Do religions continue to exist because there is so many evil things happening in the world?

Question

The different religions are the only institutes that promote and encourage good behaviour, compassion, kindness, brotherly love etc. I can understand parents dragging their kids to church in the hope that they will pick up positive messages and turn out better, nicer people than sercumb to social influences of selfishness, greed and corrupt type behaviour. Modern culture doesn't seem to promote caring and sharing behaviour but promotes more negative behaviour.

Answer 1

I think they continue to exist largely because most people feel there is "something out there" but they can't usually put their finger on it or pin it down or define it. So they end up mainly accepting the traditional religions they are brought up with.

I think a lot try to combat humanity's negative urges as well, but too often they end up being used to justify them.

Answer 2

Religion is a way to understand what is unexplainable. but more importantly it is a way to not take the blame.
Example, a mother killed her three children, then claimed "the devil lived inside them"
a person gets over a serious illness that doctors said could not be cured, "God has saved me"
Someone of one religion kills a person of a different religion, "They did it for they're religion"
Religion is an excuse, though some find happiness in they're blind faith and no one has the right to ruin/change that.
So just accept that some believe and some don't it really doesn't matter what they believe. Religion doesn't cause things or make people do things its just the excuse for them happening.

Answer 3

I'm inclined to think the opposite.

The different religions insist on the indoctrination of children to believe they are responsible to god for their actions rather than the people and world around them. This, firstly, enables them to dismiss the negative consequences of blindly obeying religious moral diktats and to believe, wrongly, that people impacted as a consequence of blind co-incidence (car and plane crashes, earthquakes, tsunamis, famine, drought, stray bombs and bullets, fire, lightening and any other "acts of god" you can think of) are somehow to blame for their own suffering. Religion acts as an anaesthetic numbing the humanity in people.

When children are brought up with religion and MADE TO believe it, their natural humanity is a diminished. All the things you mentioned, "good behaviour, compassion, kindness, brotherly love", become dependant on the narrow approval of religion. And, when the child outgrows myths and fairy tales, realising the nonsense of it, god and all, the good behaviour, compassion, kindness, brotherly love etc, that depended on religion in the mind of the child, lose their mooring.

Religion does not enhance humanity, it replaces it.

Good behaviour, compassion, kindness, brotherly love, etc, should be taught, in the first place, within the context of humanity, not religion.

Answer 4

I can't agree with you that Modern Culture fails to promote positive behaviour, that's what us psychologists are working our @sses off trying to do! And I can't agree that religion promotes good behaviour either, when's the last time you read a religious book? The Bible and Qu'ran are truly horrific! Religion lasts because it tells people that by following it you can never die (Non-exist). Everyone, no matter how death-defying they may seem, fear death. Atheists have just come up with other ways to reassure themselves. You can live on through family, great achievements and through the worms that digest your corpse.

Answer 5

I beg to dis-agree for Christianity is not a religion. It is life for "eternal life" in Chrsit Jesus. St. Paul was so religious in his Jewish Religion but he said he left it just to know Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection that can be his also. In religion, man fashions a God that he can handle. If theres anything that makes a bright person stupid and robs him of his common sense, it is "Religion".Religious people are the most tormented individual persons, so highly legalist, mix with egos, full of condemnations, letting passion take the place of judgement and self-will reign instead of Scriptural Authority through rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15) People who are morally intelligent and even understood the grace of God have mostly fall in line with the many non-biblical and legalistic practices inside their own churches.

Answer 6

Religions are not the only institutes that encourage good behavior. In fact religions in a lot of cases do just the opposite.

What is evil? everyone sees things in a different light, example one religion can see another as evil, so which one is??? Good behavior comes from within and has nothing to do with any man made religion

Answer 7

I believe you Lucifer. faith brings out the worst in human beings. alongside with tribalism, nationalism, patriotism or regardless of you call it, it extremely is the main significant reason of wars. i'm an atheist and that i attempt to act decently because of the fact it extremely is the main appropriate ingredient to do, to no longer save my soul out of hell. maximum intercourse offending is dedicated by using the non secular and right here in NZ that quite often ability christians. places that are heavily non secular like the States, Saudi, Iran and Afghanistan are the main barbaric contained in the worldwide.

Answer 8

Wow - this is the whole concept behind the Bush admistration staying in office: they need evil out there to keep them in power because they say that they protect everyone from evil.

Religion is the same, yes. If everyone were happy, they would have little psychological need for religion. Great question.

Answer 9

Here is a good read for you and others out there.

Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man…living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer and burn and scream until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you and he needs money.

Answer 10

I agree with you in part. I believe religions exist because God instituted them. I also believe that evil would exist in the world whether religion did or not.

Not every evil act is committed in the name of religion. Far from it. People can commit murder for personal gain. People can rob, steal, plunder for person gain and not because of religion. It is because of religion, as you suggest, these evil designs of men can be prevented.