Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards Meno

[Lemons]

Not so much this year. All kinds of extremists around the world and dictators are fighting in the name of religion.

Christians in India are being persecuted by Hindu extremists. India passed a law this year making it illegal to “force conversion” -

Anti-Christian vigilantes are sweeping across India through villages, storming churches, burning Christian literature, attacking schools and assaulting worshipers. In many cases, the police and members of India’s governing party are helping them, government documents and dozens of interviews revealed. In church after church, the very act of worship has become dangerous despite constitutional protections for freedom of religion.

Russia just like the Soviet Union has banned Jehovah Witnesses -

Russia outlawed the nonconformist Christian denomination as “extremist” in 2017 and has since subjected thousands of worshippers to police raids, harassment and up to eight years of imprisonment.

Russia had been arresting Jehovah Witnesses for just praying in their own homes but Russia’s Supreme Court binds law enforcement authorities to provide concrete evidence for the worshippers’ “criminal intent,” “extremist motives” and “prior collusion” — justifications for criminal prosecution that have been criticized as arbitrary.

I’m sure they’ll find plenty of “extremist motives”.

China has been accused and there is evidence that they are mostly Muslims and some Christians into camps and using the as slave labor -

. China has been accused of committing crimes against humanity and possibly genocide against the Uyghur population and other mostly-Muslim ethnic groups in the north-western region of Xinjiang.
Human rights groups believe China has detained more than one million Uyghurs against their will over the past few years in a large network of what the state calls "re-education camps", and sentenced hundreds of thousands to prison terms.
There is also evidence that Uyghurs are being used as forced labour and of women being forcibly sterilised. Some former camp detainees have also alleged they were tortured and sexually abused.

Nigeria has terrorist Islamist groip Boko Harim they became well known when they began to kidnap bus loads of children and made child brides of the girls and soldiers of the young boys. The Christian Post reported that 1,202 Nigerian Christians were murdered in the first six months of 2020. This is in addition to the more than 11,000 Christians who have been killed since June 2015. The terrorist also murder Muslims who refuse to radicalize. The violence has reached such an intensity that expert observers and analysts are warning of a genocide targeting Christians across Africa's largest and most economically powerful nation.

Why so much killing in the name of religion?????


https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/22/worl ... acked.html

https://www.newsweek.com/west-cannot-ig ... on-1611828

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037

[Momto2boys973]

It’s sad that there’s so little “live and let live” attitude. I personally couldn’t care less if someone’s Christian, Muslim, Atheist, Wiccan, Hindi, Pagan, Zoroastrian, Satanist, Buddhist or whatever they feel happy with? Why should it be an issue for me as long as I can freely have my beliefs and practice my religion? Everyone else should have that same right.
But hey, we humans are all about power and influence. It’s part of por nature. And I’m sure every one of us has had to sometimes try to go against our instincts and nature to know it’s not an easy thing to do. And for many it’s way easier to just go with it and try to find a way to rationalize it as the right thing to do.
Many people think that if religion didn’t exist, war wouldn’t either and that’s not true. Because that’s just a convenient excuse. We would’ve found another excuse, like money or power or S*x or prestige or attractiveness or whatever becomes a symbol of “status”.

[Quorra2.0]

Instances like this always causes John Lennon’s “Imagine” to play in my brain. I really limit myself when it comes to religious debates as I have my own beliefs and don’t agree with the idea that there’s one one “right” religion. I never enter into the discussion to change minds, just share, if that makes sense. That said, this isn’t ok. It’s not that hard to live life acknowledging that others have different beliefs and respecting that even if you don’t share the belief.

[Lemons]

It is sad that there’s not much progress in religious tolerance around the world and it seems to be spreading. There’s a growing trend around the world emboldening religious extremists. Throw in Putin militarizing Russia, surrounding Ukraine and his voluntary military youth groups, soon to be mandatory, starting at 8 years old and the world doesn’t look so stable.

[WellPreserved]

Haves in nations consistently blame minority groups (often times religious minority groups) for the woos of the have nots. It's worked for centuries and continues to work. IMO, it's not an individual problem because I believe that most people are comfortable with living alongside those of different beliefs, however, those who feel that they are "lacking" are quick to blame someone else and will comfortably agree with their government that those of differing beliefs (or skin color, or ethnicity) are to blame.

In countries where everyone, no matter of their belief, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, universally feel supported by their government, both socially and financially, we don't see this issue.

[Quorra2.0]

It is sad that there’s not much progress in religious tolerance around the world and it seems to be spreading. There’s a growing trend around the world emboldening religious extremists. Throw in Putin militarizing Russia, surrounding Ukraine and his voluntary military youth groups, soon to be mandatory, starting at 8 years old and the world doesn’t look so stable.

I’m not sure if it’s so much spreading as maybe shifting sideways and we, as a global community, are more open to awareness?

The world hasn’t looked too stable for awhile. Seems like more and more think more of self than of humanity. Even some who seem to scream loudly against discrimination and prejudices also seem to lack sincerity. It all just boggles my mind.

[hotspice58]

So very true. It’s divide and conquer.

Haves in nations consistently blame minority groups (often times religious minority groups) for the woos of the have nots. It's worked for centuries and continues to work. IMO, it's not an individual problem because I believe that most people are comfortable with living alongside those of different beliefs, however, those who feel that they are "lacking" are quick to blame someone else and will comfortably agree with their government that those of differing beliefs (or skin color, or ethnicity) are to blame.

In countries where everyone, no matter of their belief, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, universally feel supported by their government, both socially and financially, we don't see this issue.