[Splendour]

Tpir says "Atheism promotes neither torture nor murder, regardless of what implicit ideals you try to draw from a disbelief in God."

Well religion certainly doesn't promote it.

Take a look at the Sermon on the Mount ..it has a turn your other cheek philosophy that Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. tried to put into action...I don't know any militant Buddhists...Its people and how they twist ideas...Its not the ideas themselves...That's why Hitler tried to write his own Bible, that's why some Communists try to stamp out religion. Ideas are powerful but it takes people to put them into action where they can be twisted and misapplied in accordance with the minds of the people applying the action. Try taking a look at Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge. He outlawed religion. Repressive regimes take whatever route appeals to them. Abuse/re-write religious ideas or stamp them out to create vacuums of powers so they can seize control. Plenty of repressive regimes hate churchs because they traditionally have served as sanctuarys for dissidents not unlike the role of embassies located in foreign lands. If you're a dictator you either want to control the minds/ideas of your people or stamp out any place your opponents might seek refuge.