Does any of this sound a little familiar?
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w588/1p.460DawnsaNewErafortheIrish***From childhood the Irish have been taught that every religion in the world is opposed to their religion, that theirs is the only one having divine right to exist, that all other religions are merely tolerated and that they continue through the benevolent sufferance of the Catholic clergy. They are taught that Bible knowledge is not necessary for Christians, only a strict adherence to and belief in the church and its religious leaders is all-important. To keep their flocks from reading Bible literature the clergy tell their parishioners that it is communistic. This seems to frighten them sufficiently so they will not investigate for themselves.
Fear has a great hold on the people. People are afraid of what their neighbors, their friends, relatives and clergy might think if they were even so much as to read the Bible on their own. For centuries the clergy have dominated their lives, told them what they can read, To ask a sound religious question is a demonstration of lack of faith in God and the church, according to the clergy. As a result, the Irish people do very little independent thinking. They are victims of the clergy and fear; but freedom is in sight.
Could this be a case of "Monkey see, Monkey do" or the "Pot calling the Kettle black"?
ROCKHOUND