Do naught onto others what you
would not have them do unto you.
What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary. This Golden Rule or the ethic of reciprocity is found in the scriptures of nearly every religion.
But, the greatest failure of organized religion is its historical inability to convince their followers that the Ethic of Reciprocity applies to all humans, not merely to fellow believers. Every single religions in this world religions stress that their membership must use their ethic of reciprocity when dealing with persons of other religions, the other gender, other races, other sexual orientations, etc.
But, Looking at all the cruel things happening now and then around us, I know most of us wonder and ask back the same question..
Has their religion failed them or have they failed their
David Keating says:
The question of whether its the religion or the religious who have failed is a good one.
Here's an online project that bypasses religion to focus attention on the Golden Rule/Ethic of Reciprocity as a guide for political decision making:
The Golden Rule Resolution