To the editor:

Amid the rash of recent controversies, liberal-minded religious leaders — including an interfaith gathering in Lawrence on Sept. 11 — have come forward to decry the religious intolerance and anger which afflict us. As it happens, those vaguely defined, general complaints are symptomatic of specific “pathogens” endemic in religious communities, which deserve specific mention.

First is the doctrine of eternal punishment and reward, hell and heaven. If we could eradicate that one pernicious, tolerance-killing mental virus from our religious discourse, most of the fever that drives faith-based hatred would cool off and vanish with it.

Other religious ideas and habits that foster ignorance, hatred, abuse, moral hypocrisy and intolerance are, to name but a few: original sin, vicarious atonement, divine retribution, holy war and martyrdom, subordination/subjugation of women, body mutilation and sexual shame, indoctrination of children, designating places and objects as “sacred” and promoting superstition while ignoring or denying science

If liberal clergy of many faiths would specifically, collectively repudiate such dehumanizing, well-poisoning traditions, not just in their private conversations but in clear, forceful, routine and public sermons, we might move far towards curing the disease of religious bigotry. What their faiths would look like at the end of this therapy would be interesting to discover. Some might need a longer recovery period than others, with more intensive treatment.