Quran 17:16; 21.
Hypocricised
A hypocrite not only does not walk the talk but walks against it. A good epithet for religion, government and big business ought to be hypocrisy, for within the houses of worship, within the chambers of politics, and within the corner offices of corporations what is spoken and written are often the opposite of what is done. A classic example common to all three sources of deceitfulness is the claim that war is waged to defend freedom and democracy.
I will add a personal example. In the mainline church I attend (out of respect for my wife who is a PK, or preacher's kid) a ritualistic saying after one of the prayers is "May the Peace of Christ be with you." But I have never heard a voice from the pulpit or from the congregation speaking out against America's endless warring and spying. Oh, there are plenty of platitudes expressed but nothing more. I am increasingly finding the place repugnant.
Compromised
Organized religion depends on hand outs to keep going, two different hands as a matter of fact, and they compromise any tendency religious organizations might have to speak out meaningfully and concretely against war. These organizations are not going to bite the hands that feed them
One hand out comes voluntarily from givers within the organization. I doubt if there is any spiritual leader who dares alienate his or her flock that is either an accomplice (e.g., by being a silent bystander) or an agent (e.g., military members in the congregation). For instance, there was a backlash among affiliate churches when their federated body, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the US, took a strong stance against the Vietnam War. [2]
The other hand out is from government, both the source of war and the source of financial support. Religious organizations currently get government handouts of one form or another that amount to about 75 percent of their total annual revenue [3,4]. Religious organizations are no different from corporations in the war-and-spy industries that milk the government and taxpayers dry.
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