The harm of religion, where the religion becomes controlling and abusive of its adherents, and attempts to extend that controlling abusive influence to society more broadly, all would agree such behaviour is extremely harmful for both individuals and society. Religions are well known for using harmful practices of indoctrination to exploit followers through bigoted dogma and authoritarian leadership. Religious extremism does promote violence, intolerance and hate of others, all in the name of "God".

Under the Constitution freedom of religion is an absolute right of all Australians, but should that right include the promotion of bigotry and hate, often by an extreme minority within the religion, and as that occurs how should society/government deal with it.

Change this sentence..."Religious extremism does promote violence, intolerance and hate of others, all in the name of "God"" to....Religious extremism does promote violence, intolerance and hate of others, all in the name of "Allah" and then your post makes sense.

Hi Trumpster,

"Allah," is the Arabic word for God. In Judaism names for God include, Adonai, El-Elyon, El Shaddai, and Shekhinah.

BTW, Coptic Chistians, as opposed to Toxic Christians, being Arabic, also refer to God as Allah.

The three major Abrahamic faiths are monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, all share the same deity as their supreme being, by whatever name that deity is called.

Thanks for the theology lesson Paul, but you might guess that it was entirely unnecessary.

Although the three Abrahamic religions purportedly adhere to the same god, reading the books related to those gods (the Torah, the New Testament and the Koran) shows them to be very different entities.

My point was that your description of religion most closely resembles Allah and the Muslim faith.

Hmm,
Wasn't Israel's Messianic right popping champagne and celebrating the newly introduced death penalty for Palestinians today?
...Like that stopped them before.

Hi Trumpster,

Are you an avid reader of the Bible, Torah and Koran? My concern is not the religious text as such, that's open to very broad interpretation, but the influence that religion can have on people when it becomes all controlling, all consuming, and when its allowed to infiltrate the state. I believe society is threatened in many ways by the influence of religious extremism, that includes all three monotheistic religions. You see a danger in extreme Islam, and I agree there is such a danger, but both Christianity and Judaism taken to the extreme are also a danger to society, see that today as well. Should we concentrate on the extreme danger of one and ingnor the other two, or guard against all three?