..and the story goes on ...you may want to consult this site for more reading on religeous intolerance

See also two closely related sections which discuss other, less serious, dark sides of religion: Religiously motivated hatred, animosity and intolerance Religiously motivated conflict, oppression, discrimination, etc.

Quotation (repeated elsewhere on this website because we are so fond of it):

A man told his grandson: "A terrible fight is going on inside me -- a fight between two wolves. One is evil, and represents hate, anger, arrogance, intolerance, and superiority . The other is good, and represents joy, peace, love, tolerance, understanding, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, and compassion. This same fight is going on inside you, inside every other person too." The grandson then asked: "Which wolf will win?" The old man replied simply: "The one you feed." - Anon.

Why is there so much religiously-based conflict, oppression and discrimination? (Also repeated):

Why does religion encourage some people to perform ethically and others to commit discriminatory and even violent acts?

	To our knowledge, no Atheist has ever committed suicide & mass murder by intentionally flying an airplane into a building, or blowing up a subway, or exploding a bomb in a crowded marketplace. But many people have done these things, motivated by their religious faith.
	Municipalities have voted to turn down a building permit for a mosque or Muslim cemetery, while approving a construction of a church.
	Most Americans do not consider race, gender, sexual orientation, age, or a history of multiple marriages to be much of an impediment for a presidential candidate. But most people would not vote for a generally well-qualified Atheist.

A partial list of some of the factors involved includes:

	Many people are motivated to adopt a religious faith out of a need for security in a dangerous world. When their religion is challenged, they react emotionally and sometimes violently.
	Religious beliefs are largely based on faith rather than reason. This means that conflicts among religions cannot be easily settled through dialogue. Disagreements can often escalate.
	Many people believe that there is only one "top-down" religion: i.e. there is only a single religion revealed by God to humanity. That sole religion is, of course, their own. Meanwhile they believe that all other religions are "bottom-up" faiths: i.e. religions created by humans to express their concept of God. It is difficult for a person to respect other religions if they "know" that their religion, alone, is the true one.
	Many feel that they are God's only representatives on Earth; in effect, they are God's arms and legs. They feel a need to be God's defenders

There are no quick fixes to this situation.

Topics covered in this section:

	A historical overview
	Violence directed at specific groups: Anti-Judaic and Anti-semitic persecution The real story of the Witch burning times Against Native Americans
	Religiously motivated violence in the Bible: Four major genocides in the Bible ordered or managed by God Passages advocating violence and genocide in the Bible and other holy texts Slavery: in the Bible, in the past & now
	Recent religiously motivated violence: Recent examples of religiously motivated violence in Abrahamic religions Recent media accounts of individual incidences of intolerance, discrimination, conflict, violence etc. Genocide & mass crimes against humanity (often motivated by religion) Religiously based civil unrest and warfare Conflicts in the Middle and Far East Conflicts in: Nazareth in Israel, Kashmir, Nigeria, Philippines, Yugoslavia-Kosovo, Yugoslavia-Vojvodia