RELIGION USED TO JUSTIFY POWER (RCJ Feb 2, 1999)

Letter to the Editor:

Keith Rhudy's (Jan. 25) letter on racism and evolution is a classic example of using ignorance to defend ignorance. It points out the need for teaching basic logic in school.

Prejudice and racism were around long before Darwin. While some may use it to justify racism, certainly it's not the cause. Prejudice and racism are rooted in the political and economic domination of one group by another and using belief systems to justify dominant group superiority.

Evolution's a theory based on fact and observation. It can change as fact and observations change. Religion's a belief system based upon assumptions which can't be proven. Often religious groups deny fact and observation to protect religious beliefs.

Religion justified the systematic destruction of whole cultures and the subjugation of its peoples for political and economic gain. As long as one group feels it is superior to another it will attempt to justify its greed and thirst for power. Religion is usually the tool.

From the Spanish disregard for the peoples of the New World to the religious right of today, Christianity's been used to justify political and economic power and greed and the resulting racism and prejudice.