Weird and Religious
In parts of ancient China, early dynasties practised human sacrifice during royal burials. Servants, guards, or prisoners were killed to accompany a ruler into the afterlife. The dead king was expected to continue ruling in another realm and needed a court there as well.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2014, Syria and Iraq under Islamic State expansion. The group massacred Shia Muslims, Christians, and others, destroying shrines and churches. It justified killings and enslavement through extremist interpretations of Islam, claiming divine command to eliminate unbelief and establish a caliphate.
Fact
In Buddhism, compassion is a major virtue, as Buddhism encourages concern for the suffering of all living beings and the wish to reduce that suffering.
Religion and agriculture
When humans began to settle and agriculture emerged, belief systems changed in response to new dependencies. Land, seasons, and fertility became central to existence, and gods became specialised according to the needs of the moment. One governed rain, another crops, another birth, and another death, reflecting the growing complexity of human labour and the vulnerability of settled life to forces beyond control. Success now depended on coordination, patience, and long-term planning, and religion adapted by providing calendars, festivals, and rituals that synchronised human effort with agricultural cycles. The divine thus became a management tool for time, labour, and community.
Quote of the day
“Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy.” Voltaire.
Ask the right question
Why do creation stories from different religions contradict each other in basic details?
Religious Crooks
John of God, born João Teixeira de Faria, was a Brazilian spiritual healer who claimed psychic surgery abilities and drew international followers, later convicted of sexual crimes, with long standing allegations that spiritual authority was used to exploit vulnerable people.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.Every country in the world has its fair share of spiritual crooks.
If a real God existed, would he allow crooks to act on his behalf?