It's the will of God. Missionaries of numerous diverse and conflicting religious persuasions continue to proselytize in Africa as well as in the United States. Their methods may be somewhat different from those of the past 500 years, but the end results are the same-subjugation of intellect to concepts of divinity. In efforts to clarify life's ethical code, religions have only succeeded in division and separation. Each particular sect uses its own man-made rituals, scriptures and formal theology.
Cultural variations exist and divisions are frequently made along racial and socio-economic lines.
Instead of building a philosophy based on humanity's relationship to fellow human beings and the world, religion stresses mankind's obligation to an unknown and unproved deity. By citing God as authority, religion can prove anything it sets out to prove. It is simply a matter of selecting proper conditions and then insisting that suppositions are divinely inspired. While mistakes of the past cannot be undone, repeat occurrences can be prevented with faith in our earthly future and the belief that the highest goal for human endeavor is to strive for a better world for all. Since discovering we need no cover of sacredness over our lives, we live quite well without clerical authority and a deity.