Should religion be made illegal?

Question

It causes so many problems, fosters hatred and causes divisions within communities.

Maybe instead churches, bibles etc. should be highly taxed like cigarettes?

Answer 1

By banning religion, we are no better than the people who seek to ban gay marriage or civil rights due to religious ideologies.

I do, however, believe that it should be a crime to invoke any form of religion into politics and government.

Answer 2

What do you recommend - thought police??? In the Bible of Christianity (which by the way is a way of life, not a religion) James chapter 1 verse 27 states that: "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." I am wondering which part of that "fosters hatred and causes divisions within communities".

Answer 3

Religion may create problems, fosters hatred and causes divisions within communities so does race, gender, economic differences, class, education, lack of education, sexual orientation, etc. Not to mention plan stupidity So are we going to make everything illegal?

Answer 4

Those things are caused by people and many use religion to try and justify their actions. Besides if religion were to be made illegal how would you stop people from practicing their faith? Do you plan on creating a religious holocaust, throw them into concentration camps and prison cells for choosing to believe in a higher power? That would make you just as bad as those who use religion to justify their hatred.

Answer 5

I say no, and I'm an atheist.

For some people, it really helps them. And despite what you think of the underlying premise, religious organizations do a good job of helping people that need it. They run soup kitchens, they organize schools, they foster blood drives, clothing drives, help restock food banks, charter youth groups, give meeting spaces to organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous. I can't think of any other kind of institution that does so much to help people that need it. If it wasn't for the belief thing, I'd probably join one.

Answer 6

religion does cause some problems but come on it don't cause it all, people have to take some of the blame...And why would you want it to be illegal? we who do have our faiths will just keep believing as before. It will not stop any Christian if it did become illegal, it would just make us that much more stronger and determined to speak up..

Answer 7

It most certainly should not. If religion were not here then no one would have had a guideline for them. If we did not have religion then we would still be torturing and slaughtering on mass scale. Christianity does, in no way, inhibit our freedom. No- wait, the Bible clearly states that we can’t murder!!!! Oh my goodness!!!! God won’t let us rape defenseless women either!! God also says that we can’t steal!! How oppressive!! Where would we be without all the atheists who say that the Bible is evil?!

Answer 8

No. The problems are obvious; the solution is not. The Communists tried to minimize religion in the USSR, with only limited success. People like their superstitions, no matter how harmful they are to themselves and to society.

Answer 9

And how do you propose to enforce this? Am I to count on "informed" atheism to guide the decision making process about how to treat dissentors?

I bet you will have a tough time of this, though, since persecution has the effect of intensifying belief. If you wish to flood an area with something, forbid it.

Answer 10

Uh NO... religion is a reflection of culture it is clashes of culture which causes divisions and hatred deleting religion would do nothing but cause us to lose morality so we could just kill each other because we don't have anything to believe to make it right or wrong anyway