Have you ever thought about the negative aspects of faith-based behavior? As I researched and wrote “The Witch of Amesbury,” about my ancestor, Susannah Martin, who was hanged as a witch at Salem, I began to see religion in a different light.

Around that time, Islamic terrorists praised Allah, as they flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. You can't watch the news without hearing further examples of how religion divides humanity and contributes to human suffering.

Scott Roeder, who murdered Dr. George Tiller in his church because he performed abortions; Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who opened fire, killing 12 soldiers and wounding 31 others at Fort Hood; the 9/11 terrorists who flew planes into buildings killing 2,976 people; those at Salem Village who convicted my ancestor Susannah Martin of witchcraft and hanged her--what did they all have in common? They were religiously inspired murderers--people motivated to kill by their faith.

Recently, I read another story about a Baraboo man, accused of repeatedly shocking a male dance instructor with a stun gun, claiming the instructor was a “sinner” who “defiles married women.” The man told a detective that his church does not condone touching while dancing and that he was going to scare the instructor “and tell him to leave the women alone.”

Marvin Martin

Kenosha