Has Religion Always Been A Tool? Do religious people force their religion on other people? Possibly religious institutions have been built by governments, leaders, radicals, or even terrorists in order to control the people with fear, ideas, and norms simply because they lack education to determine for themselves. After watching Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus, which gives a specific religion, affirmed my assumption that people are so fickle and religious institutions are nothing more than tools used by the powerful in order to twist, bend, and indoctrinate the weak. However, the powerful could mean an upper class and even a lower class individual or group who are capable of gathering human and even economical resources in order to influence religion. In my atheist view this video Why I Hate Religion, And Jesus, again gives a specific religion, clearly presents the errors of religion, religious leaders, and the overall indoctrination techniques. Once an organization is born a hierarchal system is established. In a realist perspective this means once power is gained the group or individual desires for more which eventually leads to corruption of religion, religious leaders, and institutions.

Religion is the same as war, money and natural resources because each is used as a tool in order to accomplish victory over an opponent. However, every powerful individual or group who uses religion as a tool usually plays off the people’s lack of knowledge, but also to whatever that individual or group of people need. I view that religion was produced by the government and the upper echelons to control its citizen or caused informal obedience by creating a system of values. Another way is for the oppressed or lower class to create religion because of need for equality and freedom. Karl Marx famously said, “Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”(Age Of The Sage)

The holy crusades, is a great example of religion being use as a tool, in which the Roman Catholic Church uses its religious zealots to pillage and sack the Middle East to increase the wealth and power of the church. Even in the present individuals who I like to call radicals are using religion as a tool to indoctrinate the undetermined,“blind leading the blind,” in order to keep this ridiculous realist cycle of religious nonsense spinning. Example of this present day religion battle can be seen here Christians v. Atheist where individuals such as the Christian women argue with only emotions and curse words to validate her explanation. In my opinion this is way religion will always stay a tool because radical, blind, religious zealots will emotionally protect and attack foreign concepts because those laws of religion have been so engrained into books as well as people that it will take eternity to open people up to change or accept new ideas. I also view that all religions are the same there just in different perspectives and in a somewhat utopian society we live in today I don’t understand why this new age of people can’t accept these many religious perspectives, but as always humans go for the path of less resistance which is war, blindness, and stubbornness.

--Will