Religious Fanatism

Today I’m going to speak on one of the major problems that is hollowing our societies, risking mankind at large. That problem is religious fanatism. The difference between religious  fundamentalism and fanaticism is belief and action. One could be a fundamentalist in any given religion and believe in the literal truth of their holy scriptures. 

Nowadays whenever we take a look at newspaper or at headlines of a news channel on television or simply swipe through newsfeed of our accounts on various social media platforms, we are very likely to strike with a news like a person blows or opens fire in a hugely packed club or a person mows down a number of pedestrians on a busy road by a truck or an SUV or a mob beats a person to death because of his ‘physical appearance’ or they find one of his facebook post to be ‘objectionable’. All these acts stem through religious fanatism or extremism.
          Religious fanatics, in their desire to propagate their faith and to ensure that all their religious principles are adhered to, resort to such butchering methods. Most of these fanatics are of age of 17-25 years old. They are basically brainwashed by their religious leaders, who in fact, hijack their own religion for their personal ends. Despite religion teaching tolerance, acceptance, good deeds and moral values, all they are taught is that there is little or no respect for other faith and human values as to consider the former as infidel who deserve God’s punishment.

          There may be numbers of personal and social causes behind such fanatism but in my purview, one of the major cause is that today religion is dying within us ! Today we either believe religious leaders or propagators blindly or just shy away from religion considering it a cobweb, in our move to portray ourselves as ‘open-minded’. We can be a follower of any religion and still can be open minded. All religions are beautiful. They are foundations of morals and beliefs. They have made communities and built cities. They have caused debates and brought people together. Yes, there is no denial of the fact that today religion is dividing and tearing us apart but it is only because we chose to ignore perspectives of others.

          There are numbers of laws,treaties and institutions working both at national and international levels to check extremism but their failure and increase in such inhuman acts themselve speak that no law and institution can help unless ‘We’ as a ‘Society’ strive to change the scenario and certainly it can’t be done by simply shying away from religion.”