Weird and Religious
In parts of West Africa, belief in witchcraft can focus on the idea that spiritual power is inherited within families and can be used unconsciously to harm others. Misfortune such as illness or business failure may be explained through these unseen forces rather than chance.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2017, Marawi in the Philippines. Islamist Muslim militants seized parts of the city, leading to months of fighting. The group justified the uprising as establishing an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia, enforcing Islamic rule, and resisting a government seen as illegitimate.
Fact
In Islam, recitation of the Qur an in Arabic is central to worship, and Islam places value on memorisation and correct pronunciation of the text that is considered "revealed".
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
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” Karl Marx.
Ask the right question
Why would an all knowing being test humans when the outcome of every test is already known in advance?
Religious Crooks
Hogen Fukunaga led Ho No Hana Sanpogyo in Japan, claiming foot reading spiritual powers, later convicted of fraud after authorities said followers were pressured into paying large sums for supposed spiritual diagnoses.
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.
Throughout history and still to this day, there has never been a shortage of religious leaders who were not always following their own spiritual advice.