What would the world be like without religion?

Answer 1

My first instinct is to say kinder, though I'm sure we'd come up with some other reason to kill or demonize each other.

Answer 2

People respond "a place of reason, enlightenment, intelligence, etc" without taking into account that these are merely properties of a person living a life of pure logic.

But life is not so nearly as linear as that in our human experience. I don't think there is a possible world where we as human beings could have developed without the capacity to ask the larger questions of our existence and not have had the same result ---unless that which makes us so uniquely human were to be very much altered so that we *cannot* think in such terms.

I know there are radical secularists who would like to imagine a world where people's thoughts are brought under control, and have all religious ideas expunged from our social consciousness. We already have evidence of such a disastrous experiment that ran through a great part of the 20th Century.

But for the sake of the question, suppose that such a world as you've proposed is possible. If I'm correct on this, then a world that does not aim to strive for something higher than itself doesn't have a the frame of mind to think beyond a very near-sighted perspective on things that people ordinarly describe as "things that really matter". These are the sorts of things that go beyond the sensate, the things we might detect in a test tube or in numbers and quantities. These are the sorts of things that are otherwise just as unprovable, but humanity unable to aspire to such things will have to forego their pleasure.

The world would ultimately be without meaning and purpose. We're just here. And no amount of asking "why" about what happens will be intelligible, because there just is no ultimate "why" to ponder. In a world without purpose, there is none one needs to worry about violating. However atrocious, however perverse, or however cruel we might imagine some behaviors to be, we would lack any fundamental over-arching reason to think that such an action would be wrong... or even that such categories as "right" and "wrong" can even exist in such a universe.

People often unreflectively think of a universe without the hope of eternity as a means to justify our sexual or ambitious proclivities as "natural" and therefore "normal" and therefore "good". But what's "natural" is often the most cruel, tyrannical, and put simply "red in tooth and claw". No one gives thought of the larger consequences, but such is the state of popular reasoning in our time.

Answer 3

It will either be the same or (which I believe) will be much worse. We humans are selfish and just do things for ourselves and sometimes, although this may sound ironic, for others that are close to us (like an immediate family). We will still have war because it is within our nature to fight and there is just no way to eliminate it. There will be still segregation and racism or basically "hate". The gist of all this is that a world with no religion doesn't make a perfect world or a place of reasoning and logic. Anyways all that I say is my beliefs and opinions and you should consider other people's answer the same because this is a hypothetical question.

Answer 4

I think it would be sad and probably a world wide dictatorship. People when they get older or close to death need to feel that there is something beyond this life to continue into. Without this I feel like why would I be here in the first place with this soul to walk around with. I think this is probably one of the ideals that religions do exist and remain. Even if religions didn't exist there would still be morals that we live with that generate rationality or there wouldn't be any laws to live by and wouldn't that be total chaos? God is truly up there and wants us to know He's there, why else would human life exist? Even if we came from a single cell through the evolution process there is always a soul inside, how else did we come up with this ideal? I'm glad we have a freedom of religion and they do exist to let us know there is something more than just this mere human existence. God bless.

Answer 5

A lot less superstitious, with more faith on mankind.

> What would the world be like without religion?
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Answer 6

There will be no world before religion. Religion is and has always been part of human living. They go together.

Answer 7

More rational, more realistic. People would reason things out, rather than just swallow things just because. And not only religious things, but also political things, and so on.

So without religions, the world would be... better.

Answer 8

Peaceful

Answer 9

Heaven

Answer 10

The spiritual destiny of mankind would have been at stake. Although, many religions are bad but we are learning the lessons of our lives which we deserve to develop intelligent, wisdom etc. How about the animals in the bush? they don't have religion, yet they fight and kill one another. The survival of the fittest. They are also learning lessons of life too.