Religion and Democracy By T.S. Khanna, October 2, 2014.

   Foundation for Better Government 

Religion and Democracy

By T.S. Khanna, October 2, 2014.

“When one person suffers from a delusion, it is insanity; when people suffer from a delusion, it is religion-----a condition of psychiatric disorder weaving God’s picture in imaginary fabric and assigning (attributing) idiosyncratic values to it”.---Anon.

If a delusion goes unchallenged for long it becomes a psychic reality.  Regardless, God is real or a psychic reality, all through history, more people have been killed in religious conflicts than in famines, epidemic diseases, or natural disasters.  Yet, religion is necessary to define a high moral ground to control the individual behavior for the good of the society.  It has the potential to provide a motivating force to do good or cause harm to the society. The problem arises when religious values/teachings are interpreted to justify and cause damage to others.

Scientific advancement is bringing the world ever closer.  There is hope to uplift the quality of life for the entire humanity.  At the same time, religious conflicts are creating the specter of man-made disaster of epoch changing gravity.

In the face of hard realities, there is a compelling need to dismantle the psychic wall keeping religion independent of government.  Ignoring adverse influence of religions is like nurturing the time bombs.

In democratic societies, the vision of common good and the dream of improving the quality of life for all have been buried in the noise and echoes of conflicting religious values.  It is time to reexamine/reevaluate the cherished beliefs and convictions to their very roots.  To reaffirm public confidence in democracy, values may be amended and replanted with a specific purpose to eliminate religious conflicts among citizens and corruption in governmental affairs.

Religions may be encouraged to improve the quality of life of people without allowing their use for political power, incitement, dogmatism, damage to or oppression of others regardless to their faith, race, or gender.

For improving religious harmony, values of various religions may be examined with a purpose to evolve eclectic values which may be incorporated in democratic constitutions and made enforceable.

We are at a historical pivot point marked by opportunity and hope.  The United Nations is urged to seize the opportunity to initiate and establish a new culture of Universal Values to encourage intellectual predominance for the welfare of humanity.

October 30,2014,  NOTE: 
                                            Since the posting of this article, a question has been raised; How may we proceed to sort out harmonious values of religions for adoption and enforcement?
                                            The main reason for religious conflicts is that individuals (or religious leaders) are being allowed to interpret the scriptures to support their own feelings and predilections.  That is why, the inspiring force of religions is not necessarily used for the benefit of humanity; quite often, it is used to exploit the humanity by some for their political power.                                 
                                               The religious leaders seeking official recognition of their religion in a democratic government may be  required to hand over copies of their sacred scriptures.  These scriptures may be judiciously reviewed (without attaching sanctity) by the Supreme Court.  The conflicting values of different scriptures may then be ironed out and adopted in the constitution to serve the public(national) interest.  Non-compromising scripture may not earn the recognition by the government.