Ignorance run wild

So I'm looking at the front page of Memeorandum and I spot an article entitled "The Majority of Muslims Who Attend Mosque Weekly Feel Torturing For Their Cause Is Just**". I click through even though it is a Huffington Post article because the title intrigues me and right in the first paragraph I find:

After all, religion, organized religion, has tried to oppress me, as a gay man, as well as all women throughout the world, for years. And more people died during the 300 year Inquisition in the Name of the Lord, the Crusades or the Salem Witch Hunts than in both world wars. Now, it's time America wake up to the fact that Christians in this country have become just as radicalized (albeit in other ways) as those who pervert Islam (or insert religion here) elsewhere.

Just not true, I mean at first I just thought it didn't look right, but then I looked it up. The highest estimate I could find for deaths from the Crusades was 2,000,000. From the Spanish Inquisition 125,000 and we know the Salem Witch Trials killed 25. Nowhere close to the 70,000,000 killed in WWI and WWII (even splitting them it still isn't close.) But that isn't all. The author goes on to say:

The real headline is "Majority of Christians That Attend Church Weekly Feel Torturing For Their Cause is Just." A majority of those in the survey that identify as Christian or Catholic are, in fact, not in line with America's values and ideals in the 21st Century (or 19th, for that matter) with their stance on torture. According to a new study from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life more Catholics and Evangelical Protestants, more good, God-fearing, church-going pious Americans think torture at some times or some point is acceptable. Those that find torture unacceptable (or "rarely") are in the minority: 42% of Catholics (can you say Inquisition?) and 49% of Protestants.

This is also incorrect as this Gallup poll shows:

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll finds 51% of Americans in favor and 42% opposed to an investigation into the use of harsh interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects during the Bush administration. At the same time, 55% of Americans believe in retrospect that the use of the interrogation techniques was justified, while only 36% say it was not. Notably, a majority of those following the news about this matter "very closely" oppose an investigation and think the methods were justified.

So apparently the enhanced interrogations are in line with the beliefs of most Americans. What the author really means is most liberals and he can't fathom that most Americans don't identify themselves as liberal.

After that you can basically just ignore the author. He hates religion and is using this thin reed too try and bring people to his cause.

Probably not gonna happen.