Religion - Would the world be better off without it.

[John Galt]

At the end of the day even if there was no religion people would still do bad things - they just wouldn't have such a good excuse for doing it

[SallyAnne]

I think in today's world, we associate organised religion with bad things: -

terrorists
priests abusing kids
suicide pacts
a pope that looks like satan

etc etc


But I still voted for option 2.
A lot of people use their religion as a force of good to guide them through life - I respect that so much, and would never want that taken away from them.
They use it to teach their kids a set of values, to live a righteous path. That's the common theme which is present throughout all religions, and why they should be protected.

[NotAllThere]

Religion is just a question of who's got the best imaginary friend.

I'm puzzled by statements such as this. How do you know? Presumably, atheists have no friends. Agnostics don't know if they have any friends.

Religion is a prime motivator to do good things, as well as bad, so perhaps if there was no religion the world would contain the same amount of evil.

[KathyWoolfe]

I think in today's world, we associate organised religion with bad things: -

terrorists
priests abusing kids
suicide pacts
a pope that looks like satan

etc etc


But I still voted for option 2.
A lot of people use their religion as a force of good to guide them through life - I respect that so much, and would never want that taken away from them.
They use it to teach their kids a set of values, to live a righteous path. That's the common theme which is present throughout all religions, and why they should be protected.

It isn't the fault of religion that the world is in so much turmoil. It is those people who try and force their opinions on everyone else saying "if you don't believe in what I believe in then you don't deserve to live" - or some similar rubbish.
If they didn't have religion to be aggressive about then they would find some other excuse to justify their view of their own "supremacy"

[tay]

I do occasionally still have "Better not just in case there is a god and he is paying attention moments" .. which stop me doing things I shouldnt.

I blame my mother sending me to the local Presbytarian Sunday School.. although I did get in trouble for claiming it was my birthday every second week just so I could get a chocolate.

[BankingContractor]

Religion is just a question of who's got the best imaginary friend.

Its not only religion. I mean we create a whole industry around Father Christmas and how he mysteriously comes down the chimney with our presents.

And then we tell our kids about the magical Tooth Fairy who leaves us money under the pillow.

And lets not mention the leprechauns at the bottom of the garden.

And we do all this by deliberately lying to our kids - at least the religious nuts think they're right, we just tell porkies. Why?

[wendigo100]

I always think the more hedonistic the benefits, the more crackpot the religion.

Like, 72 virgins? Or the one that promises escape on a spaceship when Earth is destroyed?

[Diver]

I always think the more hedonistic the benefits, the more crackpot the religion.

Like, 72 virgins? Or the one that promises escape on a spaceship when Earth is destroyed?

Yeh, that 72 virgin thing. Doesn't say they are female

They could male ex cuk'ers

[BoredBloke]

Does it even say that they are human?

[TimberWolf]

I always think the more hedonistic the benefits, the more crackpot the religion.

You mean the real nutters are just in it for the prophet?