Has the humanity benefited or suffered from the existence of various religions?

Answer 1

Doubtless many have been consolled by religion in the past and for many even in the present day it gives meaning to their lives....

But....... I would rather be Socrates than a satisfied fool and therin lies the problem for religion, no matter whether the tally of wasted lives would be more or less with or without religion it destroys all that is truly spectacular about humanity, its curiousity. Once one relies on faith, that horrible weasel word, true humanity dies and is replaced by automatons blindly following, deaf to so much of what this world and universe has to offer.

Answer 2

In my opinion, humanity has suffered greatly from religion.

While it has given past leaders a way to keep his/her people under control, founded the basis of moral code, and gave/gives a way to join peoples together, it oftentimes leads to unnecessary wars and it impedes on human learning.

Also, it is arguable that moral code did NOT spawn from religion. Does it really take religion to inform someone that murder is punishable? Of course not. Religions just take obvious taboos found in society and weave them into their frames. This is especially obvious from the Bible: in the Ten Commandments, murder comes AFTER the rule restricting someone from worshipping another god. Personally, that doesn't seem moral at all.

Religion has also caused numerous wars to spring up between religions, all because either a) both sides are so assured that their faith is the right one that they are willing to kill and die for it, or b) a certain faith feels the need to convert "savages" (a term oftentimes used to describe polytheistic or animistic peoples) to the "right" religion. Such blind faith leads to wide-scale massacres, and all over something that isn't even of true value, that is just a difference of faith or belief.

And while some may argue against this next case, religion habitually hampers the human race from advancing technologically. And this is all thanks to a simple way of thinking. Religion in general has a strange view on human ignorance: it ENCOURAGES it. While scientists and other such thinkers see a gap in human intelligence and automatically feel the need to fill it with some theory or bit of evidence that comes from possibly years of research, religion VALUES ignorance, focusing on the mystery to increase the awe-inspiring figure of their god. Such thinking was a factor as to why Western Europe lagged behind so far technologically during the Middle Ages, finally coming to enlightenment during the Renaissance. Another example would be the North American abolishment of slavery, which came astoundingly late. A major reason for this is that the Bible upholds the idea of slavery, mentioning it several times. Also, since a major focus of the above time was on Christianity, many people found themselves flipping through Bibles, hoping to find a quote that could be used to uphold his/her stand on a subject, despite the fact that simple moral justification SHOULD have been an option to argue with involving the abolishment of slavery.

Honestly, I think the world would be a MUCH better place if religion was destroyed. It was created as a faux patch over the vast human ignorance of such times, but, now that we have advanced technologies and sciences, it is time to remove it and allow the scientific horizon to broaden.

(However, the above statement is a VERY optimistic one. I am aware that the more realistic hope for the future is just a lessening of religion down to a hobby of sorts instead of a way of life, lessening blind faith with the downgrade.)

Answer 3

It depends on how you look at it. If you're looking from the viewpoint of today and the nearly hopeless situations we get into because people from different religions refuse to compromise because their god is god and the wars and other terrible things that come out of believing in religion, then no, we have not benefited from religion. If, however, you look at religion as a survival mechanism then the answer changes. If you think about the ability of religions to motivate people to go out and do things, like kill or convert whole groups of people, that they would normally never do, and think about how that would have been a great edge to early humans who had religions to motivate their people to go out and destroy their rivals and thus better secure their own survival, then religion has benefited us immensely. However, now this very same thing that once helped our ancestors to survive now threatens our own survival if we don't find some way to neutralize it.

Answer 4

"Has the humanity benefited or suffered from the existence of various religions?"

Yes.


It has benefited humanity greatly at many points. Humanity has also suffered greatly.

Then again, the alternative (Communism) killed over 100 million people in 75 years' time.

Answer 5

I think humanity has suffered because of humans.

In other words, humans kill because they kill. People throughout the centuries have found a reason to kill, whether it because of race, stature, religion, jealousy.

With as much that has been said bad about religion, what about the countless of people every Sunday that gather together to give money to the poor, help build a home from someone that doesn't have one, or volunteer their time to a worthwhile cause.

Of course, if you take my view point, it is because people are also good, not necessarily religion.

If you take religion out of the equation, you just realize that there are good people and bad people. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Answer 6

Suffered, but it may be because of the nature of man and how religion is used. The thing is religion is a social institution and as such tends to get used as a social tool. Divine inspiration and epiphonies and the like are not the same as religion. Religion is the explanation for the inspiration, if you will.

So since religion is a social tool, it tends to be used or abused for off purposes.

Answer 7

Both. Christianity was undoubtedly responsible for persecuting and killing many people, but it was also the leading force behind the movement to abolish slavery, improve the conditions of people in prisons, mental hospitals and at work. Judaism was often involved in reform movements and Hinduism and Islam have a tradition of helping the poor. The end of the Vietnam War was certainly brought about by the campaigning of Asian Buddhists.

Answer 8

I'm going to tell you the same thing I told my son, "the number one cause for division in the world is religion. Sadly people judge and alienate others just because they worship in a different manner. Unfortunately religion is needed to restrain humans and to create fear so they can behave less like animals and more like their Prophets.Jesus , Mohammad, Buda, Ganesha,Adonai etc."

Answer 9

Benefited because it gave man something to strive towards... gave man morals (to an arguable extent), gave him meaning, and to a degree, a will to exist. Then humanity used it for more than it was intended, and created wars with it, killed each other with it, used it as a tool for hate.

Answer 10

Blame it on religion, religion has caused untold death and misery down the centuries and continues to do so.

The Catholic Church has the blood of millions of Africans on their hands because of the Church's ban on condoms in a continent ravaged by Aids. Most third world countries, in Latin America, Africa and Asia have burgeoning populations leading to poverty, disease and hunger...all thanks to religion. I could go on, but you get my drift.