Why religion matters – how religion can hurt

It turns out the June 14 fatal roadside toddler beating near Modesto, Calif. was a man killing his own son.

Why?

To “get the demons out.”

“He wasn't acting like a crazy person, running around or screaming,” witness Lisa Mota said. “He said, ‘I’ve just got to get the demons out of him.’ He was very calm.”

Even if he was drunk, high, or had mental illness of some sort, those contributing factors were working on a “base” of fundamentalist religious belief.