Religion is evil when it's zealous and determined to conquer others, always motivated by hate. It hates those who disagree and will not conform. It shuns and speaks evil of all who refuse its legal standards. Make no mistake, hatred eventually surfaces everywhere you find evil religion. It cannot understand love. Evil religion sees love as weak and repulsive.
Religion that rejects love, rejects God, because "God is love" (1 John 4:8). To the contrary, evil religion is toxic. It poisons the minds of all who drink from its cup. It deceives those who hate others in the name of their god. Religion that's evil, like a contagious disease, forces its misery upon others.
Religion is evil when it controls people with a tormenting fear. It takes people hostage as slaves. It hates choice and freedom. It must strike fear into its victims or it loses power. However, the true and living God gives people choice. He makes people free through the power of love. "We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).
In the end, religion that's evil loses its power, when the power of God's love changes the hearts of people. Hatred has to flee in the face of God's love. Hatred controls people with fear. God's love gives people self-control. God's power through the Holy Spirit enables us to love everyone, even those who hate us. "If we love one another, God abides in us" (1 John 4:12).
