Buddha

 “Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. "  

- Buddha

"..but test all things. Hold fast to what is good. " 

- 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Tony Benn, on religion:

'For Jesus was a prophet, like Amos and Hosea and many before him, and thought of in this way he is a very meaningful figure in the world in which we live today.

What Jesus said is that we are all brothers and sisters and should love one another as neighbours.  As I have got older I have come to realise that is exactly what all the major religions teach: treat other people as you wanted to be treated yourself – the Golden Rule.

In the Talmud, Judaism tells us, 'What is hateful to you do not to your fellow men.  That is the entire law and all the rest is commentary.'

'For Muslims, the Sunnah says, with equal force, 'No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself'

Buddhism teaches – 'Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful'

This teaching is of crucial importance in the world today but unfortunately the structure of religions have replaced the message, and these structures produce their own kings.  We should stick to the teachings and be careful of those who claim the right to interpret them in order to acquire control for themselves'.

The Scapegoat

 According to the French philosopher, Rene Girard, "new atheists and rationalists are dead wrong in describing religion as an ignorant archaic phenomenon. Religion is how we have contained violence and desire since the beginning of time and thus created civilization. Therefore we need religion to counter the scapegoat mechanism, perhaps even more so today in our interconnected world where tribal boundaries can no longer protect us from the possibility of existential armageddon."

https://parallax-media.eu/andrew-sweeny/ren-girard-tantra-and-the-scapegoat-mechanism-d9yr4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTdvSnj5LBk