Elton John: "Religion Encourages Hatred"

MattShizzle
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Elton John: "Religion Encourages Hatred"

Elton John: Religion Encourages Hatred
By Associated Press
Sat Nov 11, 7:00 PM

LONDON - Organized religion fuels anti-gay discrimination and other forms of bias, pop star Elton John said in an interview published Saturday.

"I think religion has always tried to turn hatred toward gay people," John said in the Observer newspaper's Music Monthly Magazine. "Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays."

"But there are so many people I know who are gay and love their religion," he said. "From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organized religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate."

John also criticized religious leaders for failing to do anything about conflicts around the world.

"Why aren't they having a conclave? Why aren't they coming together?"

John said those in his own field have been similarly lax.

"It's like the peace movement in the '60s. Musicians got through to people by getting out there and doing peace concerts, but we don't seem to do them any more," he said. "If John Lennon were alive today, he'd be leading it with a vengeance."

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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neon
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He is spot on about a lot of

He is spot on about a lot of that.

There was a big fight on Democratic Underground tonight as to whether he was going too far. I don't think he was, but you'd think he'd announced elves live on the moon, instead of a well-known and regrettable problem.

Sad


Randalllord
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Ellen Johnson to be on

Ellen Johnson to be on O'Riley Factor tonight.

http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/aamedia.htm

She'll be talking about Elton John's recent remarks about "banning
religion".

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. - Seneca


MattShizzle
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You know it's gonna be a

You know it's gonna be a hostile forum. Bill O'Lielly usually barely lets anyone with an opposing viewpoint get a word in.

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Christen
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Quote:It turns people into

Quote:
"It turns people into really hateful lemmings..."

Very true.