To Each His Own

1264 Words3 Pages

Thomas Jefferson once stated, “Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites.” This (1) profound statement gives the (2) implication that people often use religion in order to avoid blame or criticism for their (3) reprehensible actions. Many individuals hold great (4) disdain for organized religion because it allows people to believe that they are no longer held by the morals of society if they have religion on their side. Religious individuals can be seen to have a (5) propensity for going against what they believe and twisting their beliefs to support their hypocritical actions. (6) Contempt for organized religion is (7) engendered by the idea that since religious people are so engrossed in their principles, they are excused of any obligation to consider the evil in their actions because their religion automatically makes them righteous. The concept that organized religion is (8) loathed for its hypocrisy is demonstrated in various pieces of literature. In the novel entitled To Each His Own, by Leonardo Sciascia, the animosity towards the Catholic Church demonstrates how organized religion is looked down upon because of the insincerity of its followers and how they tend to use their religious beliefs to conceal many actions that would be judged as evil and immoral. In order to find a copy of the newspaper to use as a clue in his investigation, Professor Laurana goes to visit the rector at Santa Anna. Towards the end of their conversation, Laurana and the rector speak about the rector’s decision to become a priest... ... middle of paper ... ...trusts Church over Scandal.” This article discusses the effects that child sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church have had on the public opinion of the Church. According to the article, over fifty percent of Americans feel that the Church would continue to cover up scandals in order to preserve its image. This shows how even though the scandals are a clear violation of the Church’s beliefs, they are still willing to do whatever it takes to cover it up and show that they are still an upright and honorable institution. The Catholic Church is only one example of many religious organizations that follow similar methods. Many religious institutions around the world are also responsible for using their beliefs to claim that their moral superiority. In essence, organized religion often times will come with connotations of the hypocrisy and insincerity of its followers.

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