Human nature becomes blighted when human consciousness is immoderately directed by a mind that seizes with pincer-like devotion on a fantasy of a higher order commanding humankind to obey and to fashion their lives in the service of a feverishly-imagined directive. For want of a better word - and it is good enough as it is - it is called fanaticism.

Both humbly-confused minds and the minds of psychopaths embrace the fanatic. It gives order and purpose to their lives.

During the time of the Spanish and Portuguese conquests the Aztecs and the Incas suffered the looting of their religion and their natural resources. The Conquistadors ravaged what they felt to be savage minds to instill Christ in their consciousness, while reaping the benefits of gold in whatever form it was manipulated into representing to take back to their regents.

The brutality of the native live sacrifices was no more unspeakable, and perhaps less so, than the vicious brutalities of of their conquerors.

In 17th and 18th Century Canada, French Roman Catholic missionaries sought, as they did all over the world, to convert the savages that lived there from their nativist faith to a life steeped in the worship of Christ. To quote Pierre Berton:

"It is not easy for the 20th Century mind to come to terms with Isaac Jogue's zeal for martyrdom. To others of his faith, death by torture in the name of their God was certainly an occupational hazard. To Jogues it was much more: it was a dream to be cherished, a goal to be fulfilled, a sublime climax to a life of sacrifice."

These passionate missionaries sought to convert, to bring to Christ the people who lived in far distant places, and in Canada, it was the First Nations who were their targets. They wished them no harm, but brought great harm to them in the form of diseases they had never been exposed to before the entrance of the White Man. The Indians learned to dread the presence of the Black Robes.

A similar, but far more malign and sinister conversion mission is now taking place throughout the world. It is Islam that is once again on the march, seeking to conquer and take the world community by storm. Their stormtroopers are the infidel-detesting fanatical jihadists like al-Qaeda who see no value in permitting non-Muslims occupy this Earth, and little interest in sparing the lives of co-religionists who are not sufficiently dedicated to fundamentalist Islam.

They aspire to rule, to bring to the fore through conquest, their vision of a version of Islam that holds no brief for accommodation and acceptance and co-operation, for they believe that all other religious beliefs are an affront to Islam, and have no right to exist. Those who will not convert and accept and submit themselves wholly to this distinctly fanatical Islam have no right to exist.

The threat that religious domination of society poses, sparing no compassion on those who are differently aligned, as evidenced by the millennias-long persecution of that stubbornly faithful world minority worshipping Judaism, a case in point. Ideally religious belief should bring humankind closer to the virtues of patience, understanding, acceptance and interest in a pluralist society.

Those of the various faiths who find it in themselves to be accepting and respectful of others, think of themselves as reflecting godly virtues. Those who may represent a minority portion, believe themselves to be far better servants of their gods when they pursue what they believe to be, from parsing their holy scriptures, godly commands.