Elton John May Be Right

Enlarge By Ryan Remiorz, AP Singer Elton John performs during his concert at the Bell Center in Montreal, Saturday. In an interview in Music Monthly magazine John was quoted as saying that organized religion turns people into really hateful lemmings.I fight religiosity. I fall into easily when i forget about Jesus and try to live the way I think I should live. Jesus despised sin, but loved the sinners. I am convinced the only way for me to serve God is to love others. I need to let the Holy Spirit provide conviction, God to provide redemption and Jesus to provide the example.Still working this out,Shari

LONDON (AP) — Organized religion fuels anti-gay discrimination and other forms of bias, pop star Elton John said in an interview published Saturday.

“I think religion has always tried to turn hatred toward gay people,” John said in the Observer newspaper’s Music Monthly magazine. “Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays.”

“But there are so many people I know who are gay and love their religion,” he said. “From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organized religion doesn’t seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it’s not really compassionate.”

John also criticized religious leaders for failing to do anything about conflicts around the world.

“Why aren’t they having a conclave? Why aren’t they coming together?”

John said those in his own field have been similarly lax.

“It’s like the peace movement in the ’60s. Musicians got through to people by getting out there and doing peace concerts, but we don’t seem to do them any more,” he said. “If John Lennon were alive today, he’d be leading it with a vengeance.”