Cultures that Engage in Modern-day Human Sacrifice

Most of us learned about the gruesome practice of human sacrifice in middle school (or maybe through an Indiana Jones movie). The Mayans cut the beating hearts out of their victims to win favors with the Gods. The God of Israel asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. The Chimu tribe sacrificed 140 children in one ritual to appease the God of the sea. The Inca sacrificed children to the Sun God, Inti, with the hope of avoiding volcanic eruptions.

We baffle at the logic and convictions that led entire societies to engage repeatedly in such gruesome and unnatural rituals. How could people move about their daily routines intertwined with such wanton acts of violence? Human sacrifice always seemed to be a relic of dark minded (and skinned), ignorant indigenous people. Hollywood (and even Academia) caricatured these societies to the point where reflection and learning are limited. The only lesson to learn is that we are so much further evolved and civilized — right?

And yet, there are modern-day versions of child and human sacrifice that are endemic to our way of life. Just as we judge the ancients for their ignorance, they could very well judge us for our callous indifference and mindless allegiance to made up Gods that feed on human blood.