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Why will our lives be better if there was no Religion.

bobhikes

Nondetermined
Premium Member
That entirely depends upon how you figure to get rid of religion. Having a society without religion HAS been tried, and more than once. The problem is, every single time it has been tried (that is, religion/belief in deity is outlawed) we end up with genocide that outdoes any death count that can be attributed to any religion.

Every.
Single.
Time.

So from this we can conclude that forcibly getting rid of religion does not make anything better.

What if it just sort of fades away because people lose their belief in a deity? Well....I don't see that it's doing the world a whole heck of a lot of good, myself, but then I, being an uncompromising theist and active member of a specific religion, may be biased.

What I HAVE seen is that if there isn't a religion to help provide societal cohesion and a moral code, said moral code has to come from somewhere else....and that 'somewhere else' tends to be either something one takes out of a religion, or adopts from some humanistic philosophy. As far as I can tell, humanism is just a religion without the name, and 'humanity' is put in place of deity.

Perhaps it would be better to wonder why, if there is no deity, humans keep making one up? Religion has to serve some purpose vital to humanity, or (again, if there is no God) there wouldn't be any.

"Imagine" has a pretty tune, but frankly? It's the dumbest song I have ever heard.

Not the point many people believe that religion causes more problems than it solves. I am asking for people that think that to explain to me why the world would be better. This is a mental exercise.
 

icehorse

......unaffiliated...... anti-dogmatist
Premium Member
I am just saying we give our blood so others could live. I hope you could also give blood too. Talking better would be nice over tea or coffee but how about some tube and a big needle in your arm so a patient could extend his/her life?

Religions which cannot help are dead ones and money makers for their bosses. I am not talking about them. Religions which is all about rituals are nonsensical and the most boring of all. I am against them too. Religious activities which aims to help others are heaven sent for those who are helped.

I'm a huge fan of being charitable. I just don't think you need to be part of a religion to be charitable. Let me ask you this, why would you need to do charity work via a religion?
 

icehorse

......unaffiliated...... anti-dogmatist
Premium Member
I am interested in what people think and don't want to critic to much but you asked.

I don't believe people want honest conversations about important topics with religion or without.
I believe prejudices are built in a part of evolution and no matter what happens we will always have them.
Morals are subjective and we will never be collectively better.
People should think more instead of relying on faith but I wouldn't bet on it. People would probably have more rabbits feet and lucky coins.
I don't ever see universal human rights because humans are individuals and what some people want other people believe is wrong and not because of religion. Free Will and Determinism, Prostitution even bestiality are debated in a non-religious format in the RF some supporting some against.

You answered a different question than the one I asked ;)

I would summarize your answer as "I don't think icehorse's goals are very likely". Fair enough, but what I want to know is if you think things would be better if they came true?
 

lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
So from this we can conclude that forcibly getting rid of religion does not make anything better.

In my opinion it makes things worse (and I say this as an atheist).

One of the issues I have with some religions is their dogmatic prescriptiveness and the resultant lack of personal responsibility people take for their actions.

In short, some religions treat followers like sheep.

To 'solve' this by banning certain sorts of thought is completely contrary to my worldview.

Then again, I don't think communism (which is the common denominator in religious bans commonly cited here) is actually trying to encourage innovative free thought and individualism.

(Hence why I always suggest that atheism in and of itself is not terribly informative. Only when understanding what someone DOES believe do you get a more complete picture.)
 

Milton Platt

Well-Known Member
On the RF you constantly see the religious count down. More and more people leaving religion. Religion isn't necessary. Religion causes problems for everyone.

What I need to know is why is a world without religion going to be better.

Will Russia the US and China suddenly get along.
Will Pakistan and Israel suddenly become friends
Will North Korea become a paradise.
Will the US no longer have Women, Immigrant, Black, Gay rights problems.

Please give me you best thoughts for why a world without religion is going to be better. I am extremely curious.

I'll give you 2 problems
The RF will no longer exist.
You won't be able to use religion as your fall back for why everything is bad.

Okay......given what I have observed about humans over the 67 years I have been observing myself and the other Homo Sapiens the absence of religion will not mean the end of all wars and conflict. It will reduce them simply because they will have one less excuse. That's a start.
 

FearGod

Freedom Of Mind
On the RF you constantly see the religious count down. More and more people leaving religion. Religion isn't necessary. Religion causes problems for everyone.

What I need to know is why is a world without religion going to be better.

Will Russia the US and China suddenly get along.
Will Pakistan and Israel suddenly become friends
Will North Korea become a paradise.
Will the US no longer have Women, Immigrant, Black, Gay rights problems.

Please give me you best thoughts for why a world without religion is going to be better. I am extremely curious.

I'll give you 2 problems
The RF will no longer exist.
You won't be able to use religion as your fall back for why everything is bad.

Do you believe that the world will be better without religion and we won't see rapists,
robbers, criminals, drug addicts ....etc?
 
