A SHORT ESSAY ON THE PARALLELS OF RELIGIOUS ABUSE OF POWER AND SOCIAL TERRORISM
RELIGIOUS ABUSE OF POWER AS AFFECTIONAL MIND CONTROL EQUAL TO SOCIAL TERRORISM: LEGALIZED REINFORCEMENT OF SPIRITUAL OPPRESSION.
It is my belief that organized religion has used superstition as a form of mind control, in an abusive role, to keep people confined within the constraints of legalized oppression by forcefully influentual means of social governments, equal to the fanatical views of religious beliefs, leading to the evolution of social terrorism. Psychologists define superstition as this "it involves the formation of a false association between a response and a reinforcer when there is no cause-and-effect relationship between the two". This does not suggest, by the professionals definition that they believe religion is equal to superstition. However I personally feel that religion falls under this psychological phenomenon. Webster's defines religion in several ways. I am not going to transcribe all of them here for obvious reasons so here are a couple that are relevant to this topic, "belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe" and "a cause, a principle, or an activity persued with zeal or conscientious devotion". Niether superstition nor religion are defined as needing grounded, scientific, or factual evidence of supernatural existence. (On a side note, constitutionally this would fall under legislative ecknowledgement as "heresay") I myself have a strong indulgence of superstitious practice. For example, I have a strong urge to place spiritual based symbols around my living enviornment. I have a crucifix and an egyptian amulet of the dead hanging over the mirrors in my bedroom that are not significant to my daily use. I also have various tribal "spirit masks" and cultural based gargoyles positioned throughout my room and overhead in the four corners of the room. In moments of eventual anxiety I make the sign of the cross. I am niether catholic nor pagan in my religious heritage. I have no logistical reason nor evidence that these personal indulgences benefit my daily affairs nor do I protest or impose these superstitions on others, that is my main problem with religious doctrine being mirrored and imposed in the world's governments inscribed and issued laws and codes, which are designed to bring structure to social communities. This very moment and for the past several decades there has been an increasing battle to define the seperation of church and state and its legal implementation into society. The hypocrisy is that even as they legislate this they habitually indulge in religious based practices, such as "In god we trust", the "swearing in" of officials and institutions, therefore influencing through suggestive and unconscious means thier inability to seperate the very concept of "seperation of church and state", symbolically imposing personal belief on social governing.
In the past the church has proved its overwhelming control over the masses by inforcing monetary payment for personal salvation. In certain instances they have inforced high taxes on legal prostitution while at the same time dictating when the prostitutes would conduct business, even controlling when and where they would live, eat, and earn thier living. Another instance shows the true terroristic nature of religious order. During the crusades the knights demanded inflated monetary payments and the relinquishment of holy relics from the moslem population. When thier demands where not met thousands of unarmed moslems were slaughtered, men, women, and children. Situations such as these have been documented even until this very decade in societies where the ruling powers were raised based on religious footing and influence. Even today governments are using religion to enforce and excuse extreme atrocities against thier own peoples and foreign peoples. Laws are made and carried out based on "religious moralities" in order to oppress and subjugate segments of society whose ideals and principles are deemed undesirable or segregant, based on religious beliefs written into laws.
Labeling religious authority over government laws as being equal to social terrorism may sound extreme, however by allowing a structural belief of supernatural presence to supercede the logical principles of governing society based solely upon unfactual and arguementative spiritual ideals is in direct violation of the ability for implementation of just and equal concept of a free society, of the people, for the people, by the people. The allowance of religious convictions to be imposed on the people through governmental reinforcement does give rise to conflict and instability, which in return creates fanatical and violent actions to gain mental control over cultural and social order. In fact the very definition of terrorism is "the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence to intimidate or coerse societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons".
(note: this is my opinion)
RELIGIOUS ABUSE OF POWER AS AFFECTIONAL MIND CONTROL EQUAL TO SOCIAL TERRORISM: LEGALIZED REINFORCEMENT OF SPIRITUAL OPPRESSION.
It is my belief that organized religion has used superstition as a form of mind control, in an abusive role, to keep people confined within the constraints of legalized oppression by forcefully influentual means of social governments, equal to the fanatical views of religious beliefs, leading to the evolution of social terrorism. Psychologists define superstition as this "it involves the formation of a false association between a response and a reinforcer when there is no cause-and-effect relationship between the two". This does not suggest, by the professionals definition that they believe religion is equal to superstition. However I personally feel that religion falls under this psychological phenomenon. Webster's defines religion in several ways. I am not going to transcribe all of them here for obvious reasons so here are a couple that are relevant to this topic, "belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe" and "a cause, a principle, or an activity persued with zeal or conscientious devotion". Niether superstition nor religion are defined as needing grounded, scientific, or factual evidence of supernatural existence. (On a side note, constitutionally this would fall under legislative ecknowledgement as "heresay") I myself have a strong indulgence of superstitious practice. For example, I have a strong urge to place spiritual based symbols around my living enviornment. I have a crucifix and an egyptian amulet of the dead hanging over the mirrors in my bedroom that are not significant to my daily use. I also have various tribal "spirit masks" and cultural based gargoyles positioned throughout my room and overhead in the four corners of the room. In moments of eventual anxiety I make the sign of the cross. I am niether catholic nor pagan in my religious heritage. I have no logistical reason nor evidence that these personal indulgences benefit my daily affairs nor do I protest or impose these superstitions on others, that is my main problem with religious doctrine being mirrored and imposed in the world's governments inscribed and issued laws and codes, which are designed to bring structure to social communities. This very moment and for the past several decades there has been an increasing battle to define the seperation of church and state and its legal implementation into society. The hypocrisy is that even as they legislate this they habitually indulge in religious based practices, such as "In god we trust", the "swearing in" of officials and institutions, therefore influencing through suggestive and unconscious means thier inability to seperate the very concept of "seperation of church and state", symbolically imposing personal belief on social governing.
In the past the church has proved its overwhelming control over the masses by inforcing monetary payment for personal salvation. In certain instances they have inforced high taxes on legal prostitution while at the same time dictating when the prostitutes would conduct business, even controlling when and where they would live, eat, and earn thier living. Another instance shows the true terroristic nature of religious order. During the crusades the knights demanded inflated monetary payments and the relinquishment of holy relics from the moslem population. When thier demands where not met thousands of unarmed moslems were slaughtered, men, women, and children. Situations such as these have been documented even until this very decade in societies where the ruling powers were raised based on religious footing and influence. Even today governments are using religion to enforce and excuse extreme atrocities against thier own peoples and foreign peoples. Laws are made and carried out based on "religious moralities" in order to oppress and subjugate segments of society whose ideals and principles are deemed undesirable or segregant, based on religious beliefs written into laws.
Labeling religious authority over government laws as being equal to social terrorism may sound extreme, however by allowing a structural belief of supernatural presence to supercede the logical principles of governing society based solely upon unfactual and arguementative spiritual ideals is in direct violation of the ability for implementation of just and equal concept of a free society, of the people, for the people, by the people. The allowance of religious convictions to be imposed on the people through governmental reinforcement does give rise to conflict and instability, which in return creates fanatical and violent actions to gain mental control over cultural and social order. In fact the very definition of terrorism is "the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence to intimidate or coerse societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons".
(note: this is my opinion)
