When Religion Becomes Evil: Book Review

Looking at the experiments in the American colonies, it became quite clear that religious pluralism equals peace. It was not until nearly 200 years later that sociologists, rather than philosophers, began to study this phenomenon. One duo, Rodney Stark and Roger Finke, shows in part four of their book, Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion, that when religious freedom is allowed, it generates a higher level of religious pluralism and participation. This is just one factor in the equation. Next, Dr. Charles Kimball takes a comparative look between various cults and religions in his first book, When Religion Becomes Evil, to describe five key facets of religion that tend to produce violence (2008). One of those aspects is when a religion makes absolute truth claims. He particularly looks at modern Islamic terrorists. For example, Osama Bin Laden and his religious extremist group, al-Qaeda, take a narrow view of their religion and use it to justify horrendous violence. They believe that they will be going to heaven, and everyone else will go to hell for being wrong. This kind of “us versus them” mentality can lead down a slippery slope of violence. The final ingredient comes from the research of Philip Quinn, Robert Putnam, and David Campbell and builds from the danger of absolute truth claims that Kimball posits. Quinn argues
When the government removes restrictions on religion, religious pluralism thrives. When religious pluralism thrives, religions compete in the marketplace of ideas and people reassess their beliefs. They lessen their absolutist, fundamentalist attitudes which decrease violence. It would then stand to reason that when religious violence decreases, governments will begin to lessen restrictions on religious freedom. Therefore, a loop feeds back into itself creating a hyper-pluralist and incredibly peaceful