How would we be better off without religion...?

Question

Be thankful that you have a life, and forsake your vain and presumptuous desire for a second one.The world would be a better place if we all had this positive attitude to life.It would also be a better place if morality was all about good to others and refraining from hurting them,rather than religion's morbid obsession with private sin and the evils os sexual enjoyment.

But is this the wrong attitude to have or should we all be worshipping a god that there is no evidence of.

Answer 1

"Imagine" by the late John Lennon, the ex-Beatle, raises that question where there would be no differences, no heaven to entice people or hell to cause fear but people BEING kind and loving to one another, without religious leaders who are nothing more than demagogues promoting hate, indifference and intolerance, bigotry... causing wars and bloodshed in the name of a loving, forgiving God... living in excesses while the general public suffers hunger, malnutrition, poverty, homelessness, diseases, sicknesses illnesses and/or disabilities that are either treatable or curable or preventable but for lack of money horded by those religious leaders in their coffers...!

MANY of the problems we face today would come to an immediate end. We need philosophers, not religious demagogues!

Religions are nothing more than man-made dogmas to dazzle the masses with hocus-pocus and keep them in control for the monarchy or government... to conform to their sorry lives and not aspire to improve their lots in life... to accept those who are rich and powerful as those they must obey and be subservient to (as it also promoted and demanded obedience on the part of slaves) and to keep people in superstitious fear... to herd masses, to join them in a common fear and to forego riches and expect a supposed "better" afterlife... (what total b/s!)

The story of Adam and Eve, for example, is nothing more than an attempt to insinuate that we should be ignorant (don't eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge... or we'll be banished from Paradise)(is that why they say that ignorance is bliss?) and a sexist excuse to blame women as the more foolish and gullible and ignorant... but she got Adam to eat the fruit... so he was just as gullible and ignorant, not any brighter than her

The rich and powerful never wanted the poor (or the slaves) to learn to read. The Bible and the invention of the press was not for the masses but for the wealthy who could afford to spend money on a Bible with their spare change, while the poor barely had enough to eat and could neither read nor write! They were kept ignorant by the super rich and powerful in order to control them! Only the rich and the religious leaders were able to read and write. During the American Civil War, slaves were prohibited by law to learn to read and write, and religious leaders told them to accept their place in life and be obedient to their masters here on Earth so they could be rewarded in the afterlife. What a con!

IF we are indeed made in God's image, why would he want us to give up our individuality ("God-given") and why would he want us to be constantly supplicating and thanking him and in demeaning means or belittling "his image"... is HE that egoistic that he needs his ego constantly "fed" and "nurtured" by our constant humiliation before Him? Or is it so we can go to that building where we leave our contributions to enrich a fellow how lives better than we do, eats better than we do, and works about one hour a day or two entertaining folks from the pulpit with the mumbo-jumbo hocus-pocus and enjoys the riches he made from the gullible and less fortunate?

There would be less hate and fewer wars without those meddling religious demagogues promoting hatred, bigotry, intolerance and indifference and less suffering by these who do nothing but enjoy their excesses and opulence while millions starve and die of malnutrition and all sorts of preventable and treatable diseases, illnesses and sickness and disabilities, poverty, genocide, etc!

Throughout history, religion has been an impediment and an obstacle to the sciences and man's inventions and improvements in our lives... because the religious leaders condemned them... maybe because they were getting a piece of the action (profits)?

Answer 2

We would be better off without religion because it and the beliefs that the various religions instill in people are the cause of hatred, crime and war. Throughout the history of mankind, people have been slain because of disagreements about a thing we have no proof of.
Have faith if you must, but all religion should be banned, i can't believe the nonsense that people choose to believe, every religion was written by man, even if a god did exist, what's written is a man's perception which has then been translated and perceived by many other individuals throughout time. It's like Chinese whispers, it's gonna get messed up over time.

Also, i have a serious problem with the whole evolution is nonsense and dinosaurs didn't exist because the earth is only 6-7000 years old. Am i honestly to believe that a god put all this scientific evidence here purely to test our faith. I believe in science not bullshit

Answer 3

Since this question is is the mythology and folklore section, I'm going to answer it from the perspective of a folklorist. (Which I am, actually.)

Stop and consider how incredibly different our society would be without religion. Actually, you can't, I don't think, because it's pretty unfathomable. Huge numbers of inventions have come about directly or indirectly because of religion. For one, let's take the movable-type printing press. The Chinese invented the block press, mostly for printing paper money, but the movable type press came about due to a desire to print Bibles. The literacy rate skyrocketed at a speed unheard of for the time of its invention, and other things soon came to be printed, preserving many works of literature.

