CNN.com - Religious rally�attacks 'arrogant' judges - Aug 14, 2005

CNN.com - Religious rally attacks 'arrogant' judges - Aug 14, 2005
I guess I should have seen this coming ... so why is it a surprise? As a child, I thought mankind would progress; progression equaling an increase in scientific knowledge and a gradual reduction in the importance of religion (to my young mind). Of course we have been seeing a growth of fanatical Islam in the 3rd world and now in the developed nations of the world. I understand the growth of fanaticism in the poor nations of the world. Historically, when people lead lives of unremitting poverty, they turn to religion (or violent political upheaval) for solace but why is this growth of religion taking place in America and England? President Bush has endorsed teaching religious tales of origin along side theories of evolution ... as if the two were equal. One is a faith fairytale to pass along ethical points, the other is a reasoned view based upon quantifiable evidence of the world around us.

Could this rise of religion be a form of defense? If so, what type of defense? Is this a natural outgrowth of the rise of fanatical Islam or is it a simpler thing? Again I look at the supreme example of this tendency in America: George Bush. I see Bush as being elected because of the overtly simplistic messages he "preached"; every argument was either reduced to "terrorists will kill you in your sleep if you elect someone else" or "we're right because we're Americans" and it's corollary, "I'm right because I'm president of the United States". Perhaps this rise of religion is due to the fact that it requires no justification, no reason and the fact that religious doctrine is so nebulous that it can be used to justify literally any point of view, including murder.

I don't know.

This just isn't the future I envisioned. I fear that my childhood dreams of a calm, placid and enlightened mankind having acquired both wisdom and technology is irretrievable having been replaced by a devolvement of reason and a growth of religion. If we keep going in this direction, I see only war and death for the future.