How does your religion rate..?

Question

Does your religion foster ignorance, stifle the pursuit of knowledge, foster division, and discourage being pro-active..?

If not, then why are you so ignorant of conventional "mainstream" scientific principles and understandings, which unlike religion, are globally uniform, without borders, do not discriminate, have no hidden agenda, and allow understanding and so offer methods for pro-active responses..?

Answer 1

Catholicism

1. Does your religion foster ignorance or stifle the pursuit of knowledge?

No.

In just the United States, the Catholic Church has:
+ 6,148 elementary schools educating 1,674,317 students
+ 1,354 high schools educating 679,506 students
+ 231 Colleges and Universities educating 763,757 students

The Vatican even has its own observatory.

2. Does your religion foster division

No.

"The Catholic Church embraces with hope the commitment to ecumenism as a duty of the Christian conscience enlightened by faith and guided by love…Jesus himself, at the hour of his Passion, prayed 'that they may all be one' (John 17:21)." -- Pope John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint, May 25, 1995.

The Catholic Church (in the United States) already has the following open dialogs with her sister Churches:

- The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation
- The Joint Committee of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops
- The Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation
- The Polish National Catholic-Roman Catholic Dialogue
- The Anglican-Roman Catholic Consultation USA
- The Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue
- Roman Catholic-Reformed Consultation
- The United Methodist-Catholic Dialogue
- Southern Baptist Convention-Catholic Dialogue
- The Evangelical-Catholic Dialogue
- Faith and Order Commission, National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA
- Consultation with the National Council of Synagogues
- Consultation with the Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical Council of America

http://www.usccb.org/seia/officialdialogues.shtml

3. Does your religion discourage being pro-active?

No.

We are encouraged to both work for the preservation and betterment of human dignity and corporal works of mercy.

For example, Catholics believe that life is a sacred gift from God and needs to be treated with all human dignity from the moment of conception to the point of natural death.

The Catholic Church is pro-life in the widest sense. This is often called a "Consistent Ethic of Life."

This pro-life stance stresses the highest regard for dignity of human life including that of:
+ All people in objecting to unjust war and nuclear arms.
+ The unborn in objecting to to abortion, in vitro fertilization, frozen embryos, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning
+ The elderly, sick and dying in objecting to assisted suicide and euthanasia
+ Prisoners in objecting to the death penalty
+ The poor and minorities in supporting social justice issues.

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt2art5.htm#2270

4. Why are you so ignorant of conventional "mainstream" scientific principles and understandings?

We are not. In fact, many of the historical and current "conventional 'mainstream' scientific principles and understandings" were originally theorized by Catholics.

5. Why is your religion not globally uniform?

Except for a few cultural differences, every Catholic Church in every country in the entire world is the same. The Catholic Church does not have borders.

At the command of Jesus Christ, we have made "disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

6. Why does your religion discriminate?

We don't. It is against our religion.

Discrimination is against the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church:

Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity.

The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it:

Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God's design.

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect1chpt2art3.htm#1934

6. Why does your religion have a hidden agenda?

We do not. The mission of the Church is to proclaim and establish the Kingdom of God begun by Jesus Christ among all peoples.

The Church constitutes on earth the seed and beginning of this saving Kingdom.

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9.htm#767

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

I know many PHDs in science who are devoutly religious. Ido not find generic or actual science and religion to be in conflict. Also, there really is no such thing as a generic religion: there are religions and many shades and types and attitudes within each religion. There are also many types of science,including humanities like theology and religious studies. Ignorance of religions is ignorance of history,philosophy,anthropology and sociology and psychology

Answer 3

Mmm, nice question, but it is a bit of a non-aimer. Whatever the xians say (well, and other religious people) you will disagree, and whatever atheists say you will agree with.

I am atheist btw, strongly, I just get bored with the same question over and over again: "Relion is stupid and atheism [often portrayed as 'science'] is great and we should all be it". The wont change just because you say so, they are religious, apparently they need no evidence (just 'faith').

Anyways, thanks for moan!

Ashley