Argument for a better world without religion...?

Question

Is this fair?

1) Religion can be attributed to good things (charity, consolation, morality, etc.) and bad things (intolerance, oppression of women, etc.)

2) All of the good things about religion can be accomplished without religion.

Therefore, the world would be a better place without religion.

I have a feeling some may argue against my second premise. I would submit that 1) our morality is derived from an innate sense of right and wrong. For example, many holy texts have things in it that go against widely held moral standards (stoning people, slavery, etc.) When we pick and choose what parts we agree with, WE are the judge of right and wrong, not the holy text. 2) Obviously anybody can perform charity work whether they are religious or not. 3) We can find consolation and "spiritual inspiration" without religion by understanding how unique we are in the scope of the vast universe and can appreciate beauty in nature without attributing it to a creator.

Answer 1

Paul said that the law of god is etched into the heart of every man. That a man that never hears the good news, or the gospel of Jesus Christ, but lives a good life he becomes a law unto himself and will find eternal life with god. You are right you can have all the good without religion. The thing is I believe that Jesus never meant for there to be so many religions, or denomination of churches, he didn't teach that. What he did teach was love everyone including your enemies. If everyone would do this there would still be charity, consolation, and morality, and there would not be intolerance, or oppression of any sort.

Answer 2

I agree with both your statements 1 and 2, but keep in mind that there could also be a statement 3: " All of the bad things about religion can be accomplished without religion." Both Stalin and Mao proved this on a large scale and on many occasions, and that's just in the 20th century.

While religion is not necessary for good things to happen, the absence of religion by itself is no guarantee of a better world.

Answer 3

Wow... where does one start?

(1) All human institutions (which all religions are) have good and bad attributes. That doesn't mean we eliminate all human institutions. We take the bad with the good, try to make the bad better.
(2) All good things CAN be accomplished without religion if we're talking about social and economic justice and if we had enough good, intelligent, committed people out there to do it... maybe. Religion has been an organized way for people to connect with things beyond human reason or understanding and that probably couldn't be replaced by other institutions really...
(3) We can all appreciate the cosmos in our own way. Some believe the universe is fantastic without the need to believe in a Creator, that the mystery of how it came to be is sufficient for them for their notion of "religion". And some of us still see the need.

For me, frankly, it comes down to this. Humanity is screwed up -- I mean screwed up beyond repair. Despite century upon century, we do unspeakable things to each other, destroy our planet, and treat today like there's no tomorrow. NOTHING, I mean NOTHING, we try to do to fix things works -- not our technology, not our wisdom or knowledge, not our "knowing what's right" and just doing it. Our species is incapable of it. Couple that with a gorgeous universe all by itself spinning on its own, alone, until the stars burn out and all life and matter in it are dead... and I'm ready for a bullet in my skull. I NEED to believe that there is something greater than screwed-up humanity. I NEED to believe that some One transcendent and loving and caring did something to save this world from itself. Maybe its childish, maybe it's not rational, but it keeps ME alive.

Answer 4

Therefore, you are wrong. YOU can do all those good things without religion, because you were raised in a God fearing society. You may not need religion in your life, but if the country were religion free, you might think differently. How well did China, USSR, NKorea and Cambodia under Pol Pot do with the notions of charity, morality, human compassion etc? Not well.

Answer 5

No. The murders and the "disappearances" of dissenters in communist countries show what happens in countries surpressing religion. Also, religion did not cause the holocaust - evil people did. Also, religion is what teaches many people morals and conscience. Without religion, there is no higher Authority than man, so what is accepted as immoral and cruel in one generation might be moral in the next few, and sought-after in a couple of generations.

Answer 6

First of all ask yourself, how did you get here? I'm pretty sure you we're created and not just dropped down from the universe. Why don't people want to give credit where credit is do? Second, of course anyone can perform charity work but that does not guarantee you a place in heaven. Lastly, God gave us free will to make our choices although sometimes our choices are not so great.
P.S. try not to analyze God.

Answer 7

Job 38:2 Who [is] this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

Job 38:16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?


Job 38:17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?


Job 38:18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.


Job 38:19 ¶ Where [is] the way [where] light dwelleth? and [as for] darkness, where [is] the place thereof?

I just thought that I'd ask since you think you know so much.

Answer 8

any one who is a bigot against religion is not helping things either. Most people know right from wrong but most people also chose to ignore their conscience for immediate satisfaction. A non believer who is wronged will find a way to get revenge. That is the cause of most of the worlds problems. A true believer would be more forgiving and will leave justice up to God.

Answer 9

I agree, as long as people believe in a good God, they will be saved. people should define themselves based upon this goodness.


the world would be such a better place if everyone worked together, without the boundaries that religion places between our different walks of life.

Answer 10

There is a way
that seems right to man
and the ways thereof
are the ways of DEATH !!!

You have a precursor to your "world without religion" in the school systems across America at this moment in time !!
They took prayer -- and essentially -- God -- out of the system some time back -- and since that time -- the numbers speak for themselves as to how "successful" this was --- The incidences of almost every single psychopathic behavior known to mankind has risen so sharply that the administrators are in a daily battle to simply maintain anything akin to order !!!!!!!
Yeah, that's what we need -- a good solid dose of THIS madness out in the wild , free, open social order at large !!!!!