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Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
Talk about a broad brush and ridiculous generalization. Geez.
Even your own denomination has discrimination policies against you just for doing nothing more than existing, and they have put their religion above putting children in homes.
No, of course not all Christians and denominations are like that, but even the ones who aren't are turning to the same books that provide justification for the inhumane treatment of others for the ones who are.
 

psychoslice

Veteran Member
I don't think we need to completely give up religion, I think many of us need to truly look at their religion and truly admit if it is harmful or not. We need to keep religion to ourselves and stop believing we have the only true religion, many right now are not mature enough to do this, they are still living in the past, and still practicing evils things that should of been left in the past, but thank the cosmos that this is slowly changing.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
Even your own denomination has discrimination policies against you just for doing nothing more than existing, and they have put their religion above putting children in homes.
No, of course not all Christians and denominations are like that, but even the ones who aren't are turning to the same books that provide justification for the inhumane treatment of others for the ones who are.
That's still a generalization. You're only focusing on negatives and ignoring where it's complicated or positive. It's not black and white, especially when you're talking about something so ancient and so global.

As I recall, you are a Marxist, which has plenty of nastiness (as well as worthwhile things (which pains me to say because I generally can't stand Marxism, lol)) in its own history, including persecution of LGBT people, so I feel you're being just a tad hypocritical here.

Maybe I should start a thread about how the world would be better off without Marxism and about how the non-violent Marxists are still pulling their ideas from the same books by Marx that the violent, totalitarian Marxists are getting their ideas from, and detailing all the crimes against humanity Marxist regimes have committed to the tune of tens of millions of deaths (more than WWI and WWII combined).
 
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Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
As I recall, you are a Marxist, which has plenty of nastiness (as well as worthwhile things (which pains me to say because I generally can't stand Marxism, lol)) in its own history, including persecution of LGBT people, so I feel you're being just a tad hypocritical here.
Marxism, as Marx wrote it, hasn't even been practiced, that and very few today dogmatically cling to Classic Marxism. And, yes, the state is another bane to peaceful existence. Marxism wouldn't have one.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
Marxism, as Marx wrote it, hasn't even been practiced, that and very few today dogmatically cling to Classic Marxism. And, yes, the state is another bane to peaceful existence. Marxism wouldn't have one.
Cop out.

You realize I could claim that the Christians who carry out atrocities, are bigoted and make life worse for people are just not following the teachings of Christ, by the same token, right? So why are you applying a double standard for your political ideology, which doesn't even work in this instance? Marxism is a theory of how to get to communism. You mean to say that a State wouldn't exist in a communist society, which Marxism isn't. Marxism is the application of ideas stemming from Marx to get to communism (they hope, anyway; not that it's ever worked). So you could say that the USSR, China under Mao, the Khmer Rogue, Shining Path, etc. were Marxist, but they were not communist. We can certainly blame Marxism and its offshoots for the ocean of blood on its hands. So if you wish to say that religion has failed and should be thrown away, then we can more easily say that Marxism is a complete failure that should be quickly be thrown in the garbage heap of monumentally awful ideas, like Fascism and National Socialism. (Besides, it can't even create beauty and its "science" is complete nonsense.)
 
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Hockeycowboy

Witness for Jehovah
Premium Member
Since schools seem to basically Not deal with morals, then a world without any religion could be an immoral world.

Since Scripture teaches that humans are part of creation, then our in-born conscience is connected to God.
If we ignore our conscience it can become hardened or calloused to the point of No more feeling for others.
So, it would seem to me that without religious morals mankind would decline in love of neighbor, etc.
As the earth was filled with violence in Noah's day, then today's violence will just escalate as people become further and further from God-given religious principles and morals.

Good post! On top of that, promoting the view that "we're just animals" -- as CD evolution does-- will eventually lead to people viewing sex with "other" animals as natural. It's already mentioned in a nonchalant way on some TV shows! Already trying to condition the majority into accepting it! Sicko!
 

bobhikes

Nondetermined
Premium Member
You answered a different question than the one I asked ;)

I would summarize your answer as "I don't think icehorse's goals are very likely". Fair enough, but what I want to know is if you think things would be better if they came true?

Sure it would be better if they came true.
 

capumetu

Active Member
You need to state without false religion, think of how the world would be if everyone was one of Jehovah's people. Even now we have no wars, very little petty crimes, as well as a very low divorce rate. Soon Jehovah will eliminate false religion, I hope you will be there to experience it.

capumetu @yours.com No space after u
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
It's not a cop out as Marx's writings have not been practiced, and there has been much tweaking and adjusting to the point today we have Neo-Marxism. These "changes and updates" are things that many churches are unwilling to do. Female priests and pastors are still rarity because of a few pages in the Bible that speak poorly of women. There are legal campaigns, today, from Christians, to make discrimination against LBGT legally classified as a religious right. Some Christians don't, but they are using the same book that commands the death of men who lie with men, claiming that their blood is on their hands.
 

QuestioningMind

Well-Known Member
On the RF you constantly see the religious count down. More and more people leaving religion. Religion isn't necessary. Religion causes problems for everyone.

What I need to know is why is a world without religion going to be better.

