That healing power of religion...

Questions about sales, selling, influence, persuasion, and more! by Kevin Hogan:

"My personal feelings about religion mirror those of Ben Franklin, William James and the other great philosophers. Religion is an organized way for people to collectively come together and experience some specific set of feelings which they find useful or familiar. It can be the opiate of the masses in post reformation Christianity or it can be the fuel for terrorist activity and ultimately war. People will die for ideologies much faster than they will for values.

'Religion' imparts from a human leader a set of beliefs and attitudes and actions toward other people. In the majority of religions those actions are largely neutral to slightly positive for society or perhaps simply a bit annoying. In fundamentalist religions the beliefs of the leaders are driven into the minds of the masses as a stimuli to harm or hate others. Thus, my personal opinion is that religion is potentially dangerous. It is also potentially useful.

Religion by definition is run by the individual who claim to represent or maybe even be in touch with a god. No one tests him, checks his cell phone calls to and from heaven or paradise. The masses simply believe it to be true because it's what they were taught. Study religion and it's long history and you study the most powerful and painful uses of influence for good and evil. There is much to be learned from watching how religion ...influences...the masses."