Does religion bring out the worst in people?

Question

Personally, I believe it can bring out both the best and the worst in people. So why am I asking this question? To get your opinions, and to make you think. One of those questions that's not really a question...?
The Religion and Spirituality section makes me sad because it seems so full of hatred and viciousness. I think it's the meanest section of Answers I've been to. Why?
In my lifetime, there seems to have been a rise in religious intolerance and rigidity all across the world. Why? And where are we heading with it? Is it going to destroy us?
Way to go, humanity! Made extinct through warring about God! Sorry for the cynicism, but ow!!! seeing all this is painful!

Answer 1

Thats not cynicisim, that's reality. Remember, Christ said 'think not that I come to bring peace, but a sword... and a mans foes shall be of his own household.' I choose to believe he was telling the Truth.

Answer 2

I disagree that the arms merchants are the only ones that profit. I think the oil people also profit, hate profits and extremists, and, oh yes, death profits. I'm not real sure it's religion that brings out the worst in people, but people, that bring out the worst in themselves. Communism and Hitler's Master Race, racism, a flag, a bill of sale for a slave, any little justification seems to make anything OK. Religion only gives us something higher to blame. Actually maybe your right, maybe religion is to blame and not the founders. Most people have decided that it is. Inside we sense what the masters taught is true. It's just what we believe about what they taught that's not true. It's tricky. I guess it's a paradox, a seeming contradiction, but not really a contradition. From one perspective it's probably true and from another not. In a way, right causes wrong, because wrong can't be without right. Should we do away with right then or just do away with wrong? lol How devious our 'logic' is. Basically we have a problem, because it's believed that reason and logic can only go up to God and has to stop. Actually science is a method of inquiry. It can question anything and is used in all disciplines, at least the science teacher said. Actually I think physical science mainly focuses on the physical, but everything is really related by analogy. By that definition even physical things only relate by analogy and science relates with them by analogy. Science is studying psychic phenomena, getting energy from nothing and turning mind into matter, for heaven sakes. It is studying spirituality more than religion is, as religion has become dogma and it already 'knows' all there is to know? That doesn't sound like 'the spirit of truth', "Try all things, hold fast to what is fine.", "Test the inspired utterances to see if they're from God." "..get understanding,", "Meditate...day and night.", "Seek and you will find.", "I am... the truth..," and the like. I guess we can interpret things any way we like, by our understanding, spirit, or "The spirit of truth will lead you into all truth, even the deep things of God." Science is studying spirituality. What a paradox when religion isn't.

Answer 3

Someone told me along time ago that "its alot easier being bad then it is to be good". I believe that certain people when they state their religious beliefs are in their right minds and deserve to do so. However thos that put them down are those people that have been burned by people of religion. If I were an aethiest I wouldnt want some one of religion to preach to me about God. If I were a Christian i wouldnt want someone preaching to me about Aethism.
This is a touchy subject because people one way or another will pick at each others weaknesses much like a person would pick at a scab....Not all people do this dont get me wrong, but those that do "pick" are the ones that leave "a sore taste in the others mouth". Hehe sorry for being so quoted :)
I cannot say my answer is the right answer because there really is no right answer, but I can say that as long as we remember to be kind to others then we can have a better world. (Altho this is comparable to curing cancer by using a stick of cinnamen.)

Answer 4

Religious intolerance is not new..it's been with us forever. Think how many times the bible has been translated. The King James version is there because King James of England wanted it to say certain things. Each person's interpretation is a little bit different giving rise to all the religions. It doesn't matter how you believe in God, what's important is that you do believe. Greed, religion and meglomaniacs are responsible for wars which is a game played by old men and fought by young people who bleed and die and suffered by noncombatants. The only ones who profit are the arms merchants.

Answer 5

Honestly, I don't believe that religion will bring the worst in people. It is the people themselves, who bring the worst in their lives . People are weak (there are exeptions to this)
They have acquired so many bad habits, so much pride, material needs, greed (for power, money) , these are the things that would destroy peoples values and needs. Religions teach people to do good things, obey the commandments , to love..... , but that is not what people did because they have so much pride and use religion in making getting attention even if deep within they are not doing exactly what the church or religion taught them. .... It has something to do with human nature. Really, there is nothing to do with it, you can't change people for that is (?) already a part of their nature, but what is important of all that bad things people did, there are a few who is good and know exactly the teaching and how it can change or help in molding a person into someone whose doing the right things in life. Nobody is really perfect but it helps when we do what is right for ourselves and others as well. Just give a hand for the needy...

Answer 6

Yours is an excellent question. It does seem so sometimes, doesn't it? I don't think religion brings out the worst in people though. It's not religion that does that. It's more about people these days not having a sense of who they are in relation to God. If people really understood that we are all God's creation, and the depth of what that means, I don't think they'd behave in quite the same manner. If folks really believed that God hears and sees everything I don't think they'd be so mean to each other. Do you?

Answer 7

i'm an aetheist solely because where i see religion, i also see the deep hatred of these people to other humans who do not believe in their god.how can you call religion good if it incites hatred, and i mean real hatred, towards a fellow human being. its all ok and sweet while one is in the same group, but let someone say theirs is the better religion and you can see the wrath, the foaming mouth, the livid anger. I for one profess to do the best i can while not following or being bound down by the chains of any religion.

Answer 8

I know all too well. I am a Latter-day Saint (Mormon),and the nicest thing that's said to me is "Do you have more than one wife?" No one has the guts to find out about other religions because they are afraid that their religion might be proven wrong. No wonder why there's so many holy wars!