Firstly, I would just like to say that I come from a strong religious background and used to be religious myself. However, based on all the things I know about science now, questioning my faith, realizing how somethings are just possible, etc I have begun to transition into a more secular world view.
The idea of a creator god and/or religion concepts seems like a good idea and even comforting at times but the reason will no longer allow me to succumb to supernatural ideas.
Furthermore, a lot of evil stuff in history has happened in the name of religion which could have been prevented had those people who committed those horrific acts not believed so strongly that what they are were doing in the name of supernatural (magical thinking) premises.
Also, no one needs religion or a belief in God to be a good person. All these needs is a simple thing called "empathy" which is biologically inherent in most human beings, as well as a good environment, upbringing, and education; not some outdated ideal.
What do you think?
The unexamined thought is not worth thinking.
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Arguments
Meant to say "Just not possible."
The unexamined thought is not worth thinking.
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Being religious is completely voluntary.
And still, not one time, has God, Jesus, or Religion in general, ever been found guilty for the crimes that the inhumane humans, have committed against other humans, for humans hurting others in the names of their selfish selves.
Some humans, seem to have an identity problem, and hide behind Religion to give themselves a scapegoat, to make excuses for their inhumane actions, or committed crimes.
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In the hypothetical history where religion has never existed, the ideological vacuum would be filled by other, non-religious ideologies and philosophies. Instead of believing in gods, people could, say, believe in certain philosophical principles, in their view, absolute in this Universe.
We would not have Zoroastrianism or Islam, but we would have, say, various forms of communism or nihilism. Without religion, our history probably would not have been much different. The details would change, the general events and trends would not.
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Do we need religion nowadays? The answer is the same: religion is people's response to a certain demand. We may do without religion, but it does not mean that the vacuum will not be filled by something similar in nature.
When the demand goes away, then religion will go away. Until then, any attempt to remove religion from our world will result in substitution of apples with pears, with the same outcome for most parties involved.
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So yes, the world would be a better place without religions...
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"Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions." Blaise Pascal
"Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things, but for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." Steven weinberg
"The truths of religion are never so well understood as by those who have lost the power to reason." Voltaire"
"Religious bondage shackles the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded prospect." James Madison
Society will vote, and act, to protect themselves, family, friends. The vast majority will always go the "humane way" … unless they are driven by religious convictions, then, it's "Katy bar the door" as the old saying goes. Society must make the rules, not the ones Thomas Pain referred to when he said:
"Belief in a cruel god makes a cruel man!"
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What's worse is that you also have people with the mentality akin to cultism that take this fantasy idea to extremes and commit horrific acts all in the name of religion or for want of a better term - in the name of their delusions.
And yes I agree a lot of evil has occurred in the name of communism as well as of fascism - both totalitarian extremes of the left and right. However, I think far more evil has occurred throughout history as a result of extreme versions of all different kinds of religion than of anything else.
Lastly, no one is debating about how religion came about or why some people might still become religious even today. What we are arguing is that it is now known that religion is no longer of any use in the quest for the truth about ourselves and our world which we live in, nor is it a prerequisite for human decency. It is now modern science based on empirical and objective evidence that fills the void in place of religion and/or cultism; plus I believe more and more people will become less religious as times moves on; they already are.
The unexamined thought is not worth thinking.
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I wonder why this lack of substantial, and conscious effort, for protesting religion, in real life, exists like it does?
The world would be a better place, without terrorism doing what it does?
It would be a better place, without human rights violations?
It would be a better place, without the gun violence brutalities, that some humans keep waging against their innocent victim's?
It would be a better place, without some of man's self created drug addictions being in a sense pandered to, thus affecting the lives of the others around them?
It would be a better place, if say adoption was maybe utilized more than say abortion was utilized?
The world would be a better place if some self exercised some self discipline, integrity, courtesy, self respect, respect, and some more social community practices, towards themselves, and others, and helped one another overall with some positive, and constructive ideals, the world could be a better place?
But maybe some of the current generation of humans, aren't quite ready to embrace the above basic ideals, and that awareness, could be embraced down the road in another say, 30-50 years from now, or maybe even in another century?
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I agree with several things TKDB says above, but, they will not come about with weapons of war, even the ones in book or scroll form. They will only come about with intelligence, science, common sense and humane thinking.
How many religious buildings in the U.S. and Europe have been destroyed, or centers of human destruction in the last few years? It's not because the perpetrators were all "non-believers", it was because they had a different belief, or it was because they hated another race OR religion, or both. Paraphrasing Ronald Reagan: Religion isn't the answer, religion is part of the problem.
When I was last in Europe, they were turning some large cathedrals and churches into condos. To me that's akin to turning swords into plowshares! They aren't suppose to be houses of hate, but, they often are, OR are targets for the haters. I think we could all get along better if we removed some of the sources of hatred. The ones that don't MEAN to be, the ones that can't seem to help it because of a passionate belief. The religions.
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