Religion - Root of all evil?

Question

Many of the wars, injustices, and general wrong doings in society - right back from the beginning of time are because of religion. what if we all just accepted that we evolved, there is/are no god(s) and just be happy and get along.
People are blowing them selves up and killing innocent people because their religion says they'll go to heaven if they do. If we do away with religion then we won't have anything to fight about - right?

Answer 1

Why not look at it this way...
If we are not that power hungry, we'll not spend so much money to build nuke and other weapons of mass destruction (stealth bombers, smart bombs, etc).

I thought the love of money is the root of all evil. I don't recall when religion came into the picture.

I would say that the ignorance and foolishness of believing in what is NOT religious AS religious itself is the root of all evil. God's prophets propound love, peace, forgiveness, salvation, etc. Remember? And instead we go after hatred, war, chaos, revenge, etc.

Answer 2

Luke 16 : 13 .. No servant can serve two masters : for either he will hate the one , and love the other ; or else he will hold to the one , and depise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon .***** Most of the strife you speak of that is evident in the world today is because of man using his free will and getting further and further away from the true teachings of God " since the beginning of time ". You personally can do away with religion in your mind , but that doesn`t change the fact that the you have ignored the true teachings of The Lord . My Bible tells me to love my neighbor , and stray far from the evil and sins of this world that man has devised with his free will .The things you speak of are of the devil , not of God !! Make no mistake , one day you will take your last breath here on this earth , and the question will be evident to you then , " Is There All There Is ".****************** For Patrick , It is the " LOVE " of money that is the root of all evil , not money itself .

Answer 3

Its not that religion is the root of all evil. I think you find that most religions teach love, the problem therefor lies in the fact of man. Human pride, and self righteous attitudes. The reason Lucifer was thrown from heaven was because he wanted everyone to follow God and not give them a choice. This is the kind of attitude that starts wars!! So i say that not allowing an individual freedom of choice. "My Way or the Hiway!!! When people learn to accept that others are entiled to their own believes and cultures, then religious wars wont exist. To say religion is the root of all evil is to say that the man who shot someone with a gun was not at fault but the gun that shot him. So the root of evil starts with a state of mind.

Answer 4

T totally agree but i think its Religion AND Money.

However people will always have their religion and beliefs, im not religious at all and don't agree with some of their beliefs and some completely disgust me, but on the other hand i always want more money not necessarily for myself or in a greedy way at all but for friends and family so we can all have a better lifestyle!!

Although your suggestion is great, its something that will never happen and never be solved...imagine the uproar and trying to solve the problem would cause more destruction and war.

Another thing I've always wondered, if for example terroism wasnt an issue, or never even heard of and someone told you his/her plan to blow something up or kill themselves, nowadays you'd think this person had a mental illness, and would need help, wouldnt you?!

Answer 5

I'm am not sure where you get the dea that religion is the cause of all these wars, I hear it so often. But was WW2 a religious war? Vietnam? Korean? Where are all these religious wars. What you mention about people blowing themselves up is certainly not a sane religious act, and it needs to be stopped, just like Hitler's actions were insane. I really think you have misconceptions about religion, and in particular about Christianity.

Answer 6

There is a horrible religious war (jihad) infecting the world right now, but if you look at the root causes of all the major wars in the past 300 years, you will really have to use your imagination to blame religion for the vast majority of them.

As for all evil: Are you serious? Even if someone were to come up with a "religious" excuse for crimes such as rape, larceny, slavery, adultery, homicide, child molestation, and so many other evils, do you really think the root of all these is religion? Do you think accepting evolution will cure these?

Answer 7

All the religious wars put together couldn't match the horror brought on by the murder and torture during the 20th century by the Communists and the Nazis.
USSR murdered 50 to 75 million of its own citizens.
Red China murdered 60-80 million of its own citizens.
Nazism responsible for the death of 20 million people.
Pol Pot. Murdered 2 1/2 million Cambodians.
After the USA left Viet Nam over 3 million people were killed by Communists.
Idi Amin Dada murdered hundreds of thousands of his fellow Ugandan countrymen. Resides today in Gadhafi's Libya.
Countless people in Southern Africa Butchered because of Covenants that go back centuries.

Get the beam out of your eye before trying to take the teeny weeny speck out of your brothers.

I Cr 13;8a
12-5-6

Answer 8

No. PEOPLE are the root of all evil. Religion in itself is fine...but when mankind begins to twist the words of Mohammed and of Jesus to support violence and evil, it is evident that MAN is the problem.
The teachings of Christ are perfect. Man is not. We twist everything: Sex, marijuana, food, and alcohol, among many things. We abuse this beautiful world we were given. WE start wars with each other, WE choose to abuse each other.
Does it not make sense then that we abuse religion as well?
It's my belief that mankind is inherently flawed. Therefore, everything that we use, we abuse.
It doesn't mean that what we use is evil.

Answer 9

It is not that simple. Religious faith is mindless rubbish, but it is not the root of all evil. Religious movements, such as Christianity have been very constructive in human history, in terms of society, art, literature, etc, but as with everything, there is a down side. Intolerance, dogma, bigotry, and religious violence have taken an inordinate toll. It is to be hoped that the future will be an age of reason, when religion fades away quietly, to be replaced by....nothing. It should not be replaced, but the elements of life that were covered by religion should be taken over by philiospohy, ethics, law, civil codes of behaviour, etc Otherwise, harmful patterns of behaviour will just be repeated.

Answer 10

People always like war with religion or without religion.