Does religious dogma, take away free will ?

Answer 1

If free will is the ability to exercise choice, then I would say yes, it does. Religious dogma does not allow you to do anything you couldn't do before, it is a set of restrictions on your actions. The reasons for those restrictions may be moral in nature (e.g. don't steal because you are depriving another), or they may be arbitrary (e.g. don't work on the Sabbath). Religious dogma is not really needed for morality, so that leaves a lot of arbitrary restrictions whose ultimate justification boils down to, "because god said so."

I think religious dogma can also highly restrict one's ability to see and consider alternate viewpoints, but that's another issue.

Answer 2

When understood, any competent dogma tends more to channel the exercise of the ability to make choice into healthy channels, than amoral permissiveness.

The misapplication of "teaching," which is what "dogma" imports qua "categorized opinion," is two-fold.

First, incorrect opinion (Greek "dogmatos," "opinion," later, "tenet," which has its roots in Greek "dokein," "to seem good to one," "to think/opine"), as categorized opinion ("dogma") is what the Buddha warned and noted as ~ "don't believe anything (any teaching, any dogma) without good and sufficient proving, even what I have taught."

Second, correct opinion (e.g., some good and sufficient teaching of Christ or Buddha, et al.) may be incorrectly applied and practiced.

So, correct practice of a "teaching" frees, increases ability to make right choice. But if one circularly begs the question, as in using "religious dogma = 'dogmatism,'" then "religious dogma" eo ipso reduces/"takes away" the ability to make more and more correct choices in the process of One Mind Soul-individuation and -realization.

cordially,

j.

Answer 3

Nothing takes away free will. Dogma, dictates [whether religious or political] nothing affects the assumption of free will other than giving it away.

Answer 4

It aims to take away freedom of thought. In my case that worked to strenghten my will all the more against that.

Answer 5

In most cases yes

Answer 6

IDK my mom has brought me up with no religion because she says things are my choice, and religion prays on weak minds, and the more I observe all religions they are just made from man, God is the voice that lives inside you

Answer 7

"The percentage of atheists in the world is less
than 5%"

http://www.positiveatheism.org/india/s1990c48a.htm

"Atheists are all scientists" ?

http://www.non-religious.com/statistics.html

Acceptance of the will of god is more heartening to the
theists than free will to atheists.

Answer 8

No. You have the free will to embrace or reject it.