Religion can divide rather than unite

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, August 8, 2007

The pope has been preaching love, unity, non-violence and peace since he took office but recently he defiantly declared jihad on other religions by declaring that Catholicism is the only true religion.

This sounds like a juvenile challenge: “My God is better than your God.” Or “My God can beat up your God.” This proves that religions divide people, not unite them. Religion, like race and nationality, are usually accidents of birth. A truly righteous person does not have to belong to any particular religion to be considered righteous and by the same token, not every self-proclaimed religious person is righteous.

TOM VALDEZ

Oak Harbor