For thousands of years, religions have offered people orientation, hope and support. But time and again, faith is also misused as a political tool. Wars and conflicts are fought under the guise of religion.
Rudolph Herzog analyzes how faith has been functionalized for worldly interests throughout history. In the Exodus narrative, the Israelites use the narrative of an all-powerful God to free themselves from slavery. Religious fanaticism leads to the persecution of witches in modern Europe. During European colonization of the American continent, faith served as a pretext for the oppression and murder of indigenous peoples. And in modern times, scientific findings shake the foundations of religion.
