Can religion help with todays problems?”
There are many who ascribe our present ills–geopolitical and local–to religion. I take a different view. I believe their analysis is superficial and unbalanced. It is important to weigh both pros and cons in assessing something, extracting a “net” position. By way of disclaimer up front, I admit I would describe myself as a religious person. I am one who lives happily in the balance between the religious/spiritual and secular/scientific spheres. I am one who actively believes in religious pluralism. If one looks at a lot of the problem areas in the world today, one might make the erroneous inference that they stem from religion–notably from Islam. I would argue that like other major religions, Islam is a beautiful religion. Devout Muslims, those who submit to God (the word for “God” in Arabic is “Allah”), can live fulfilling lives much like their equivalents in Christianity and other religions. Where this runs awry is in the intersection between fundamentalism and militancy–more sp
