does anyone agree that the world would be a happier place without organised religion?

Question

look at history nearly every war and mass murder has been caused by a hatered of each others religion

Answer 1

Amen to that!

Answer 2

Definately. What some fundamentalists cannot see (because they have been clevery manipulated into fanaticism) is that organised religions (churches) are organisations based on exploitation and greed. They use people's faith to gain power and money. There is nothing wrong with personal religious feelings and / or faith, as long as it doesnt become a weapon and a form of currency in the hands of the "divine representatives" who use and abuse peoples' fears and hopes to establish dominions. As it is world religions are banks that sell hope and a false sence of security, and in return they corrupt and brainwash their customers/victims. It can be argued that religion offers a set of values that benefits society and without these there would be only the law of the jungle. But the trouble begins when a group of people think their values are better than the next person's and feel they should convert all the others and stuff their values down their throats - by peaceful or not so peaceful means. Mass sports operate the same way - look at the fanaticism and bigotry in soccer - the fans are manipulated to behave like small armies of religious zealots ...We only need one set of rules - live and let live, respect for all forms of life and tolerance for other beliefs. If we ever mature to this level organised religions will become obsolete.

Answer 3

Wars would happen anyway - religion is just a conveniant excuse. If someone has what someone else wants then they will find a way to beat it ut of them whether God says so or not. Wars are fought for greed and greed alone, you may be able to get some more fundamentalists and fanatics to join your cause if you claim it is holy but you don't need them for a war.
There are some religions which are dedicated to pacificism and others which have never been involved in major conflicts. The Roman Empire conquored most of Europe and Africa for wealth not to appease the vast pantheon of gods they worshipped.

Religion is an excuse for hatred not its sole cause.

I am dubious about organised religion in general but I cannot rationally blame it for all the ills of this world.

Answer 4

Yes indeed religion has a lot to do with Man controlling man Religious leaders control people telling them what to do, If you study most religions they all preach the same message tolerance, love of fellow man , all humans are created as equals, be kind to others put them first etc.etc but when one religion fights against another their leaders don't say "Stop you are going against your religion." I never did get it and never will. Organised religion? Give me Anarchy any day! Message to Monty my Sympathy (for want of a better word)goes out to you I just lost my little sister so I know a little bit how your feeling, people need religion to believe that they will be reunited with their loved ones after death. My sister's funeral was 3 days ago if I had religion then, that would have screwed me up I prefer to remain athiest otherwise right now I would hate my chosen God, right now I would be in the looney bin or waiting to be struck by lightning or something for thinking bad thoughts. Like I said the way I view it Religion is about people trying to control people. Many of my friends are B.A. Christians they all became such when something traumatic happened in their lives and they were vunerable and the people that brought them into the Church Circle, to me appear to be running their lives for them. I'm not sure that's a good thing. However I believe that we should accept & respect others for their beliefs and way of life.

Answer 5

ummm....yeah. See, I see what your getting at. It's been argued many times: all the biggest wars were over religion. Well then they were about God. Which means they were about power (cause let's face it, with an idea like God, your going to have lots of power), wherever there is tremendous power is tremendous corruption. Horrible f'd up things.

However, if there were no religion, we'd just some other excuse to do the same bullshiiiiit. So, what's your point?

by the way: God is more than an idea. He is hope to billions. Even if God is just an idea many people have a better life because of that idea. The people you don't like for it would just be using a different excuse. Damn....damn fu**'s.

You blame God and religion. Where's your sense of personal responsibility. It could never be....my fault. What do you mean humanity is responsible for it's actions? Fuuuuck.

Answer 6

For some people it would be; for others it wouldn't be. Organized religion is a sham. They put the fear of god into people so they'll come to church and donate money and so they can control the people. Some of these religions have more money than god. Those who run it have no scrupples as they'll take from the poor and don't give anything back except B.S. The only people who would be unhappy are the poor, weak souls that
would be lost without the crutch.

Religion is one of the roots of evil as it involves politics, greed and power. The cause of many wars as it categorizes people by their beliefs like racism does by color of skin. Organized religions tells people what to do & think; people shouldn't need it as they have a mind of their own. Don't need anything or person telling us what to do.

Answer 7

i have said many times the root cause of many wars is religion, but i still dont condemn it neither do i condone organised for the simple reason everyone to their own preferences. I am not a religous person by attending church but i have a regard for christianity in as much it is something to turn to when your staring death in the face in action, i have , or you have lost your dearest in my case my wife, you just cannot stand over the burial plot and not have some leaning to god, it eases the grief and it really does give you a feeling that the love you had and still do has not just vanished into space. I have seen men die in action and whatever their belief was i found two things were generally said mum and god in their fading voice, so i feel never denounce religion you might want to turn to it in circumstances as i have descibed.

Answer 8

Nope, you have a rather niave concept of the world and its people, without organised religion it would be up to governments to create moral gudlines.

This has proved problematic and is the actual cause for all those wars you bemoan.

If it wasn't for religion handing down morals to its subjects then we would have what is starting to happen, the breakdown of families, loose morals and a mass of disenfranchised and angry people.

PS I am not religious, nor do I believe in god, I am aware from reading and analysing what has been and what is happening thatthe breakdown of religion is causing more strife than ever before.

Answer 9

Actually it's not organized religion that is the problem - it's Greed! Hunger for Money, or hunger for Power is what lies behind the atrocities committed in the name of religion. Because human beings are imperfect, religious leaders are imperfect. Organized Religion like any other organization is subject to corruption from the inside. But at the root of every organized religious group there is, no doubt, a well-meaning individual whose primary goal is/was to lead people to enlightenment.

Answer 10

I am with you on that one. I used to behave perfectly as a child, but I never saw many people that actually behaved what I was being taught. It never seemed right to me. Even when I was very young I could not understand the you are going to hell for this, hell for that and on. Of course I didn't dare disagree out loud, but I remember thinking how ludicrious it seemed.

The people that attended, got all fancy and pious and full of love for the Lord, then they would nasty, hypocritcal, cruel, spiteful, selfish and on.

After I was convinced that I would never go to heaven, cause I couldn't even control what I thought, go to hell stuff of course. I gave up and ran wild, I was going to enjoy myself all the way to hell. I came to realize that Religion is God, spirituality is, based on pure love.

One more thing about the war stuff. Have you notiiced how many more people are free today than ever before in history. I don't like war, but being occupied and afraid all the time would be the worse thing I could imagine.

Answer 11

Definitely. Almost all wars have been fought in the name of God.

"THOU SHALT NOT KILL".

Any time religious fanatics want to kill people, they say that they are doing God's will. Look at Rev. Pat Robertson and how he wanted Venezuelan President Chavez to be MURDERED. What is this? "Agree with everything that I say or I will use God's name to kill you". Talk about a control freak who will use hatred if he doesn't get his own way!

Then, Robertson lied (more hypocrisy) and said he did not say that, but it was seen by millions of people on TV. Finally, the Reverend apologized, but only because of media from the pressure. If not for that, we would have heard more lies. Check out the attached CNN article.

Plus, all of the ways that religious fanatics are always cramming their religion in our faces and trying to control the world ... wanting our money ... making huge promises of prosperity in exchange for our "love offering and faith". Yet, they're the ones who are prospering, with people like Rev. Jim Bakker & Tammy Faye living lavish lifestyles. Article attached. It's no wonder they want to control everything and go to war all the time.