution of disobedient children called for in Deuteronomy 21:18-21”[3] And most of us are aware of the challenge of translating the Bible from its original languages, putting those words into context of today, and communicating the meaning and intent in today’s languages.

Absolute, selective, literal, exclusionary truth claims are a clear indicator of the potential for evil.

Whew, say many Unitarian Universalists. We don’t have to worry about that. On the whole I would agree. We do have a great tradition of questioning. The old bumper sticker, “to question is the answer,” and our new one “Answers questioned’ are clear examples of our own protective mechanism, much like the Jews, vaccinating us against these truth claims. And yet, some of us would claim that unless science has proven it, there is no truth. Sounds a bit absolutist to me. Others would say with great fervor democracy, woman’s rights, freedom to choose, liberalism or you fill in the blank have become exclusionary truth claims within our faith. The potential for evil lies in wait for all of us. We live on a dangerous and unpredictable planet in a dangerous and unpredictable time. It is comforting to think there might be someone somewhere who has all the answers. But it is just this insecurity, this seeking for the impossible security of certainty, that makes absolute truth claims so attractive.          

During the ‘60s and early ‘70s some of my Unitarian Universalist teenage friends joined such groups as the Unification Church or Moonies as they were sometimes called. These groups required a blind obedience that is the second indicator of the potential for evil in any religion. It obviously flows from the truth claims. An absolute truth claim would require one to follow it unquestioningly. Perhaps you remember the release of deadly nerve gas in the subway stations in Tokyo in 1995. The group responsible for the act embraced the teachings of a leader with blind obedience. His teachings drew from mainline traditions, especially in the beginning, but soon adherents became more dependent on his particular interpretations no longer needing to think for themselves. Those who tried to leave or “rescue” their relatives were killed. For most of us this brings up the image of groups like Jim Jones’ The People’s Temple whose mass suicide/murder happened 25 years ago in November.

Kimball writes:

“This is a pivotal point at which religion often become evil. Authentic religion engages the intellect as people wrestle with the mystery of existence and the challenges of living in an imperfect world. Conversely, blind obedience is a sure sign of corrupt religion. Beware of any religious movement that seeks to limit the intellectual freedom and individual integrity of its adherents. When individual believers abdicate personal responsibility and yield to the authority of a charismatic leader or become enslaved to particular ideas of teachings, religions can easily become the framework for violence and destruction.”[4]

The kind of blind obedience we are talking about here often requires a charismatic leader whose power is unlimited. But powerful ideas and teaching -- even destructive ones -- can transcend the influence of a particular leader. Kimball sites the suicide bombings that were originally inspired by particular religious authority figures in Lebanon that have become weekly occurrences in the Israeli Palestinian conflict. [5]

The single-minded life of a suicide bomber is, without question, a desperate life. And yet these people are at ease because their life has meaning and purpose. There are no questions, only assurances and certainty. Many of my friends talked of the same sense of care and peace accompanying their time in the cults of the 60 and 70s. In our uncertain world it is very easy to see the appeal of charismatic leaders. It is also easy to see the potential for evil.

The last three of Kimball’s indicators of the potential of evil in religion are; establishing an end time, the ends justify any means and declaring holy war. Establishing an end time is the apocalyptic or end-of-time predictions we have all heard. This is the second coming of Jesus, the rebuilding of the Jewish temple and the establishment of an Islamic state. Each religion has an “ideal time” prediction but it is when these get tied to the desire to bring them about that we find the recipe for disaster. This has been particularly interesting as we examine some of the policies and actions or our government many of whom believe deeply in the prophecies of Revelation a prophecy of the Christian end time.

The “ends justify any means” can be particularly deadly as religious groups defy peaceful teachings to bring about such ends as access to sacred space. We have seen examples of this as the people of Kashmir ignite in long standing hostilities between Muslims and Hindus. Hindus are generally a peaceful tradition but when access to holy sites becomes the goal, bar nothing, violence is considered a valid means.

And finally, declaring Holy War is obviously an indication of a religious tradition becoming a threat. We are all well aware of the Islamic notion of Jihad but we have forgotten about the Crusades and other such declarations.

While I think each of Kimball’s indicators rings true, I don’t agree with all of his responses to the issue of corrupt religions. In his last chapter, one of his solutions is to turn our religious compass toward God and help maintain the importance of the three major religious traditions. While I would agree with him it is the people within the faith traditions that offer some of our best hope I would disagree that traditions of the three major religions are entirely a good place to start. It is from many of these texts and traditions that we get our distortions and trouble to begin with. In addition, my compass doesn’t turn toward his God, or the one offered by Jewish or Islamic teachings. In his mind does that mean I am part of the problem because I am not one of the “people of the book?” [Note: reference to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam being the religions of the book.]

In one short two-page section near the back of the book I do think Kimball hits on a key – Embracing religious diversity. He points out that Hindu and Buddhist traditions are pluralist by nature[6] and while he identifies various exceptions within each tradition these two religions, by and large, are peaceful. They are also significantly older then the big three. I believe it is by emphasizing the pluralistic messages, the inclusive and peaceful messages of each faith tradition, including those not of the book, that we can begin to find a way out of the violence. There are passages in the Hebrew Scriptures that talk of being the chosen people but also being the light to all nations. Islam has emphasized many exclusive texts where there is clear emphasis on the right and one true religion of Islam. But there are also many text references to religion being a personal choice and Jews and Christians being considered “protected” under Islamic authority. The Christians have many pluralistic texts from which to draw, including the one from John 14:2 “In my father’s house there are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you.”

The work of pluralists like Diana Eck, Huston Smith and Harvey Cox seem to offer the most hope. Religious diversity is part of the problem to be sure, but it is with us and thus can be part of the solution. It was through personal encounter with the other religions that each of these individuals came to understand pluralism. It is through personal encounter and dialog that we will continue to build peace and avoid the corruptions of religion. It is through personal connections that I understand that the majority of Muslims don’t agree with Osma BinLaden. It is through personal connections that I understand that most Christians don’t agree with those who kill in the name of protecting the unborn. It is through personal connections that I see how easily one can be persuaded to become a non-thinking member of a cult.

Political instability. Economic inequality. Oppressive governments. All produce a highly volatile mix that allows extreme religious ideas to take root. It is up to each of us to forge those personal connections and work for peace through justice. It is up to us to support nonviolent action, use cooperative conflict resolution, to engage in interfaith dialog and encourage connections where ever we see them developing.

This Holiday season we can honor the peaceful message of Jesus, the miracle of the light of Hanukkah, the return of hope with the coming of the Winter Solstice, the principled life of Kwanzaa, the joy of Santa, the reflective time offered by Ramadan and so many other wonderful messages of the season brought to us by people of faith. This holiday time has always been a mix of what traditions we hold today blended with those of the past. Let us continue to learn to blend. May it be so.