If tyrants can invoke religion – persuading people that it is their faith, their values and their God that are under attack – it becomes more powerful still, since religion evokes our most self-sacrificial instincts. The classic instance is antisemitism, and where you find it at its most virulent, there you will find despotism and denial of human rights. The murder of Jews is only one result. The real victims are the members of the host society itself. The hate that begins with Jews never ends with them. No free society was ever built on hate.
