Men Behaving Badly: Leaders Who Play The Religious Card

In this episode, we delve into the all-too-frequent exploitation by some leaders and regimes of religious narratives to justify their ideologies, control populations and bolster their power. Taking an editorial approach in which we don't hold back from expressing our opinions, we examine historical and contemporary examples to understand the nature of how state power becomes mixed with religious dogma, revealing the detrimental effects on human rights and democracy, as well as the manipulation and misrepresentation of religious teachings to justify wars. As always, we invite listeners to nurture positive change with our focused intentions and prayers. If you wish, you can go straight to this guided time of prayer and intention sending, and join with us in sending energy at: 41 minutes. Suggested Intention Focus for this week This week, as we consider the abuse and exploitation of religion to justify personal power and political ideology, we suggest holding as our main intention: We will that there will be a movement of compassion, realism and integrity in the hearts and minds of those who might justify war on the basis of the perceived religious rights of their nation or people. Please join us in holding this. Mentioned in this episode: Listen to our episode, ‘Unmasking the Global Authenticity Crisis,’ at https://www.heartfulimpact.com/e/unmasking-the-global-authenticity-crisis/. Listen to our episode, ‘Unpacking Narcissism: The Leaders Among Us,’ at https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-3645z-18c9ad9. Chapter markers: 00:00:00            Introduction 00:01:33            Tyrants and Religion 00:06:48            Contemporary Examples 00:08:38            Religious Justifications in Conflict 00:13:26            Misinterpretations of Faith 00:19:31            Political Use of Religion 00:26:56            Consequences of Religious Exploitation 00:37:57            Gender and Religious Authority 00:41:00            Intentions and Prayers Sources referenced in this episode: https://adamah.media/immoral-pursuits/ https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/AD1023006.pdf https://hub.edubirdie.com/examples/how-religion-became-a-powerful-weapon-for-the-ruling-class/ https://iep.utm.edu/rel-poli/ https://interminablerambling.com/2024/02/21/christianity-and-the-manipulation-of-power/ https://newint.org/features/2018/12/17/debate-should-religion-play-role-politics https://news.ku.dk/all_news/2023/04/religion-blocks-freedom-and-democracy-across-the-globe/ 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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656616301313 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0047117821999434?icid=int.sj-full-text.similar-articles.4 https://oxfordre.com/religion/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-409?d=%2F10.1093%2Facrefore%2F9780199340378.001.0001%2Facrefore-9780199340378-e-409&p=emailAMKP9gQBfcHbE https://www.policyarchive.org/download/6471 https://www.aei.org/articles/faith-doubt-and-u-s-foreign-policy/ https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/2016-7-7-promoting-religious-freedom-from-the-oval-office/ https://cup.columbia.edu/book/religion-and-the-american-presidency/9780231143325 https://ecerkva.com/en/articles/world/1361-what-is-trump-s-religion-a-critical-look-at-his-faith-and-motivations https://www.youngfabians.org.uk/god_save_the_king_the_rise_of_christian_nationalism_in_british_politics https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/blog/why-the-church-should-take-the-rise-in-far-right-rhetoric-seriously 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https://www.setav.org/en/opinion/who-is-responsible-for-theological-drift-netanyahu-or-west https://alquds.com/en/posts/137138 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0r1xl5wgnko https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/iran-and-israel-couple-odds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quds_Day https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/3896438 https://ict.org.il/irans-quds-day-a-manifest-of-animosity/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-rare-sermon-irans-khamenei-hails-oct-7-attack-claims-israel-wont-last-long/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BlTjiddHeU https://www.stimson.org/2024/iran-tempers-rejectionism-to-muslim-consensus-on-palestine/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Israel_relations https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjil/vol19/iss1/3/ https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/faculty-articles/202/ https://ecfr.eu/article/iran-hamas-and-islamic-jihad-a-marriage-of-convenience/ https://www.stimson.org/2023/what-drives-israel-iran-hostility-how-might-it-be-resolved/ https://www.adl.org/resources/news/irans-leadership-their-own-words https://cris.brighton.ac.uk/ws/files/31126506/JASPAL_antisemitism_antizionism_FINAL.pdf https://amwaj.media/article/how-the-clergy-in-iran-view-the-israel-palestine-conflict https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2048843 https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Courses/Mizzou_Academy/AP_Comparative_Government_and_Politics/07:_Political_Identity_-_Nationalism_Religion_Class/7.05:_Comparative_Case_Study_-_Israel_and_Iran_-_The_Intersection_of_Politics_and_Identity https://www.adl.org/resources/article/escalation-between-israel-iranian-regime-sparks-vicious-antisemitic-anti-israel https://iranwire.com/en/politics/134911-how-irans-palestine-policy-backfired-at-home/ https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/46477 https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2023/11/27/the-real-reason-iran-hates-israel/ https://jcpa.org/article/20-threats-iranian-leaders-made-in-2013/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/irans-efforts-to-annihilate-israel-justify-offensive-saar-tells-un-security-council/ https://kantorer.com/2025/06/17/unpacking-irans-rhetoric-against-israel/ https://amwaj.media/article/hamas-israel-war-highlights-divergent-views-among-iranian-clerics https://www.jpost.com/christianworld/article-698136 https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/ganji-khamenei-israel/ https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-real-reason-iran-hates-israel-anti-semitism-gaza-4f7ad96e https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b1egvtdwyl https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/16/middleeast/israel-operation-iran-regime-change-netanyahu-intl https://www.inss.org.il/publication/israel-uae-deal-and-islam/ https://www.972mag.com/with-new-laws-netanyahu-is-hijacking-judaism-as-we-know-it/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/haredim-slam-netanyahu-for-heresy-against-god-in-ukraine-comment-mk-blasts-zionism/ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/netanyahu-frequently-makes-claims-of-antisemitism-critics-say-hes-deflecting-blame https://www.news18.com/world/those-who-bless-israel-tucker-carlson-ted-cruz-clash-as-latter-defends-us-support-citing-bible-ws-l-9394238.html https://www.perplexity.ai/search/which-polish-politician-said-t-3EKsY584SUWBSHUp8Pe8Nw Join us in person for intention holding:   https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/events-1 Labyrinth Activist Network Zoom calls   https://insighttimer.com/cliverj Daily intention holding with Clive on Insight Timer.   Our websites:    www.heartfulimpact.com/   Our show website.   https://globalhealingresponse.com/ Global Healing Response ~ Offers a wealth of prayers, suggested practices and prompts in response to environmental catastrophe, conflict, and other world events.   https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/ Legacy Labyrinth Project ~ Creating global energetic connections through the labyrinth; inspiring active intention sending using the labyrinth via labyrinth activism.   https://www.clivejohnsonministry.com/ Clive Johnson Ministry ~ Events and 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