Do you think religion limits us as humans?

Question

Or can we be just as intelligent, free, and powerful with it.

Answer 1

Religion? what for? We need religion so our life will make sense, so we cann fill the empty place in the soul, because I think a soul is useless without a religion , so we can have a purpos and some where to go to when we're desperate or lost i the world.

Answer 2

All beliefs, religious or otherwise limit us, but limits ARE the mechanism for the expression of intelligence, freedom and power.

Electricity is everywhere, but limiting it’s flow to wires and tools makes it’s power available to us. We are free to create, to express our intelligence, because of the limits.

It’s ironic that most the whining about Religion, comes from people belonging to societies which rose to power as a result of Religious beliefs. If you understand Darwinism, you understand that Religion, like every thing else, is the result of evolution.
Should we whine about the opposable thumb? Really, how many have died needlessly because our thumbs let us handle swords and throw spears?

Religion persists because it conveys a survival advantage on those who believe.

The real question is not if society can be powerful with Religion, but can it be strong without it. It is unwise to advocate the removal of Religion without first understanding why it evolved, and the purpose it serves.

Answer 3

Religion limits you as a human only if you believe in it. By following any religion you automatically put yourself into a box with certain restrictions and limitations, though many of these are good - don't kill, don't steal, etc. I think if religious people could acknowledge that they have no "proof" in their religious beliefs, but simply have "faith" that they are correct, the world would be a calmer, more loving place.

Answer 4

Spirituality can be freeing. Religion is a man-made construct, to help give form and ceremony. Religion can be restrictive, but that's not the purpose of it. Religion, as anything else, can be taken too far and taken too seriously. As long as you know your own personal relationship with God or whomever you look to spiritually, you're free. When you can subscribe to a particular religion, but still feel comfortable questioning it and seeking answers, you're free. Even Jesus taught that God wants people to come to Him on their own, and to always question self-proclaimed experts and religious leaders. It's freeing to do so.

Answer 5

As has already been said by others, religious orthodoxy appears to be a voluntary choice to shut down various avenues of the thought process.

I'd disagree, however, with those who say we can't be as intelligent as we'd have been otherwise, should we make that choice. Too many profound thinkers in too many fields have embraced religious orthodoxy, sometimes of a severely restricting nature.

Many Muslem, Christian, and Jewish thinkers outside the sphere of religious doctrine have demonstrated genius.

Answer 6

Religion is the name of limits and we have to make our way through all these limitations.

Answer 7

The inquisition did set the world back at least 600 years of dark ages. The Arab world is now going through it's own inquisition and dark ages. Even now they are constantly at odds with intellectual progress, family planning, environment, political freedom, etc. Remember, the world is flat, and it ended at the millennium.

Answer 8

nothing wrong with faith. absolutely nothing. it strengthens people and inspires them to seek answers, and be strong, free, and intelligent. religion, on the other hand, requires you to lose your intelligence, freedom and power to what other people think you should be. so it depends on what you're talking about.

P.S.
i like your bio. you seem intelligent and inspired.

Answer 9

I think that it doesn't limit us. What I think limits us is the stuff that we think is fact. When we were little children we could dream and imagine anything. IF we could dream and imagine as well as we did when we were ignorant then the world would only grow.

Answer 10

Religion can limit us or enhance our life experience. It all depends on how you practice religion and, up to a certain point, wich religion we do practice.