Ah, but then this comes down to whether or not you believe in the validity of the religions to begin with. Couldn't you say those rules about killing heathens/heretics were just written by people who wanted to quiet dissent, keep others under their control, to gain power?
Um, I'm not sure why you're clarifying this; I never said anything to the contrary ~_~
In D&D, we respond to each other as well as the main topic.
In your statement about hegemony being fought today, you claimed I could not claim what I had. Sorry if I misinterpreted that part.
And the problem with religion isn't if I find validity in it, but if others do. I am not someone who follows things word for word, but there are those out there that interpret every passage as how life needs to be for all, and any resistance is seen as their divine evil working to ruin their lives. These people then froth at the mouth with demands that they want from the government and all others in order to force their own beliefs upon all others, despite the fact that in most places, we are free to choose what to believe and what not to believe.
These fanatics are what make it necessary to limit the amount of control any religion has over society. The best example I can think of how not having control will hurt society deals with my home state, Ohio. You see, right now in Ohio, a few Senators are trying, with the backing of many Christian and Catholic Churches, to pass an act that they call the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. What this bill would allow is the completely freedom to discriminate against people using religion as the sole reason. I could be fired simply because I have found love with another man. I could be harassed simply because I do not find women appealing. I could be beaten and left to die, simply because some religious text says so. And it is not just me, but anyone who has opposing views from those who are against their religion. Acts like these are nothing more than a way to legalize unabashed, unintelligent hatred towards anyone who does not follow your creeds and/or tenants.
Look at the situation in Russia, where the Orthodox Church has control. Putin can claim all he wants that the recent laws against "non-traditional" sex is not religious in nature, and that he is trying to protect children, but in the end, his arguments fall short of the truth. In places where religion is not restrained by laws, the dissent and hatred is almost palpable. Look at Pakistan and Israel. Two religions clash on a daily basis, and neither government is willing to demand restraint. There are many other factors to their long standing conflict, no doubt, but the biggest one is the difference in religion.
Long before technology, yes, the laws in the religious texts might have had something to do with controlling dissenters, but today, when that control is no longer possible, those that try to enforce the old laws do so simply because they believe it is what their deity wants.