[dangus]

>> Religion also gives one a ready-made justification for the slaughter of "non-believers" -- "God said it's alright because they're doomed anyway."

Well, first off, except for some Calvinists, Christians explicitly reject the "they're all doomed anyway" belief. Secondly, even a Calvinist would say that they cannot, since that is God's role.

[Junior]

Except the history of Christianity paints a different picture. Heretics had to be destroyed lest their ideas infect the body of the Church; infidels had to be destroyed as they profaned God; witches had to be destroyed because the Bible specifically said, "suffer not a witch to live;" Jews had to be killed because they killed Christ. All those people were doomed in God's eyes, and it was the duty of God's chosen on Earth to fulfill God's will.