http://www.npr.org/2012/12/13/167084550/from-gang-member-to-hip-hop-church-leader
While I was listening to this story, and their favorable comparison of churches as an alternative to gangs, I couldn’t help but think of the analogy a little more deeply.
It seems to me that when one looks at the current state of religion around the world, the comparison is more and more apt: like gangs, fundamentalist and extremist religions operate by creating a sense of community that fuses people together by exploiting a fear and hatred of the “other.”
Bloods, Crips, Sharks – same thing as extremist Christians, Muslims, Jews. The dynamics at play are pretty much identical, as is the violence.
Funny how they didn’t mention this in the story.
