Articles | Book Reviews | Education
When Religion Becomes Evil
When Religion Becomes Evil, by Charles Kimball, Harper San Fransisco, 2002, 240 pages.
I would expect that most people have been pondering the significance, and indeed, the relevance of religion in the light of recent events on the world scene - the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, the Arabs and the Jews in the Middle East, the slaughter of Hindus and Muslim in India, and in particular the claims of some Muslims regarding the terrorist attacks on September 11th. It is the later which figures prominently in this book by Charles Kimball.
Kimball is an ordained Baptist minister and Professor of Religion at Wake Forest University. He is an expert analyst on the Middle East and a specialist in Islamic Studies. He wrote the book because he believed there is a need to distinguish between “corrupt” forms of religious expression and the “authentic” form that offers real correctives and solutions to the world’s problems.
He identifies five warning signs of corruption in religion and describes them in this way:
Absolute Truth Claims
“When zealous and devout adherents elevate the teachings and beliefs of their tradition to the level of absolute truth claims, they open a door to the possibility that their religion will become evil. As we will observe in the chapters that follow, people armed with absolute truth claims are closely linked to violent extremism, charismatic leaders, and various justification for acts otherwise understood to be unacceptable.”
Blind Obedience
“Authentic religion engages the intellect as people wrestle with the mystery of existence and the challenges of living in an imperfect world. Conversely, blind obedience is a sure sign of a corrupt religion. Beware of any religious movement that seeks to limit the intellectual freedom and individual integrity of its adherents.”
Establishing the ‘Ideal’ Time
“When the hoped-for ideal is tied to a particular religious worldview and those who wish to implement their vision become convinced that they know what God wants for them and everyone else, you have a prescription for disaster.” “Those who narrowly define ideal temporary structures of the state and determine that they are God’s agents to establish a theocracy are dangerous. Religion is easily corrupted in this context. Beware of people and groups whose political blueprint is based on a mandate from heaven that depends on human beings to implement.”
The End Justifies Any Means
“In authentic, healthy religion the end and the means to that end are always connected. But it is often easy for religious people to lose sight of the ultimate goal and focus instead on one component of religion. When a key feature of religion is elevated and in effect becomes an end, some people within the religion become consumed with protecting or achieving that end. The end goal of protecting or defending a key component of religion is often used to justify any means necessary.”
Declaring Holy War
“We have said that more wars have been waged, more people killed, and more evil perpetrated in the name of religion than by any other institutional force in human history. The sad truth continues in our present day. In somewhat different ways, leaders and combatants continue to depict their war as a holy cause. In doing so, they compound the grave mistakes of those who went before them, and they distort the very heart of the religion they claim to be defending. Declaring “holy” war is a sure sign of a corrupt religion.”
This book is certainly not a polemic against religion. The author asserts over and over again that the search for solutions and the avoidance of corruption lies at the heart of most religious traditions, if they could develop a more inclusive attitude towards their own and other faith groups.
The book is packed with illustrations, some go back centuries and some are contemporary, and all religions come under scrutiny. An easy read and an excellent piece of scholarship.
Paul Chidwick is the Editor of OMNI.
Posted by editor on September 30, 2003 10:09 AM