For a long time, the Romans actually permitted the people they conquered to retain whatever gods or practices they had held, in order to gain faster control over them. They'd insert a Roman official or two to run the place, but leave most things status quo, except for now paying Roman taxes. Things wouldn't be noticeably different until the taxes became overwhelmingly impossible to pay. Some smaller places were "conquered" just by the armies showing up at the gates, offering no resistance to Roman rule at all. Hey, they'd get running water and new roads! They often didn't see the downside.

Sort of the precursor to corporate takeovers today, maybe?

@Allamanda Yes...I already think that it’s the biggest contributor to wars and hatred of others...but was just adding that there are other factors which contribute...not disagreeing, but adding to the mix.

@ToolGuy I didn’t say everyone was greedy or selfish....but unfortunately a lot of people who influence events...i.e. politicians and others in position of power are greedy and selfish.

@ToolGuy I think if you care to look you said..and I quote you “people are not greedy and selfish “...that was why you disagreed with me. I still maintain that a large number are.

@ToolGuy You and I will fall out if you continue to misconstrue my words in such a way. I was replying to an item posted which states that people attribute today’s problems to religion. I merely stated that it was over simplistic to blame it purely on religion and that there many other factors including the two I mentioned. You then chose to challenge me on that by stating “ I disagree. People are not greedy and selfish”. The fact that you then went on to state that these traits are not universal does not negate your earlier statement...especially in view of the fact that I hadn’t said that I thought everyone was, but that they were human traits...which they undoubtedly are.

@ToolGuy I don’t read anything in this article which refutes my assertion that greed and selfishness are human traits...whether acquired or genetic...it’s indisputable that certain humans display both.

@ToolGuy I never said an inborn trait...just a human one...we acquire many due to different factors during our lifetimes including environmental and circumstantial. In any case your article is inconclusive about the genetic bit ..so why are you even nitpicking my every word? And by the way I hate the way you capitalise certain words as if I’d be too dim to get your meaning otherwise.

@ToolGuy. It’s not a pet theory..but it is my opinion, of which I’m entitled, so your reference to being an iconoclast is misplaced. What you were attacking was not a cherished theory, but merely my opinion, and what you were doing was being patronising not iconoclastic. What you think of my opinions is quite immaterial to me, you have your opinions on this matter which differ from mine and I believe yours are quite inconsistent and contradictory. However that is in my opinion and I’m sure you disagree. Your opinion is valid to you, mine is valid to me, so touché my dear. You can give yourself any label you wish but please don’t ever put one on me and believe that you know anything about me or what I think, because you don’t.

@ToolGuy. Get a life!!

It reaches a point of complete and total contradiction in logic: a prime example being the ‘pro-life’ extremists. The ones who stalk clinic workers, and bomb clinics, and who truly don’t see a problem saying: ‘abortion is murder; if you don’t stop, we’ll kill you all’.

Only religion breeds crazy that strong.

@Allamanda I think they assume a zero-sum, one subtracted from one group is automatically added to the other. It's got to be a more dynamic process than that.
The overlooked variable, I think, is the magnitude of present-day problems and the utter uselessness of thousand-year-old solutions.
I'm optimistic people are waking up to that reality, and will face it before it's too late.
If true, the numbers will eventually reflect it. Besides, I think the numbers are skewed anyway.

@Allamanda Religious nuts breed like rabbits.

What a sad state of affairs.

Can we even speak of Jewish nationalism (Zionism) as it drives the wars for oil?

@ExculpatoryLover There are more atheists in Israel than almost anywhere else.

@ExculpatoryLover Zionism causes many problems but surely it is our profligate lifestyles that cause the wars over oil.
In the UK any benefits from running electric cars has been counteracted by the greater sale of gas guzzling SUVs

@Moravian ~ Our lifestyles do not drive wars, come on. Our lifestyles are choices made from the options available. Iraq was invaded because they broke the demand made by the United States, Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to pay for all oil in Federal Reserve Notes only, the so called petro-dollar. Iraq began selling their oil for Euros, so we invaded them, shut off their oil supply for a few years, and reaped the profits. Shame on Bush, Clinton, all of the Warmongers and dual citizen Israelis in the US Congress, 89 of them all Democrats. SMH

@Moravian ~ Electric cars are a sham, they use electric generated by what? Burning of coal? Nuclear fission and all that toxic waste? Did you know it takes more energy to manufacture one of those giant windmills than all the energy it will capture while running for years until it breaks down? We need the free energy developed by Nikola Tesla, zero point energy which is limitless and clean.

