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THE BLUENESS OF A WOUND CLENSETH AWAY EVIL.
Marc Ambinder Chris Good points to this Pew Study showing that weekly Church-goers are more likely to approve of torture. Fifty-four percent of weekly churchgoers believe that torture is sometimes or often justified, which honestly isn't that much higher than the number of Americans overall, which is 49% to 47% who say it can rarely or never be justified. White evangelical protestants are the most likely, at 62%, to believe that torture is often or sometimes justified.
I feel like I should be making some smart remark about how Jesus was tortured, but I'm really too horrified. Of course, that won't stop me from pointing out the obvious: there is a large number of people committed to preventing consenting adults from having sex or getting married because of their sexual orientation who nevertheless think it's okay to beat or waterboard people and shove them in tiny boxes.
-- A. Serwer
COMMENTS (10)
That is flatly appalling. I want to ask what is wrong with their religion that it would provide this outcome but that is confusing correlation with causality.
So, I guess I will just ask, what is wrong with these people?
Posted by: Something The Dog Said | April 30, 2009 5:01 PM
Actually that's Chris Good ... I found this out the hard way when I emailed Marc about something appearing on that blog. Update your RSS reader :)
Posted by: Nicholas Beaudrot | April 30, 2009 5:02 PM
It makes a lot more sense when one considers how much religions compete for market share, I suspect, given that we assume that most of those tortured are Muslim.
Posted by: latts | April 30, 2009 5:27 PM
Wow, praise the lord and pass the fiji. According to condi its ok if the born again prez says its ok. A-mazing!!!. To be fair, the linked post should be read entirely. Without more subtext its difficult to asses..... ah wtf. Maybe there should be a hell.
Posted by: red | April 30, 2009 5:39 PM
Your last example's a bit silly: their part and parcel is exposure of, degradation of, and removal of, the Other. So I would expect that some people wouldn't think there to be any difference between torture of others and denial of recognition of marriage of others.
Posted by: Cotter | April 30, 2009 5:41 PM
What percentage of synagogue goers support the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people? What percentage have given money to further that genocide? What is your position on that genocide, Mr. Serwer?
Posted by: Tortured Goy | April 30, 2009 10:33 PM
I'm constrained to point out that torture is built into the fundamentalist Christian belief system...after all, aren't sinners doomed to everlasting torment after death?
It's really not such a huge conceptual leap between the acceptance of eternity-long torture for sinners, and the acceptance of torture for those identified as sinners in the here and now.
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