How can any state have an official religion when most religions are pro peace and most states are no

How can any state have an official religion when most religions are pro peace or appear to be pro peace.

Most religions believe in peace but most countries wage in war that that is the complete opposite of most religions.


Lets take for example the Roman Empire and when Christianity became the official religion how can that be when the empire does everything opposite of what Jesus preaches.

First the empire was pagan then the empire then persecuted Christians then became Christian and persecuted others

Didn't Jesus say if a man strikes you on the right cheek, offer him the left.

Religion and states are incompatible with each other.


When i say state i mean a nation-state.

[edit on 18-2-2009 by jatsc]

Check out the History of Tibet during the reign of the 14 Dalai Lamas.
Tibet was, (compared to other countries) pretty peaceful before the mid 20th century.
However, you can't over-romanticize Tibet either. It was a feudal system and an
isolationist country for a long time. There were a few small tribal upheavals but in
comparison to most countries it shines.

I think the important factor to realize is that most religions only claim to be pro-peace... but in actuality, they really aren't so peaceful...

wasn't it the fundamentalist christians in the united states who backed the war in Iraq to a fault?

While I'm not saying that all religious people are like this... wherever there is religion, there exists a possibility for fanaticism, zealotry and extremists...

With that being said... every religion seems to have a "nemesis religion"... with the exception of bhuddism... I can't think of one there... but I may be mistaken.

Christians vs. Muslims
Catholics Vs. prods.
Muslim vs. Jews

and so on and so forth.

I am strongly against state sanctioned religion in any country...

Isreal and Iran.. two countries that would most likely make decent allies... but they are at odds because its Muslim vs. Jews...

Religion spoils everything... its best kept privately and up to the individual to decide...

The very fact that most religions have prophecies of a bloody war where souls will be thrown into the fire and that there is a special land to fight for and a sword will be brought down ect ect....scares me more then atheists. I am spiritual, but these people who think they are to fight for this special land scares me to the core. I mean, if 'god' supposedly needed a certain special land...then wars are of course going to come. I think it was a negative ego origin that brought these kind of thoughts of a war in the end to bring God back his special land and the ones who follow this thought can be dangerous.

I dont find acts like those to be of a divine nature.

But spirituality, knock yourself out

Peace
LV