Religion

Can be seen as both a blessing and a curse. Religion is not inherently evil, its is people that make it what it is. It is only the biggest lie in human history if one allows a large bureaucratic organization to take control of it and make people believe under pain of death or some other unfortunate punishment. In an ideal world religion should be a personal experience, but that is not part of the human condition as a whole. Religion brings hope in times of great duress and it can bring inspiration. Don't forget that it was the people of the Islamic faith who developed and pursued germ theory while Christians were wallowing in the Dark Ages. Religion is ingrained in all of humanity, even atheists, who do not believe in a higher power still engage in religion like activity, such as rituals (taking a shower or bathing) and/or holding preconceived notions about Humanity (inherently good or evil). All things revolve around religion, no matter how much we distance ourselves from it. People do terrible things in the name of religion, but they also do terrible things in the name of ideologies or creeds, such as skin color or capitalism vs. communism. Lets all just take a breath and accept that this is who we are, and try to enjoy the short time on this pale blue dot in the inescapable lens of the human experience and the human condition.