In the early 2000s, a group of authors known as the “new atheists” published harsh critiques of religion. One of their central arguments was that religious people often act immorally in the name of their faith. These authors brought multiple examples of religious violence, such as suicide bombings, the Inquisition, “religious” wars, witch hunts, and the persecution of gays. If religion can foster violence, they ask, what value does it have?
What makes this criticism particularly biting is that it reflects a well-known reality. There are religious fanatics who give their own religions a bad name. The Talmud discusses the chasid shoteh, or “the pious fool,” who ignores a drowning child to avoid removing his tefillin. The chasid shoteh is so fixated on serving God that they can’t hear the cries of their fellow man.
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