Religion, Good or Bad?

[Seshephe]

Irrationality, superstition and stupidity are human.

^
We should strive to get rid of as much institutionalised superstition as possible. Religion is good when it's good and bad when it's bad. Most of the time I think that it's neutral in terms of bad or good. But there's a need for some of the things that it does well that secular society needs to be able to fill.

[Divair]

Neither inherently, as much as I disagree with the view that we should believe in the existence of deities.

[Jetan]

Religion cannot be categorised as either or, really. It is misguided, and often causes much suffering and problems, but it can also cause good in the form of charities for example.

Edit: Actually, scratch that. It's bad. The bad it has done far outweights the good.

You are now saying praising our creator is bad. If it were not for God we would not be be here to talk about this.

If it where not for god you would not have been born.

Bullshit. I don't owe my existence to some magical space fairy playing house with the world.

[Estado Paulista]

Except if you're Chinese. Opium is the opium of the Chinese people.

I'm sorry, opium is a metaphor in this case.

Really? Oh God, you must not be serious. I don't know what I'll do with my life now that I know this...

[Neragua]

Here we go again: the unanswerable question.

On an organised, international scale, probably bad. On a small, community-wide, interpersonal scale, probably good.

No doubt religion helps some people get through difficult times and overcome certain circumstances. However, when it's used as a tool to enforce conformity, it's a dangerous thing.

[New Socialist South Africa]

Hello everyone!! This is my first time posting a thread, and wanted to ask. What would the world look like without religion?

This is purely personal opinion.
If you make a statement (e.g. Religion is good) please make a reason and why its good (e.g. Religion is good, because...)
Try too keep this civilised and provide evidence of your beliefs.
Don't repeat your statements, these'll be regarded as spam and made not applicable.
Pictures are allowed if you so want them.

Religion can be good (charity, hope, inspiration, bringing a community together) or bad (religious intolerance and violence, discrimination against "ungodly" people, holy wars (Jihads, Crusades)). It depends on how people use it.

[Imperium Sidhicum]

Religion has brought peace, harmony, happiness and a sense of belonging to many in hard times, so I'll say it's generally benevolent and good, even though it's prone to being corrupted by unscrupulous leaders and overzealous followers much like any other idea.

[Jetan]

Religion has brought peace, harmony, happiness and a sense of belonging to many in hard times, so I'll say it's generally benevolent and good, even though it's prone to being corrupted by unscrupulous leaders and overzealous followers much like any other idea.

And violence, war, persecution, death and stagnation to even more. And even if we forget all that, it's not very moral to spread it to people as truth.

[Sociobiology]

Hello everyone!! This is my first time posting a thread, and wanted to ask. What would the world look like without religion?

This is purely personal opinion.
If you make a statement (e.g. Religion is good) please make a reason and why its good (e.g. Religion is good, because...)
Try too keep this civilised and provide evidence of your beliefs.
Don't repeat your statements, these'll be regarded as spam and made not applicable.
Pictures are allowed if you so want them.

Religion can be good (charity, hope, inspiration, bringing a community together) or bad (religious intolerance and violence, discrimination against "ungodly" people, holy wars (Jihads, Crusades)). It depends on how people use it.

notice though that one side of the coin doesn't need religion at all and the other is only created by religion.

[Liriena]

Ugh. Here comes the people that say "religion has killed so many people", when atheism, (U.S.S.R.,PRC,Pol pot,) has killed just as many.

Disregarding the manipulation of historical truth to suit a shameless attempt at tu quoque...


Religion is a bit of both good and bad. It gives people emotional comfort and simplistic, absolute answers to complex and often disturbing questions. It helps us cope with our mortality, of which we are aware pretty much from the moment we develop sapience, and dispells our fear of the unknown and our fear of death, both of which are a perfectly natural animal instinct.

On the other hand, religions often are dangerous, if not outright noxious, because of how they approach difficult questions, encouraging simplism and discouraging critical thinking. That the moral doctrines of many religions are often extremely out of touch with reality and, to top it off, are presented as absolute, universal, unquestionable, unchanging and eternal, only serves to stiffle honest debates on what constitutes moral, amoral and immoral behaviour. And let's not even mention the persecution of religious minorities, the wars between sects and the many times when religion and politics used each other for their own benefit.

[Novo Portugal]

its neither good nor bad. its human.

not that there cant be destructive religious ideas but they are balanced out by constructive ones.

