More Ruminations on Religion
I was talking to one of my fellows the other day. There was a discussion about dietary restrictions. He was surprised to hear that I have no religious affiliation and no dietary restrictions. He was under the impression that most Indians are Hindus and vegetarian. He told me that most Japanese people do not have a religious affiliation which, in turn, surprised me. My only visit to Japan was to Kyoto and most of the 'places to see' there seemed to be Buddhist temples. In any case, my thoughts turned to the manifest fact that much of the irrational human behavior of the modern age seems to be rooted in religion. Objections to abortion and stem cell research in the US, the fact that nobody from a minority religion or without religious affiliation has ever been elected to a major leadership position here, the conflicts between India and Pakistan, the middle east situation, Israel and the Arabic countries, the list goes on. In history too, some of the greatest crimes committed by