What is wrong about doing too much religion?

The commandment against excess is one of the Ten Commandments. It doesn’t refer to the important issue of perjury, or to the trivial issue of profanity. Perjury is prohibited in the ninth Commandment and profanity by itself isn’t serious enough to be placed in the Ten Commandments. This commandment refers to the great harm done to religion, and too God’s reputation, when religious people do despicable deeds in God’s name. The burning of witches, the Inquisition and Jihad suicide bombers are examples of the misuse of God’s name in religion. This commandment warns religious people that, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” (Pascal)

All religions condemn hypocrisy. But condemnation of religious fanaticism and extremism as hypocrisies is much less frequent. Yet Rabbi Isaac condemned the extremism of self-imposed abstinence saying, “Aren’t the things prohibited by the Torah enough for you, that you wish to prohibit yourself additional things?” And Prophet Muhammad told Muslims, “Religion is very easy, whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So do not be extremists, but try (only) to approach perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded (just for that).”

If self-imposed extremism is condemned, how much more the extremism that hurts others. Indeed, all disgraceful activities by religious people reflect negatively on their religion and on God. In Judaism this is called Hillul Hashem- profaning God’s name/reputation. In recent years religious riots in India, the slaughter of innocent Muslims at prayer by an Orthodox Jew, Muslim suicide bombers, and the molestation of young boys by Catholic Priests have all made religion seem valueless and brought disgrace upon organized religion’s reputation. A Hassidic Rabbi (Michael) taught, “When the Evil Urge tries to tempt people to sin, it tempts them to become super-righteous.”

God tells us that such activity must not be covered up or sanitized by believers. It must be vigorously and publicly condemned since it undermines the very ability of religion to influence people to live according to God’s directives. People know that sometimes religious people can do dastardly things. But when piety influences religious leaders to attempt to rationalize, sanitize, or cover up, rather than to publicly condemn these activities, people will increasingly reject organized religion and God. A religious piety that does not require morality and kindness is valueless and hypocritical, and thus as serious a sin as worshiping other Gods or idols, the two previous commandments.

Fanatics believe the ends justify the means, thus subordinating God’s goal to their goal. Extremists believe that more is always better. To them the Talmud says, “If you grasp to much, you don’t grasp anything.” Our Rabbinic sages extended the prohibition of misusing God’s name even to taking unnecessary oaths i.e. not required by a court, and making unnecessary blessings i.e. not required by Jewish law. Personal piety and sincerity do not justify excessive behavior even if self-limited. People should not misuse their piety by going beyond normal community limits and justify it in God’s name.

Thus the Torah commands us: ‘DO NOT MAKE VALUELESS THE NAME OF ADONAI YOUR GOD, FOR ADONAI WILL NOT SANITIZE ONE WHO MAKES HIS NAME VALUELESS.’ (Exodus 20:7 and Deuteronomy 5:11)