At what point does religion become dangerous?

Question

Is all religion "bad" because it teaches false beliefs? even if it breeds charity?

Is it only harmful when it interferes or violates the rights of others?

Answer 1

When it gets to the point where one is harrassing other people, neglecting other areas of their life (like work and school and friends and health), and preaching hate and ill will toward other living things, it has crossed the line.

Blessed Be.

Answer 2

Religion becomes dangerous when you are convinced that it can be the only true religion. With it comes the realization that other religions will feel the same way. Those two ideas together produce a dangerous realization ... just as you would eliminate the other "false" religions if you had the chance, you realize that each of them would eliminate your religion if they had the chance. And that is the root of true religious paranoia that leads to intolerance and war.

However, the more I hang around YA, the convinced I am that religion can be even more insidious. (And please note that I said *can be* ... through all of this I want to be clear that I still believe that religion can be a great and positive thing.)

Where religion is *also* dangerous is in suppressing rational thought. When religious authority teaches people to deny or turn a blind eye to evidence, then people learn the skills of trusting leaders over evidence. This leads to believing leaders who generate bogus reasons for going to war, based on flimsy or non-existent evidence. It contributes to people denying issues like global warming until it is possibly too late, because they trust politicians over scientists, even on questions of science.

In other words ... ignorance kills.

And again, I am NOT saying that religion is ignorance. I am saying that *blind* religion can *lead* to ignorance. Faith has a place over rationalism on matters of spirit and personal morals and ethics. But when faith *replaces* rationalism in all matters, at the very moments when you need to make rational decisions, ... then that is *very* dangerous.

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit attrocities."
-Voltaire

Answer 3

I feel that religion becomes dangerous at its inception. It encourages the acceptance of fuzzy reasoning, and intellectual laziness. I also don't see it as breeding charity so much as bastardizing it. Ideally, charity is altruistic in nature. Religiously motivated charitable contributions of one's time, effort, or money seem to be more of a purchase than a gift, wherein the giver keeps a mental tally sheet or scorecard (or assumes their deity keeps one) on which their "charitable" act will cancel out a past wrong, compensate for a future one, or simply add a comfortable margin of good deeds over bad. Replacing altruism with egocentrism also has the unlovely effect of making it much easier to justify interfering with or violating the rights of others.

Answer 4

If any religion teaches false beliefs they are dangerous so also are fundamentalists.As long as any religion teaches false hood and encourages people to do harm to others or propagates hatred they are dangerous and interferes with other peoples rights.

Answer 5

Black/white bad/good duality is one of the things I like least about Abrahamic religions. 'Bad' by itsaelf is an empty concept. All in life is degrees.

Intereference with other people's rights is inacceptable and any philosophy that does that _is_ 'bad'. However, even a simple theistic practice that doesn't hurt non-believers is still a lesser degree of 'bad' because it imprisons its believer in a web of untruth.

It's _less_ bad, maybe, but it still isn't good. Secular charity does exist.

Answer 6

It becomes dangerous when fundamental denominations start announcing agendas, like "we're taking back America," as if it was ever "theirs" to begin with.

The Bill of Rights gives us many freedoms, and I don't need someone who's collar is too tight controlling what I see, read, hear, etc.

Answer 7

the question would be dangerous to whom .. the US was founded on religeous freedom and its why people ventured here in the first place .. religeon was meant to be tolerated here .. its wrong to get the idea that just because u have to listen to someone pray in a classroom ur "rights" have been violated .. its backwards to everything the country was founded on ...

Answer 8

All religion is dangerous all the time. Stay away from religion.
Instead you should develop a relationship with God through the love of Jesus. Let God be your Father and you be His Child.

RELATIONSHIP, not religion.
I Cr 13;8a, Love never fails!!!!!

Answer 9

Religion becomes dangerous when one of it's fanatics acts upon their prejudice. Maybe that's an apparent truth, but, nonetheless, 'tis true.

Answer 10

When you actually listen and do wht people tell you. All religious teachings should just be lessons to make you think. When you are robotized then you have no free will.