Is religion a good or a bad thing?

Question

Religion. One of the most debated topics in society today. Does the good outweigh the bad? Does the hope of salvation, belief in the soul and life after death justify countless deaths in the name of one God or another over the centuries?

Or would we be lost without it. Stuck in a meaningless existence with no sense of a higher purpose, no hope of higher meaning?

This isnt meant to be a religion bash. I'd just appreciate people's opinions.

Answer 1

religion is the cause of 99% of war - that can't be good can it?

I'm forever hearing in the news, about priests/vicars etc abusing children - crimes against children are the most horrific, evil things i can think of...

religion causes people to do some stupid things - followers of a religion are like sheep - they follow mindlessly, doing things inn the name of a god they don't even understand how to worship in the first place (take the "christians," if jesus christ ever turns up again, I think the last thing he's gonna want to see is hundreds of people wearing crosses, worshipping in morbid discomfort, surrounded by buried bodies, with a cross stuck on top of the building)

It's good to have faith, but why in something that has no effect upon your day to day life whatsoever? I have faith - in myself my family and friends, I even believe in a higher power - but i don't for a second pretend to know what that higher power/being is

lead your own life the way you think you should, use your own judgement, make your own morals, be nice to people, accept them for what they are. treat people how you'd like to be treated - most religions say this last one anyway, but none of them actually do it

about the only exception i can think of is buddhism - and even that has it's dark history

so yes, on the whole, i believe religion is the root of all evil. I believ in freedom - of speech, thought, mind and body... if you cause no harm to others - where's the harm?

your life is yours, no one elses.

Answer 2

This is a very difficult question to answer. But I'll try and break it down.

"Does the good outweigh the bad? Does the hope of salvation, belief in the soul and life after death justify countless deaths in the name of one God or another over the centuries?"

ABSOLUTELY NOT! It is selfish in the extreme for a person or group to kill people for their own supposed salvation. It is wrong on so many levels.

"Or would we be lost without it. Stuck in a meaningless existence with no sense of a higher purpose, no hope of higher meaning?"

Some people I'm sure would be. Many people need something to make sense of why they are here. Unfortunately it can often lead them to be closed to many other reasons/explanations for why we are here.

My own personal view is this: I don't believe in any religions. I think there is far too much dogma, ritual and bigotry involved for any of it to be true. While I admire people for their faith, I can't help feeling they are misguided in where thy direct it as it's pretty obvious to me that all religions are 1. made up by someone in the past 2. Have evolved over time for various reasons, including population control and money 3. Seem to adapt their 'holy books' to whatever situation they feel like. i'e, taking things in or out of context at will to make themselves right.

The bottom line is, we don't know if there is a God, if there is which one, if there is an afterlife or reincarnation etc.. We just don't know and there is no way of proving or disproving any of the above.

So for that reason I feel if people had an open mind, tried to live their lives as well as possible with out following the line of blind faith, but taking on board the possibility that their might be something, or their might not, but there is no certainty in anything you do here that may or may not influence what happens when you die.

Answer 3

I'm rather neutral on this topic. Religion is not a bad thing, people need to find some purpose of why they are on this earth. They need some belief that a higher power brought them here. Although on the other hand religious fanatics that go around thinking their religious sect is the best and not regarding other beliefs as any good is bad. Personally I don't really care very much about religion I mean my parents brought me into this world not a higher power. Bad stuff happens so deal with it, I can't stand when people use religion as a crutch to try and deal with their problems. It's like anything in this world, religion all comes down to personal opinion. There is no right or wrong answer.

