Agreed
Religious people don't have a monopoly for wanting to force their beliefs and attitudes on other people.
A vast understatement Tom, look at any of a hundred different historical trends. McCarthy, Marxism, Fascism, I continue for a very long time. Extremism is not confined to Religion, it runs throughout our history like a warped thread. Many of the worst conflicts in our past were brought on by extremists attempting to force the larger population to accept their singular view of how Society should be ordered.
However, the absolute bloodiest, most destructive and horror filled episodes were when both sides absolutely knew that “God is on Our side.†Northern Ireland is a good modern example, the current events in Sudan are another. Though Sudan’s problems began with an economic problem brought on by climate change and desertification it has evolved into a Religious matter. A convenient excuse for the powers that be in the country of course.
I have my own views of spiritual matters, I do not attempt to force them on anyone else. I won’t even discuss them most of the time. My personal opinion on this matter is my own, and I deeply resent being preached at. Which many have discovered to their astonishment when I inform them in no uncertain terms that I do not have any interest when they started “witnessing†to me.