@ExculpatoryLover
[theguardian.com]

You been watching Fox news again ?
I have never heard of this amazing free Tesla energy. Could you give me a link to some data on it.

@Moravian ~ I never watch FoxNews, it is as bullshit as the rest of the Wall Street Media of lies and propaganda. I do not even watch any television programming, no time for it. Funny how people never heard of Tesla or how he devised the modern world basically through his ideas. Electricity is everywhere throughout the Universe, in every living thing, all one needs to do is understand it. Electrical engineering is the key to the Cosmos.

@ExculpatoryLover I was making an oblique reference to your erroneous comment about wind turbines,
I think everyone knows about Nikola Tesla, hence the current joke. If you steal a Tesla car does it become an Edison.

@Moravian ~ Well, earth scientist David Hughes stated those mega windmills are quite problematic, but I am sure some idiot of FauxNews used his words out of context. Total costs include maintenance of the machines as well, the fact they need to be stopped and secured during high winds, etc. Stupid idea, unless we used small efficient windmills directly at the point the power is needed. These wind farms are a waste, pumping the electric through miles of wires reduces half the power or more through resistance and impedance. They want wind farms to retain the style of business the power industry has become. SMH.

@Moravian ~ Best, most efficient windmills in the world = www.windside.com

the point is not that religion poisons society, which we all know. it's that supposedly most of the world thinks so. i don't think most of the world is that self-aware.

g

I partially concur. Yet as Lloyd Blankfein CEO Goldman Sachs once stated: "I'm doing 'God's Work."

It is that many of company leaders, lawyers, politicians, etc are sociopaths, narcissists or psychopaths.

@gsiamne I don't think they believe in god as much as they're using it to manipulate and control others.

@JimG Totally concur and that is the psychology of it.

Amen!

I often say "The leading cause of death is life"

@Allamanda You’re right. I should have asked who has limited the spectrum.

@Storm1752 Ho, ho, ho.

@Storm1752 No name calling necessary. He is just having some fun.

And I thought the problem was time.

@PondartIncbendog Yeah, with enough time, life can do a lot.

I sort of like extreme individualism.

@BryanLV It is not healthy for societies. Go live on your own island, if you can afford one. Most Libertarians seem to desire that, except for their desire to benefit from police, fire depts, roads, and other benefits from living in societies they don't want to pay taxes for.......

@TomMcGiverin

But who will build the roads?

Classic.

Not so sure it is that simple. Take the religion away and you still are left with the same humans, aren't you ? I believe the root of the problem is to be looked for in the human heart. I believe also that the greatest man or woman this world has ever known were carried by a deep belief in what religion is supposed to stand for at its very core. Behind religion is something much greater and universal: spirituality.

Religion make me crazier than hell!

Not really. They kill you if you abandon Allah. So very few do!

@Allamanda Makes me want to dig in that data (which is not availible), because of this

"Survey participants were given a random subset of countries and country attributes to consider. The combinations were presented in a grid form where participants were prompted to check off the characteristics they associated with each country."

So IF your grid was the mideast would not most Americans, Brits and Europeans list religion as a MAIN cause?
I would prefer to have those details broken down, are you asking circular culture or square culture? Are you using the same question, which might not carry the same meaning?

Polling is all about how you frame your question.
If I want to make a poll on abortion I can easily skew the result by framing the question.
Are you pro abortion?--Will net a high percentage of NO
Are you Pro Fetus?--Will get a high yes percentage
And so on, HOW the questions were written is rarely shared, only the results. So I take all polls with a very large grain of salt, it is far too easy to twist the numbers via language.