Do you have annoying friends who try to argue there’s no harm in superstitious beliefs? If they have kids, you may want to send them to this article on BBCNews detailing how human sacrifices, particularly of young children, are on the increase. As prosperity increases in Uganda, witch doctors are making a killing (pun intended) from gullible idiots who hope to increase their own fortune with some black magic.

There’s a whole racket of witch doctors, and as more money flows into their coffers, desperate people are kidnapping kids to have them killed in elaborate rituals. One former witch doctor claimed to have sacrificed over 70 people (including his own son), although he now works to persuade others to stop this cruel and barbaric practice. I guess he’s too important to the movement to jail, which only shows how seriously messed up this whole situation is.

We live in a privileged time in history; such primitive and dangerous superstitions cause many of us to feel shame and disgust. Sadly, this cannot be said for everyone. Though not all superstitions are as deadly, our failure to defend the virtues of skepticism and scientific inquiry in Africa (a continent saturated by religiosity) has made this region a terrible and frightening place to live.