[Imperium Sidhicum]

Religion has brought peace, harmony, happiness and a sense of belonging to many in hard times, so I'll say it's generally benevolent and good, even though it's prone to being corrupted by unscrupulous leaders and overzealous followers much like any other idea.

And violence, war, persecution, death and stagnation to even more. And even if we forget all that, it's not very moral to spread it to people as truth.

Does it really make a difference what pretext do unscrupulous men of power use to justify their seizing of other people's land and wealth?

"Bringing freedom and democracy" is as good an excuse as "spreading the light of the One True God" if you ask me. An idea has no moral value in itself, it's purely how it's used that decides it's worth. Medical science, for example, can be used both to treat illnesses and devise new torture methods. Likewise, religion can be used either to perform charitable acts or launch wars. Ideology too can be put to use both to secure prosperity and peace or to start a genocide.

In other words, religion like everything else in this world isn't good or bad, it's our choices how to use it.

[0507011209200118090114]

Religion isn't necessarily "bad". Dogma and religious/superstitious authority is.

[Greater-London]

It has the capacity to be good and bad simultaneously. Even if you think its stupid you cant say that it doesnt have the capacity to make people happy and spread love and peace.

[Farnhamia]

It has the capacity to be good and bad simultaneously. Even if you think its stupid you cant say that it doesnt have the capacity to make people happy and spread love and peace.

Yes, it's the other stuff one would wish could be cut down on, if not eliminated. That said, I'm pretty happy and peaceful and loving, have been for years, without a scrap of religion about me.

[Polgrusan]

How can you say atheism was the main reason behind the U.S.S.R.'s (or any of the others) genocide?

No atheism has not killed anyone actually.No state has ever killed anyone in the name of atheism nor waged war in the name of atheism

Religion though has waged both wars and genocides in the name of god.

In the case of the Crusades, Christians went against God. I don't think killing goes against atheism, because atheism doesn't have a set of rules that say 'thou shalt not kill' etc.

[Rahwa]

Bad - simple as that.

[Polgrusan]

And violence, war, persecution, death and stagnation to even more. And even if we forget all that, it's not very moral to spread it to people as truth.

Does it really make a difference what pretext do unscrupulous men of power use to justify their seizing of other people's land and wealth?

"Bringing freedom and democracy" is as good an excuse as "spreading the light of the One True God" if you ask me. An idea has no moral value in itself, it's purely how it's used that decides it's worth. Medical science, for example, can be used both to treat illnesses and devise new torture methods. Likewise, religion can be used either to perform charitable acts or launch wars. Ideology too can be put to use both to secure prosperity and peace or to start a genocide.

In other words, religion like everything else in this world isn't good or bad, it's our choices how to use it.

Spot on.

[Demortus]

I don't see religion as good or bad. On one hand, it brings people together for a common cause. On the other,it is easily abused by power-hungry people.

[4years]

It is the opium of the people.

Let's have the entire quote, from Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right:

Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions.

For Marx religion is a symptom of a disease, not the disease itself. It express the material reality of " a heartless world" a world that needs a heart. Marx's problems with religion then is that lies that an opiate fails does not repair a physical injury, merely helps numb the pain. Religion does not address the underlying causes of people’s pain and suffering; it helps them forget why they are suffering and gives them a future without pain to look forward to. Marx, therefore, rejects religion because he wishes "real happiness" instead of "illusory happiness." Religion is a placebo, Marx demands a cure.

[Occupied Deutschland]

Neither, inherently. Much like other opinion-based aspects of the human condition, it depends on how it is applied. This is like asking if 'innovation' is good or bad, or if 'speech' is good or bad. It depends. Bit too broad for an overarching label to capture it.

[Mike the Progressive]

Religion is like black people. Some of it is bad, most of it is good. And the man (government) is always trying to keep you down.

[4years]

No atheism has not killed anyone actually.No state has ever killed anyone in the name of atheism nor waged war in the name of atheism

Religion though has waged both wars and genocides in the name of god.

1. In the case of the Crusades, Christians went against God. I don't think killing goes against atheism, because 2. atheism doesn't have a set of rules that say 'thou shalt not kill' etc.

1. Irrelevant, even if we accept it to be true (which I don't), religion and a deity are two different things.

2. Neither do the vast majority if the worlds' religions. As a point of fact the majority of the world's religions encourage killing. Besides, being an atheist does not preclude subscribeing to a moral code.

[ShadowDragons]

Good for the most part. Morals introduced by religion have made our society what it is today.

[The USOT]

Good for the most part. Morals introduced by religion have made our society what it is today.

...Did it?

What are these values that religion introduced?