An Amish sect leader has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for attacking fellow Amish, kidnapping them and cutting off their hair and beards. The Amish have a reputation for being quiet, law-abiding country folk, happy in their 18th Century lifestyle. Apparently, this is not true. They are subject to the same weird, irrational and uncivilized behavior that seems to be common with the extremist ends of all religions.

It’s true that a nutcase will be a nutcase whether or not there are religions. The human mind is astonishingly strange. But religions seem to attract extremists, who all too often are protected in the very names of their religions.

All Epicureans can do is to promote reason and moderation and hope that one day the intelligent and reasonable wings of some of these sects migrate to espouse Epicureanism, Humanism, Buddism, boring old Anglicanism, anything rather than exclusivity, intolerance and irrationality.