Religion is turbo-charged tribalism

Not long ago, many “new atheists” openly wondered whether, on the net, religion has brought humankind more harm than good. This is a fair question. Much innocent blood has been shed in the name of God and religion. The only question is why. The debate between the theists and the atheists has generated so much interest that Karen Armstrong, an ex-Roman Catholic nun decided to write a book about that. The book is titled “Fields of Blood.” Essentially, she defended religion. According to Armstrong, the reason why so much violence is tied up with religion is because religious conflicts are intrinsically intertwined with political power struggle. Thus, political players use the name of religion to facilitate justify their power grab.

I read Karen Armstrong’s book a few years ago. Her answer is not satisfactory to me. It seems to cover up the really deep-seated problem of religion. I have no problem recognizing that religion has both a bright side and a dark side. But religious differences do have a tendency to incite violence for a very simple reason — religion is, in its essence, a kind of tribalism. People of different religious beliefs are effectively of different tribes. If you are within the same tribe, then you can enjoy the social support network your religion offers. Up to quite recently, the church has been the center of community activities in a small town. It is the hub where…