Well, I think that the more religious a person is, the more that they will allow the "group think" of their sect to completely control their thinking and actions. This is probably even more true for those indoctrinated as children. (Thinking of Westboro.)
I remember, in the early 60's, watching a church group of people (that were, in their normal workday lives, very intelligent, calm, pleasant people) burn down a neighbor's house. Why? The owner of that house (a white woman) had just married a black man. It seems to me now that they used the entire situation as a scapegoat. I still have nightmares of the rage on the faces, the screaming crowd, the torches - it was a very cathartic experience for the group. My parents were kind of shell-shocked for days afterward.
No one was ever charged with any crime related to the house burning.
I remember, in the early 60's, watching a church group of people (that were, in their normal workday lives, very intelligent, calm, pleasant people) burn down a neighbor's house. Why? The owner of that house (a white woman) had just married a black man. It seems to me now that they used the entire situation as a scapegoat. I still have nightmares of the rage on the faces, the screaming crowd, the torches - it was a very cathartic experience for the group. My parents were kind of shell-shocked for days afterward.
No one was ever charged with any crime related to the house burning.
"The family that prays together...is brainwashing their children."- Albert Einstein
