Is religion a good thing?

Question

I mean, doesn't it teach morals? If people didn't believe in god, the world would be even greedier and corrupt than it is now. There would be no justification for deaths, accidents. The world would be mad.

Answer 1

yes except that morals should be taught by parents onto their kids, not religion. its possible to believe in god and still have bad morals.

otherwise its like saying that going to church makes you a better person.

now whether religion is good or not depends. if its mild then I guess its okay cause some people want hope, or someone watching over them, or just want a sense of security. but when people start killing others claiming their god(none of which have been proven to exist by the way) then it becomes a problem.

Answer 2

Belief in a god does not translate into morality. Practitioners of organized monotheistic religions and their leaders have done more damage through the centuries by using "God's will" as an excuse, warring with each other for the "right" to proclaim the one "true" faith. Greed, corruption, and outright theft have been major factors in the accumulation of the massive wealth that some religious organizations have, e.g. the Vatican.

I am firmly convinced that a world without organized religion would be a far, far saner world.

I would prefer living in a world with a system of just and fair laws created around the Golden Rule, where humans can co-exist because the paramount moral requirement is not to do to others what they don't want others to do to them.

The need for "justification" of deaths, accidents, etc. is borne out of human fear of death and the unknown, which is exploited in monotheism with (false) promises of eternal life in paradise for those who believe, and eternal damnation for those who don't. This racket is centuries old and continues because it is so profitable (L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, was quoted as saying that establishing a religion is one way to get very rich. He was right. Hubbard became a very wealthy man after he declared Scientology to be a new religion and therefore a tax-exempt organization).

Answer 3

The studies show that the more God-less countries are socially better-off than the more religious countries. Morals come about because as people we decide we do not want to live in a world where murder and rape are acceptable behaviour. Religion and God hold back societies social development and improved morality.

I didn’t need the threat of burning in Hades for eternity hanging over me to make me a very well behaved little boy.

Answer 4

I think that psychologically it's better to believe in something rather than nothing, but religion is a tool like any other and can be abused.

It's perfectly possible to have a social contract to maintain order without religion, though.

As it's used today, religion is a tool the state uses to control the people. That's not good.

Answer 5

Your right!
Religion, as long as it is not for killing mass amounts of people (Muslims - the ones who are on the fringe super religious and looking for 70 virgins not all of them but those)
is a good thing.

Without religion (the one true religion that I believe exists and is buried somewhere within our current religions,
we would not have:
Government - religion dictates it - read a Bible and you will see God instituted the basis of government
Morals - if there is no God to decide whats absolutely right or wrong then who cares what we do? Whose to say it's wrong?
Traditions -
... and much more email me for more - I'm short on time though

I hope it helps, and I do think it is a good thing, as long as violent religions don't take theirs too far.

I always say, I'm a christian, and if I'm right I go to heaven and you (atheist or whatever) die, and I lived a good life for God.
If I'm wrong, then we both just die, and I still lived a good moral life. I think I have the win win.
I don't do hate crimes and I don't condemn people, they do that enough to themselves. I accept that other people believe differently, and that they or I could be wrong. I also have scientific evidence for my faith, as they do for theirs.

Jessica - feel free to email

Answer 6

Religion started for the same reason why now we have the state and laws: to protect people from other people, to keep them from killing, stealing, raping, etc.

I think it's a good thing for some people, but it's also a bad thing for others. There are people that feel enocuraged in their passion for fanaticism, there are people that feel encouraged to look down on others - for religious reasons.

I think, in this society, people either have morals, or they don't. But it is not religion who will teach the ones who lack morals, not anymore

Answer 7

No. The Word of God teaches morals. Man screwed it up with religion.

Answer 8

i think it is a good thing to believe in something good. if that something is god then so be it, but if it isn't thats ok. i think all people need something to believe in, however i don't think god justifies deaths, or accidents. it doesn't for me. in cases like that i believe in science, i believe that if you are 90 and die it's because your organs are shutting down, or if you get hit in the head, its because it caused brain damage. i don't think theres a define perpose for your death, and i don't think it was your time. i just think that thats the way the world works. because of this i do understand things like death and i can deal with it just like people who have god can. also believing in something does give you some morals, i do think that we are taught morals, but living helps you develope more and when those times come to use those morals, i think if you believe in something it can help you make a etter choice.

Answer 9

Despite there are many people who claims to follow a religion, obviously they are not properly following it...otherwise as u say this world would be different....but Alhamdulliah religion makes in some cases people to be better persons

Answer 10

Morals change with time. What is wrong 2000 years ago may be right today. Why can't people just decide for themselfs what is good or bad?