Would the world be a better place if religion didn’t exist?

Question

I think it would be, but please prove me wrong.

First of all, I’d like to apologize if my question seemed provocative. That wasn’t my intention. I had a look at some questions in the religion subcategory while waiting your answerers and have realized that there is a lot of provocation from Atheists like me, and most of them were really stupid…

My best answer goes for Chippy108 and my worst from Pinkandblack8.

Nevertheless, I have to agree with NewCatholic who said that “more people have been killed in the name of Greed and Power than in the name of God.” But even if it is “less” it is still “too much” don’t you think NewCatholic?

Likewise, I have to agree with Odindmare who said that “the world would be a better place if they actually followed the religion they say they are part of”. But the problem is that too many of them don’t…

Like Agb90spruce, I don’t think the world would be heaven if religion didn’t exist, as there are enough morons in my Atheistic party to spread terrors too.

I just want to finish by saying that being Atheist does not make me an evil man (do you get me Pinkandblack8?). Poverty, illness and injustice make me cry too…

Answer 1

i think there would a be a great deal less fighting. religion was a major spark between the ancient civilizations and what not. however fighting would still be around cause people by nature are territorial, greedy and power hungry. (but they wouldnt have "god told me to kill you and your nation" backing them up)

Answer 2

A world with out faith, that's a harsh concept to take. Well, for one, everyone would have to be accountable for their own actions. None of this " God made me do it " stuff.

People would have no fear of the next life. So they would have no reason to behave in this one. I'm not saying that people do anyways, but you see my point.

There would be a lot more trees! Imagine the forests that got cut down to spread the faiths, lol :)

But there would be no hope, either. You would only have what you could hold in your hand. If you are alone, then you would be really alone.....and that's a cold place.

Would the world be a better place with out religion? No.
The world would be a better place if they actually followed the religion they say they are a part of.

Answer 3

Religion is credited with much good in the world. It is also blamed for much of the strife and suffering. Many people focus on one or the other and judge religion to be either good or bad accordingly.

Reality is that the key teaching responsible for good in most (all?) religion is, in one form or another, what is called the "golden rule" (Do unto others ...). But ethical people know what is right and wrong and don't need religion to confuse things with silly rules.

If one recognizes that living by the golden rule does NOT require a belief in any type of supreme being / god -- simply a humanist philosophy -- one must conclude that religion is both unnecessary and undesirable (since it confuses and complicates with unnecessary rules).

If one further recognizes that there is no logical reason for religion (in terms of belief in some form of scorekeeper who uses either fear or promised reward as an incentive to do what is right), and in fact such belief is equivalent to (but more harmful than) a belief in Santa Claus or the tooth fairy (i.e dillusional), one must conclude religion is undesirable.

However, since it is unlikely that all people would be "good" if religion did not exist, simply eliminating religion is unlikely to eliminate all the problems in the world. After all, many undesirable human traits, such as man's selfserving nature and the tribal imperative, would still exist. But at least religion would have been eliminated as the excuse for intollerance. And education and social engineering could then focus on issues without having to cope with the illogical obfuscation of religion.

So ... I conclude that the world would be at least marginally a better place if religion did not exist ... but not necessarily utopia.

Answer 4

There always has been religion in the world, even in very olden times. The thing is that there were no catholics, hindus, etc. There was no 'organized' religion as we have today but people did worship all sorts of 'gods' - the planets or idols, for instance.

The world would not be a better place as you seem to think because of this. There always will be someone worshipping something or someone, even themselves.

Also, wars have raging and been waging all through time. Man is a creature of habit and we ultimately will find something with which to mess up our lives and the world, with or without religion.

Answer 5

Religion is simply mankind's system of conduct and belief based on his understanding of life and his origin, purpose, destiny and place in life. Religion is not inherently wrong in and of itself; it is the application and use of a religious system that makes it wrong. Simply put, there is so much more to life than can be answered by science (a religion of knowledge) and empirical evidence of life. We understand enough to know that we don't know it all, and those who are truly open-minded, well read and truly curious will acknowledge that there is a dimension, or realm, that is not readily discernible by our five senses.

It is well documented that this realm, which many of us know as the spiritual realm, regularly invades our known, physical realm; religions have developed over the centuries in an attempt to explain, understand and incorporate the truths of the spiritual realm into our daily lives and understanding. As long as mankind seeks these truths about their world, there will always be religions, for there will always be belief systems established to try and make sense of the things we don't yet understand.

Removing religions would not improve the world or man's relationship with man. Once we found something else to fight, divide and hate over, we would realize the unavoidable truth: that the real problem is embedded in human nature, not in human religious systems.

Answer 6

I think so. But then I was raised by atheist parents. My mother left a family of Jehovah's Witnesses because of oppression against women (Nebraska, 1950's-early 60's). Atheism is too absolute for me - agnostic.

All I know is that a family of Witnesses is not cordial with non-Witness family member guests, and I really have an issue with that.

Answer 7

More people have been killed in the name of Greed and Power than Religion.

How do we eliminate Greed and Power?

With Religion.

Peace!

Answer 8

um, I think the world could do without religion yes. But I believe everybody should have a relationship with Jesus.

Answer 9

Like John Lennon's "Imagine".

Answer 10

If God didn't exist then we would have no reason to be alive. Society would degenerate into a free-for-all without order, love, or purpose.