i do not belong to any organised religion so can perhaps approach this whole matter a little more objectively and i apologise if what i am about to say upsets anyone who does belong to an organised religion, but i believe that all subjects should be open to debate, especially religion. as we are all aware organised religion is causing numerous conflicts around the world which result in innocent civilians being killed, maimed, or made homeless. and equally those countries in the grip of a repressive religious regime inflict such fear and misery upon their population that escape is usually their only hope. so what i am asking is do the benefits of organised religion i.e. a feeling of happiness, safety, security, belonging, and a prescribed value system, really outweigh the widespread slaughter and suffering of innocent people? can a secular society, if run along more charitable/communal lines offer people the same sense of happiness, safety, security and belonging. after all there are many community projects and charities that are non religious but equally rewarding. and are we not intelligent and enlightened enough to adhere to a value system without having it prescribed by a religious leader? again let me reiterate that i am not seeking to upset/offend anyone of a religious background, just opening a perfectly reasonable subject up for debate.
I personally believe religion is the worst thing that ever happened to humanity yes it can, and Sweden and Swizerland are the best examples.
i agree with what you said about sweden for i holidayed there this summer, but have no experience of switzerland. in my opinion secularisation is the answer to much of what is wrong with this world.
Any good done by religion could have been done by anybody or any group. Hitchens asked religious people to give one example of a good deed done by a religious person that couldn't have been done by an atheist, He is still waiting for a reply. On the other hand, There is a lot of bad done in the name of religion that wouldn't have been done had religion not existed.
Yes people have used Religion and the name god to advance their own agendas which have hurt innocent people. On the same hand the US Congress has also passed laws in the past that have hurt and even lead to the death of people should we abolish congress because of that?
Yeah, And sometimes people die during surgery to remove tumors. let's ban surgery! Your argument makes no sense. What good has ever come from religion?
There are lots of people who find Inner peace and comfort from religion. People who pray are less likely to get sick and often recover faster from surgery.
All studies done on the effectivness of prayer showed that it had absolutely zero effect on anything.
Religion versus atheism??? This is an easy one. Religious wars have killed throughout centuries about 5 million people. This is a huge number and some say it's a lot higher. It's not. We are talking about "religious" wars here. However, compare this with what atheism has done. In less than 50 years Atheism/communism killed over 20 million people. I choose religion. The only difference is which religion are we talking about? Reminds me of this caring atheist who went to explain to a group of converted canibals how silly they were to believe what the missionary told them, and how none of that is true. The canibals listened to him and after he was finished they asked the atheist to leave their place and be thnkful that he (the atheist) came to visit them only AFTER the missionary did. Otherwise the end of this story would have been different. And hospitals, orphanages, financial aid and material aid is mostly provided by religious people. MOST hospitals and orphanages are run by religious (read that Christian) folks. And without religious folks (fear of God), I get the feeling there will also be a lot more rapists, murderers, thieves, liars etc. I know I would be part of this had I not found religion a while back.