Answer 4

Hi Mister-T -- Starting with your 2nd Paragraph -- Just because a Person has no so called "Religion" I fail to see how you can arrive at the "Stuck in a Meaningless existence" Phrase ---- Many Many People that I know , Trust , Respect , and Admire their Integrity , Decency and Humanity have no Specific "Religion" -- They lead Good Usefull and mainly Happy Lives .. Without the Others, the "God Botherers ", "You Should do This - You Should Do That" -- "We Are All Sinners" who see Evil and Badness - where none really Exists ,, Many of them seem totally Perplexed ,Muddled and Confused and to say the least "Far From Happy" -- Living in their "Prison" of Controlled Minds , Doubt , Unease and Fear ---- I Decided Many Years ago to "Open the Windows" on the Reality of Life -- Let the "Fresh Air" in Do my Best for my Fellow Man where Possible and enjoy all the Good and Wonderfull things which Life Offers to us --- and Avoid like the Plague those who Insiduosly , Spitefully and Judgementally attempt to "Curdle the Cream" with their "Unproveable" Overbearing , Dictatorial Opinions --Meddling in the Lives of Others ---- The Result -- A Happy , more contented and "at Ease with" Life -- Which in my Opinion is as it Should Be ????????

Answer 5

This is actually a very good question. I am a christian, not a church goer because of my belief's about churchs, and the one sided opinion. I think that if you want to have salvation, understand your god, and all of that you need to do it on your own. It is okay to go to church once in a while, but I mean to rely on the word of another man (a pastor, rabbi, ect.) is not my style. I think what you said about the whole violence issue for religion is quite a bad thing. I mean, I am not saying some people need to be terminated because of their horrible deeds. The killing of innocents just because of race, religion, color, or any of that is very wrong. Religion can sway in both ways. Some people take it to the absolute extreme, some take it as a hope and dream. Extremists are the main ones in my opinion who fill out this "violence" in religion. Even though this is definitely not aimed at Iraq only, of course not. There is also a holy war been going on for a very long time between North Ireland and Ireland about protestant and catholic. Along with that you have a territory war with israel (home of many different religions). So basically its not a bad thing to be religious, but some people take it way out of proportion and do things that are totally wrong and inadequate.

Answer 6

Religion and particularly the practice of religion is a power and therefore it has been used toward some advantage. But it has a divine agenda also and this redeems the practice. When something can be used to control a population it is usually used for this purpose. In China the government controls the people by controlling the past, they make up history. There is a powerful concept of what Chinese people do. Even in places where a foreigner has never been seen. This fear of not being Chinese enough is used in place of religion to exert control over the masses.

Now that religion is loosing some of its power it may improve its character further. I am a true believer, skeptic and critical thinker.

Answer 7

Religion is essentially bad. The bad qualities far outweigh the good. If even one life is lost in the name of religion then it's not worth it. We can live spiritual lives without having to believe in a God or a set of rules to live by. The only rule should be to follow your heart and do what is right and good.
We should be content with the mystery of the afterlife & not always search for answers... we will all find out one day, we just need to be patient.

Answer 8

The bad tends to outweigh the good, in my opinion. People do great things in the name of religion but they also do plenty of horrible things as well; one only needs to look throughout history to see examples of that. The thing I don't like about religion, though, is that a lot of times it causes people to accept this mindset of "don't think -- just accept". I've even seen that phrase given as an answer to questions on this forum. Don't think. Just accept. In other words, completely turn off your ability to question and analyze; don't worry, just trust that what you're reading is correct even though you have no idea how it works or what it means. That's the thing about organized religion that bothers me the most.

Miracles seem preposterous? Don't even give it a second thought -- it's in the hands of God.
Overwhelming evidence that the world is NOT 6,000 years old? No, just ignore all that.
Or better yet... contradictions in the Bible? No, Satan is making you think those thoughts. Just don't even allow questions like that to enter your head.

People who are very, very, very, very religious tend to develop that kind of mindset, and that's really saddening for me to see. My outlook is that we should question everything, analyze everything, CONSTANTLY search for answers and ask questions along the way. If you're wondering whether God exists and aren't 100% sure, it's not Satan's evil plot to try and throw you off -- go ahead, wonder. Doubt. Question. And determine your own answer. But whatever you do, don't ever stop thinking.

Answer 9

I used to think religion was good for nothing but, then I thought about all of the people who are going through tuff times such as a death in the family, loss of work etc etc. The first thing most people do is ask God to help them & in the case of a death the first thing people say is "He's/ She's with God now" & it gives those people hope & closure.In these cases I say religion is a GOOD THING.Yes, wars are caused by religion But, I think the hope & closure religion gives us far outways the bad.

Answer 10

Religion? Bad. Relationship with the Lord? Good.