One can be biased against religions and yet see human beings as human beings- despite their foolish superstitious beliefs. Knowing Koan, I would guess that sums him up.
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. Blaise Pascal- of course cults, which are just another kind of religion, whether centered around a man or an idea (or both!) also do the same kind of harm.
I can look at Rosalyn Carter, or great Catholic art- and admire the human hand that created good works, but still despise the need for superstition- since it is untouched by facts and science and untestable and can literally take you anywhere- like to the land of the antivaxxers, or down the road to witch killings, the Inquisition (400 years of Catholic torture!) and Little Red Books. What we need to encourage is critical thinking and religion, alas, does not encourage that. I wish it did, just like I wish it had more humanitarian values - but it doesn't. If all the religious ministered to the poor (without whacking them on the head with proselytizing) and if they followed good science wrt health and the environment, and if they didn't kill other people so damn often, and if so many religious weren't desperately trying to get in the pants of people who didn't want them there- whether by actually raping people or just raping people's rights, I'd be much less against religion. But we live in a world where all too many religious see "freedom of religion" as freedom of THEIR religion to dominate everyone else (for their own good, of course!)
Blech
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