The League of Iowa
Human & Civil Rights Agencies

One of the questions that Sheryl and I get most often when we give lectures about our new book, Half the Sky, is a variant of: Is religion the real problem? My own take is that religion has often been part of the problem, but that it also can be part of the solution. I’ve seen people kill in the name of religion, and I’ve seen people reject condoms in the name of religion even as a tool for fighting AIDS (which usually means people dying). But I’ve also seen Catholic nuns showing unbelievable courage and compassion in corners of the world where no other aid workers are around, and mission clinics and church-financed schools too numerous to mention. And in Islamic countries, I’ve seen mullahs who are hypocritical misogynists but also some imams who are leading a push for education and justice. In short, I don’t think there’s any glib answer to the question, but there is no question that religions can be a force for justice and equality that they are now not.

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