PurpleSquerkle wrote:...This could probably turn into a whole lengthy discussion, though. I thought I was leaving!
Oh, rest assured, it will.
The reason why I think organized religion is a problem is because it bestows authority to people that aren't always qualified to have it. (and don't tell me that it's no longer valid. Priests, Rabbis and other people of religious rank may not have any political power anymore, but they're still community leaders, and they still influence the thoughts of others).
When you give authority to someone, they will abuse it. The extent of how much is entirely dependent on how sensible they are, and being sensible is rare when you're under the impression that your belief system is superior to others.
I'm sure that, as Purple said, these people believed they were acting for the greater good, but were they not organized, they would have been more tolerant of others because it would be far easier for them to accept that all beliefs are equal.
(And if the notion that all beliefs are equal upsets you, even in the slightest, you may need to do some more personal reflection of your own and see why you feel that way. I know I once felt that all religion is stupid and that complete atheism is the only reasonable choice. Fortunately, that's no longer true.)
It's simple flock behavior, an evolutionary mechanism: alienate the other to increase your group's chance of survival. Behaving like flock is behaving primitively.
Everyone is racist and xenophobic subconsciously, whether they like it or not, as it is human nature. But that's not what matters, what matters is that you don't behave in this manner, and that's all that counts.
And for some fun reading, here's a little anecdote as an example of how much organized religion can affect a person's life even if they're not attached to it in any way: You may or may not know, but I have a middle name, it's Nethaniel (literally meaning: God-given). I only got it recently (a few years ago), because a rabbi whom I've never met told my parents (whom they've also never met before that) that my birth name doesn't suit me, and they of course went ahead and added it to my records under his "recommendation" without my consultation. In my records it is actually listed as my first name, with my original name, Ben, becoming the middle name.
Now, my family is a very secular one. My father believes in god, but we both agree that if a god exists then he is nothing like the bible describes it. Ergo, we don't care for religious customs, and everyone in my family believes a different thing. And yet here I am, a secular person with secular parents and an Uberreligious name that I never wanted and had no say in. That's how much religion can affect your life even if you have no part in it.
And to this day my parents refuse to remove it, even though they've never once called me by this name. I will have to wait for one more year until I turn 18 and am able to change it myself, which will create all sorts of problems for me seeing how I am being drafted next year and there will be a lot of name-related mishaps with the army over this.
So keep that in mind.