Unceremoniously lump all religions ever together and encompass the entire span of human history with your mind's eye.
Good thing or bad thing?
2007-03-01 09:55:56 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Trying to rein in my prejudices - allowing for all the good people who find comfort in religion and live blameless, unselfish lives - the net effect has been devastatingly bad.
2007-03-01 10:00:04 · answer #1 · answered by Bad Liberal 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
The overall effect on mankind, wow that is such a tough question. Let me think. There were the crusades which saw innocent people killed, all in the name of religion. The Spanish Inquisition, the forced conversion of people all over the globe at the point of a sword or as tied to a stake and set on fire. The witch hunts. Just to name a few, and that is only Christianity. Wow, hard to say that religion has had anything but a negative impact on society. They are the richest business on the planet and hold more land, more art, more cash, etc. but still want more from everyone, including the poor in third world countries. Nope, must go with bad thing.
2007-03-01 10:05:32 · answer #2 · answered by cor001000 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wonder where the heck you pull these things from? Personally, I have found that religion, by teaching morality to man has in fact made man more knowledgable of the good and bad. Isn't religious morals where people turn to when they aren't even sure? It is religion in fact that stopped Barbarian Europe in the Dark Ages and made the people more "sophisticated". Most people in Europe these days dont really give as much a da*n about morality as they used to, it is WAY more civilized in the present than in the Dark Ages when most European barbarians were not yet aware of morality. Pope John Paul II contributed to the fall of Communism.
Cmon religion is the reason why the Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Whites are more at peace with each other in America than 200 years ago. Wasn't Martin Luther King religious?
In Asia and the Pacific Islands, Australia, South America, and Africa, although they are not always at peace, religion in those areas has "tamed" people. 300 years ago, people in these areas are to be looked down as animals but you don't see that much anymore. Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi,etc....
Yes there is violence and discrimination but since we are talking as a net whole, religion has contributed vastly to the civilization of people. People of today, even the Europeans and the Americas are more civilized and less racist as they used to be.
So religion is positive.
2007-03-01 23:52:42 · answer #3 · answered by 0 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No effect at all. It's just spam. Now, sometimes religion is used to spread chaos. Those would be viruses. SOmetimes used for good. Those would be those hilarious chain emails we get now and then. Religion is just a tool. It's how people have unreligously abused or used the tool that matters.
In other words I have no idea what the net effect is.
2007-03-01 10:02:59 · answer #4 · answered by Jedi 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a catch 22 situation. Religions have been at the root of a good portion of the wars and bloodshed that has occurred so in that sense, it is bad. However, God is not a religion. Religions specifically are made by man and often used by man to further his own agenda. God wants a personal relationship with you, his child. He doesn't care how many times you kneel or how many times you say a certain prayer. It is Him in your heart that he seeks.
2007-03-01 10:02:43 · answer #5 · answered by Poohcat1 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Frankly if there were no religion I am very afraid that we would not be here. Religions give us a guide line to live by and I don't care what religion you are talking about. Many of the mores of our society are actually from one religious belief or another. So the real answer to your question is yes they have a positive effect. Common law, Roman law, US Constitution, US law, this list could go on and on but think that you get the jest. part of my family go back to the Micmac Indians and they even governed them selves with religion. I did not say the Christian religions, but that wasn't your question. We are here today because of our beliefs and inspite of our bliefs.
2007-03-01 10:03:53 · answer #6 · answered by ffperki 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think on the whole religions have had positive effects. Too many anti-religious people ignore the myriad of small scale positive organizational effects that community of faith has on a people. Religions create a shared language for communicating morals...the list is endless.
2007-03-01 10:11:47 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In spite of the horror of the Crusades, I'm gonna go with "good thing;" for as Napoleon said (and I hardly consider him on the same plane as Mother Theresa),"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."
At least religion has some basic net effect on people such that they don't just revert to total chaos.
Just my opinion; I could be wrong.
(sips his beer)
2007-03-01 11:00:04 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Negative.
2007-03-01 10:03:50 · answer #9 · answered by Non-Believers.net 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you put it that way, then I'd say a bad thing. All but only a certain couple religions, promote hate and have violent histories.
2007-03-01 10:00:07 · answer #10 · answered by Abby C 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