Religion is poison to democracy

[Fake Messiah]

A new major study documents that religiously motivated legislation has taken place in all types of societies and religions—to the detriment of democratic rights.

In 1750 BC, Hammurabi's law designated the king of Babylon as the representative of the gods on earth. In modern times, Sharia law is an example of how religion can penetrate the state apparatus. Examples of religion being used to legitimize political power can be found all over the world.

"Societies that are historically characterized by belief in high gods are more likely to have current laws that discriminate or favor certain groups in society," says Jeanet Sinding Bentzen, associate professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Copenhagen.

"These could be laws that restrict women's rights or prohibit homosexuality. Or laws on blasphemy and privileges for religious organizations," she adds.

"It is clear from the data that societies with greater social inequality are more likely to worship gods that are attributed with a dominant character. On average, moralizing gods are 30% more likely to be present in societies with large class differences compared to more equal societies," says Jeanet Sinding Bentzen. "Moralizing and punishing gods are far more effective as a means of power, while spirits that cannot punish or interfere with human actions are useless for that purpose."

God protects the dictator

The researchers have made another important discovery: in autocracies, where power is concentrated in the hands of a single person or a very small group of people, there is a clear tendency to institutionalize religion. An autocrat can legitimize his power by referring to the divine.

"The divine legitimacy of the concentration of power in a very small group of people may very well support the persistence of autocracy, because the small group of rulers receives its mandate to exercise power from above and therefore does not have to ask the people. In this way, the religious mandate of the autocrat is in opposition to democratization," Jeanet Sinding Bentzen emphasizes.

https://phys.org/news/2023-04-religiousl...cracy.html