Now, I'm not saying it never would have been printed without religion; but before its invention, what other things would have even been considered as worthy to have been read by masses? What things would have even been reproduced? "Popular literature" of the time consisted of plays, most of which weren't even written down since nobody was literate. If you step back and look at the big picture it such a way, the computer you're sitting at probably wouldn't exist without the religious motivation a few centuries back.

Answer 4

compared to what giannis D wrote that is not true. the human body/mind can live with the sense of nothing after death. if i die i die that is it. we dont need to be afraid of what is going to happen, there is no way to make us immortal as others have stated the supposed god and the others didnt actually write thier bibles/rules down, someone else did and did you notice that the bible in continously being re-written to fit the needs of the christians and the other religions? if it doesnt suit thier needs to make what they do a justly thing then they have to fix it so everyone will agree with it.
we dont need religion to live or churches that take up this world and go around christianing all of the cultures that they claim "need to see the light of our faith bull crap" the tribes you see didnt have religion that i know of and they lived happy lives doing what they do....live freely from our overbearing bible thumping rules of society. war has been started over the decades due to a religion. look at what is giong on now, the islam, whatever are mad just because we did i think it was a cartoon skit of thier god, mahummed. and what now? is that going to cause a war over a stupid drawing? everyone just needs to leave the other person alone and dont speak to one another if there is nothing to be said. i dont think its a bad thing to think about, of course all of these religious people are not going to want to give up thier faith, that is how the preachers get thier money and thier nice cars, houses etc. in the end of this rant all i have to say is...we dont need religion no matter what your opinion is...you have been brainwashed since you were a kid to believe that faith is needed in order to go to heaven and hell. there is not such thing!!!

Answer 5

Many people feel that religion has added to their life and given them something in this crime and war torn world to live for. Religion can also teach people to give and to be considerate - the principle of "do unto others as you would have them do to you" is a biblical one. Who will teach this new morality? Schools aren't doing too good a job at the moment.
It is ludicrous to blame the ills of the world on religion - religious people don't encourage war (contrary to what people on this site will tell you, very few wars are based on religious principles), they condemn lying, stealing, adultery and murder. Sure, some religious people don't practise what they preach. But in the town where I live, there are very few church goers. Most are atheists. Drugs, gangs, violence, crime are all committed on a daily basis. And actually, they're not committed by the church goers. Religious people are taught duty and respect for others. I don't see much of it in my town.

Answer 6

Religion has nothing to do with God. Religion and God parted ways along time ago. Somewhere along the way we forgot all about spirituality and we got obsessed with all other things. We do not need religion to develop a relationship with God. All we need is our heart. Religion was brought about to cause confussion among men and to stop them from thinking for themselves. I do not have a religion and i am happy. I pray and ask for stuff, i get it, I have been plotted against many a time, i prayed about it, they were dealt with.
You are free to worship who ever you choose to.
You are also free not to worship any God at all as well.

Answer 7

Yes we would be better off if we all had a positive attitude and we all work to making a better place about the good to others and without harming others and ourselves.

But also religion gives us one thing you didn't mention. Hope. Hope for what lies beyond this incarnation of ours.

Perhaps one day we will have both.

Blessed Be )O(

Answer 8

maybe you should let people know that religion has be restricting them for hundreds of years. It tells them how much or little they can believe in spiritually. People should focus on just that, their spirituality, not religion. The restrictions that religion put on us is binding, mentally, and spiritually. People need to free themselves from these binds. If they really need a reason, tell them to watch the news. All over the world people are using religion to mame torture and kill others, and every religion has done it.

Answer 9

the world is better off with religion it is not religion that starts wars and the cause of all the badness in the world it is people who say they are believers but in fact true believers do not want anything to do with all this they just want the right to live in peace and believe what ever they want the same as every one else

Answer 10

I have a list! I'm not religious, so I am free of religion's silly rules. There is too much strictness about sex that is said to be evil. It's a natural impulse, and whoever tries to use it to control us should be in the Hell to which he says we shall go if we have sex without his approval. I don't have to buy preachers new suits and cars. I can spend my money on myself and my lovers. People wouldn't waste this life seeking an imaginary afterlife. My sister couldn't have her dumb and hateful "holier than thou" $#!+ either.

Answer 11

Why "good to others" if some of them are no good? Why refrain from hurting them if they deserve it? But you're right that some secular code is needed to replace a code based on superstition and slavishness to secularly motivated preachers.

SERMON OF A JE$U$ $ALE$MAN

Pray
Then pay
That's the way
To make my day