Will Russia the US and China suddenly get along.
Will Pakistan and Israel suddenly become friends
Will North Korea become a paradise.
Will the US no longer have Women, Immigrant, Black, Gay rights problems.

Please give me you best thoughts for why a world without religion is going to be better. I am extremely curious.

I'll give you 2 problems
The RF will no longer exist.
You won't be able to use religion as your fall back for why everything is bad.

A world without religion certainly wouldn't magically solve all of the world's problems. I'm not aware of anyone who claims that it would.

Will Russia the US and China suddenly get along. Nope, not all world tensions are due to religions, especially not in this day and age.

Will Pakistan and Israel suddenly become friends. Suddenly? Probably not, though without religious excuses for antagonism keeping them apart it's far more likely that they eventually would.

Will North Korea become a paradise. No, however with the population no longer being brainwashed into believing that their leaders are gods, it will be more difficult for the current leadership to remain in power, which would be the first step in it someday becoming less of a hell hole.

Will the US no longer have Women, Immigrant, Black, Gay rights problems. Sadly no... though bigots will no longer have religious arguments to fall back on in an attempt to justify their bigotry.

Additional benefits include groups like ISIS and oppressive governments throughout the Middle East would no longer have religion to use to recruit followers or abuse their citizens. There would still be violent groups and oppressive governments, but just like in N Korea, it's much easier for an oppressor to stay in power if they can convince their people that God wants them to dutifully obey their king or for a fanatic to recruit if he can convince people that they're fulfilling God' will. It's fairly rare for someone to commit suicide in order to make a political statement, but sadly common for people to commit suicide due to religious convictions.
 
On the RF you constantly see the religious count down. More and more people leaving religion. Religion isn't necessary. Religion causes problems for everyone.

What I need to know is why is a world without religion going to be better.

Will Russia the US and China suddenly get along.
Will Pakistan and Israel suddenly become friends
Will North Korea become a paradise.
Will the US no longer have Women, Immigrant, Black, Gay rights problems.

Please give me you best thoughts for why a world without religion is going to be better. I am extremely curious.

I'll give you 2 problems
The RF will no longer exist.
You won't be able to use religion as your fall back for why everything is bad.

I can certainly suggest that 'religion' as understood from history and tradition, being a physical, materialist, theological construct of buildings, all the trappings that come with it, including a self ordained priesthood, probably has noting to do with the spiritual. One might gleen from accounts in Genesis that the original covenant, a single command or Law, that existed directly between God and man had no, needed no such embellishments.

Of course the existence, ‘as in the beginning’ of such a single Law and command would be heretical to the established religious orders, for in practical terms, it would make them all instantly redundant, changing the very nature of religion itself from the top heavy, institutional temple/church traditions we observe in the world today, to an individual spiritual-virtue ethic conception, founded within the marriage of one man and one woman and without the need of a self ordained, theological priesthood or any other mumbo jumbo at all! Just integrity and fidelity to new moral purpose. Sounds like revolutionary stuff. Maybe that’s what sent Jesus to be crucified on the Cross?

So the world would be much better off without religion as we understand it, because it is most probably false, a theological counterfeit, a human intellectual self deception. But be prepared to replace it with what is authentic and true. But yet to be revealed! For myself the question is if a second coming takes place, will it be to confirm or correct our understanding of God and my money is on the latter.
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
You need to state without false religion, think of how the world would be if everyone was one of Jehovah's people.
I was miserable, depressed, and suicidal when I was one of his people.
Even now we have no wars, very little petty crimes, as well as a very low divorce rate.
If you want to look at atheists as a group, and compare them to Christians as a group, things don't look so well for Christians.
Religion Doesn't Make People More Moral, Study Finds

Wisneski and his fellow researchers found that religious and nonreligious people commit similar numbers of moral acts. The same was found to be true for people on both ends of the political spectrum. And regardless of their political or religious leanings, participants were all found to be more likely to report committing, or being the target of, a moral act rather than an immoral act. They were also much more likely to report having heard about immoral acts rather than moral acts.


However, there were some differences in how people in different groups responded emotionally to so-called "moral phenomena," Wisneski said. For example, religious people reported experiencing more intense self-conscious emotions — such as guilt, embarrassment, and disgust — after committing an immoral act than did nonreligious people. Religious people also reported experiencing a greater sense of pride and gratefulness after committing moral deeds than their nonreligious counterparts.

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(15)01167-7

Here, we assessed altruism and third-party evaluation of scenarios depicting interpersonal harm in 1,170 children aged between 5 and 12 years in six countries (Canada, China, Jordan, Turkey, USA, and South Africa), the religiousness of their household, and parent-reported child empathy and sensitivity to justice. Across all countries, parents in religious households reported that their children expressed more empathy and sensitivity for justice in everyday life than non-religious parents. However, religiousness was inversely predictive of children’s altruism and positively correlated with their punitive tendencies. Together these results reveal the similarity across countries in how religion negatively influences children’s altruism, challenging the view that religiosity facilitates prosocial behavior.
 
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