Wishes
  by Janet Brazill

If you were granted one wish, what would it be? When asked this question by an interviewer on television, some named these lofty goals: an end to all wars; no more poverty; and health and happiness for everyone.
As I listened, it occurred to me that there is one single thing that would help accomplish every one of those noble goals -- an end to religion! Just suppose that everyone suddenly decided they would no longer rely on an unproven, unseen being to control their lives.

This would mean an immediate end to many of the wars currently taking place: the Catholic-Protestant clash in Northern Ireland; the Israeli conflict between Jews and Palestinians; Muslims fighting Christians in Africa and Indonesia; Muslim and Hindu sparring in Bangladesh; battles in Sri Lanka. We would even see peace between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq.

And think of the worldwide "war on terrorism" -- without religious fervor there would be no more suicide bombers or 9-11 attacks!

Sometimes wars are fought to acquire necessary resources. But whether the goal is obtaining oil or gaining territory for "lebensraum," it is caused by the needs of a populace that has exceeded its native resources. World population, now roughly 6.6 billion, is heading toward 8 billion by 2025, requiring yet more space, more food and more resources.

If religious opposition to birth control suddenly ceased, our government could address this growth, resuming its commitment to providing adequate family planning to the 350 million women worldwide who lack it now. Poverty would be reduced, as well as environmental degradation and resource depletion.

Good health could become a reality for everyone if research on embryonic stem cells were not frustrated by religious extremists -- fanatics who resist many medical advances as thwarting God's will. They once opposed anesthesia.

These same religionists delayed research into cures for the new disease of HIV/AIDS in the 1980's, because it was initially thought to be God's punishment for what they considered sexual deviancy. Even today, religious opposition to condoms and the diversion of funds for teaching "abstinence" impede efforts to control one of the most destructive health crises of modern times. The HIV/AIDS crisis has killed over 25 million people and currently infects more than 60 million men, women and children.

Such judgmental condemnation of homosexuality, prevalent throughout Catholic and Evangelical religions in our country, causes untold emotional distress. Without religion, this psychological persecution would end and would make the debate about gay marriage a non-issue.

One of religion's most potent weapons to maintain control over the lives of its congregations is the fear of everlasting punishment in the afterlife, a doctrine that qualifies as child abuse when it terrifies young children. Computer websites quoting Bible passages vividly describe, in graphic detail, the eternal torments awaiting transgressors in Hell. Without the protection society now automatically affords religion, we could classify these sites as obscene, as well as the book that preaches a god engaged in such sadistic torture. With religion gone, both Hell and the Devil would disappear.

A world without religion could concentrate on the greater good for humanity, providing a pleasant earthly existence for all of its inhabitants. The attention that many now give to God could be devoted to preserving this fragile earth for future generations, free from the damaging effects of religion.

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