Mary Dela Paz, 45, Australia
Why this question is important to Mary:
As a teacher, one unit I had to teach was on the five major world religions. Tolerance and respect of religions other than Christianity is something I strongly believe in. It is, however, difficult to share this with my students when they see conflicts rooted in religious beliefs, specifically Christianity and Islam. I teach at a Catholic school where students of different religions are accepted. There was a year when I had Catholics, a Sikh, a Muslim and a few Hindus. I myself am interested in deepening my understanding of inter-faith dialogues.
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Mary’s question is one of thousands of questions gathered during a dropping knowledge question campaign. The power of these questions is evident. These questions demonstrate just how thoughtful the public can be if asked to name what it believes is important.
This is a brilliant question. I’ve spent some time thinking about this and I’d say the answer is that world peace is unattainable because of religion. The very notion that religion exists in the 21st century indicates that mankind has not matured enough to have earned a peaceful existence. Marx said that religion is the opiate of the masses. I’d build on that by noting that it is also at the helm of every war machine.