Who thinks religion is redundant?

going on the title only… to some people yes it is but to the religious people amoung us no cus its what they belive in…

I have religious friends on funadvice and I wouldnt say or do anything to upset them for what they belive in

Conflict- check the history books and it will become aparrent that a great number or wars have and still do begin through religious disagreements.

So what? Race has also caused conflict, does that all of a sudden mean that because you are a specific race your opinion regarding what/who is the right race should prevail, just like you are insinuating that your beliefs are correct?

Human rights- many people have been treated in atrocious ways by their communities in the name of religion.

Atheist also sometimes treat religious people in atrocious ways because they are religion. So do men sometimes treat women in derogatory ways because of their sex, so do races once again have conflicting viewpoints. Point is there will always be some sort of mistreatment in our society. It is human nature to be jealous and self-righteous.

Corruption- Many religious leaders abuse the trust that their followers give them. A priest for instance is allowed unsupervised access to young kids and abuses them. Not to mention financial abuse of power.

So do politicians and spoilt little children who gets given mummy and daddy’s business, so do some atheists that are in powerful positions. This is not only limited to religion.

Control- why should people be asked to behave and think in a certain way because of unproven theories and small minded thinking?

Because it works for some people. Why shouldn’t parents have a right to educate their children in the way the think is the best? Religion does work for some people. And so what if the theories are unproven. A thousand years electricity was unproven, yet it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

You have NO WAY of proving that these people’s religion is wrong. And who on earth are you to claim that they are small minded? Really? You sure sound arrogant.

I fully understand that faith has brought about positive things for our world, the church being the first to help the poor and care for orphans etc before the government implimented any sort of welfare system.

They STILL help people, often much more effective than a government welfare system. They also help people in emotional ways. I have a friend who was molested as a child and her FAITH I.e. religion helped her cope and overcome her hang ups.

And the festivals of christmas, divali etc are always happy times for families to catch up and have fun. But, let’s face it we’d do that any way now, wouldn’t we?

You do get people who take those festivals seriously still today.

What I’m saying is, the whole concept of a god who runs the show from a cloud in the sky and the ‘good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell’ is about as believable and relevant as disney land.

Just because something doesn’t make sense in your framework of things doesn’t mean that it is wrong. Point is religion helps people. It helps some people get over emotional problems and others get on with their lives.

I believe in Karma, in that if you are a good person you will have a happy life, but this is because good people are liked by those around them and endeavor leads to achievement and physical and emotional gain.

Really? And what proof do you have of that belief? And why should the rest of the world follow that? And are good people really always liked by those around them? You seem to live in a fantasy world.

So it’s more about us controlling our own world for the short time we are here and enjoying our planet for what it is, an amazing piece of bio-chemical engineering that has taken millions of years to evolve.

For you it might be that, for someone else life isn’t about controlling everything.

And nothing can explain why we are here or how we came to be, only BELIEF/FAITH can give us some answer regarding that (for the moment at least)

Humans need to take responsibility for everything that we can control and change and accept all the things which we cant as circumstance.

WHY should we accept that? Because you believe in it? And who are you to dictate to the human race about what to do?

we are capable of making our own judgments about morality and should not accept dictation in any form.

What if some people WANT to accept dictation as you call it? Shouldn’t they have a choice?

The solutions to the worlds problems at the moment will not come from jesus, allah, budda,krishna or darth vader they will come from the smartest, most courageous and most compassionate human beings.

How do you know? Give us some proof? You have no PROOF that a god/supernatural being does not exist, your beliefs does NOT equal proof.

I do not agree with you. Human beings will ALWAYS have conflict, religion certainly is not the main cause for wars, it is our human nature that causes it. We are territorial, we want the best and there will always be fights, regardless or whether we have religion or not.

You don’t seem to be able to differentiate between the different religions on this earth. There are countless. You can’t just put all religion into one boat and judge everyone. You do sound like those bible bashers trying to prove how right they are without any substance.

to go off the rest of the comments, it’s safe to say that there are good and bad people of every race, religion, community, etc. You simply can’t group millions of people together. Everybody’s different.

I’ll admit overzealous religious folk who preach (not teach) their beliefs to me and act “holier than thou” get on my nerves. But so do athiests that act as if those with strong religious beliefs are moronic.

Nobody likes an extremist. It’s the extremists in all aspects of our lives that give the rest of the world a bad name. I know plenty of Christians that don’t think I’m going straight to hell for not believing in God, because they my friend, are nice and compassionate people just like you want. And they’re also Christians. If you really want to group everybody together put them into these two groups: Tolerant and Intolerant.

* I would argue that tribalism and all its various guises… religious denomination… for example… is more guilty of conflict than is religious philosophy.

I second the motion, although I would add that religious philosophy, as it is commonly known, really is nothing but a reflection of tribalism. Few people really find the tenets of religion sensible. It’s only through constant reinforcement that we can convince ourselves that religious ideas are sensible.

Your jeremiad…er question seems to me to be a little trendy… is becoming trite… and you confuse the matter by treating various arguments that aren’t mutually exclusive as if they are.

I would argue that tribalism and all its various guises… religious denomination… for example… is more guilty of conflict than is religious philosophy.

I grew up in the Southern Baptist church. I find it ironic that we were taught Jesus rejected religion and all of the dogmatic traditions that were incorporated into it because it wasn’t sincere and because the nature of tradition makes it anathema to enlightenment. Ironic because you are championing the philosophy of a philosopher you have disowned.

I think that this is the most dangerous attribute of trendy atheists… those who haven’t fully explored their own beliefs. You are denigrating thousands of years of philosophy that although may not parallel your personal philosophy… have been instrumental in the development of your philosophy. It is a hypocritical stance to have… and if you join into the us versus them mentality that your philosophy supplants all others… then you risk becoming as intolerant as any other religious zealot.

Besides… what the hell do you know?… you are young… today you’re an atheist… tomorrow you may be persuaded otherwise. I wont fault you if after years of pondering the matter you remain an atheist on your deathbed… but if you cease to examine your existence now… because you think you have all the answers… your life will have been a tragedy… or meaningless… or inevitable… depending upon ones philosophy.

I am a Christian, and have never regretted it. Look around you…who WOULDN’T believe in a God. From the microscopic cell, to the Milky Way, science shows that everything in this world came from an intelligent, powerful, orderly Being.

Many people have wondered what makes Christianity different from other "religions", and here are some answers. All other "gods" have died. My God died and Rose again. Beat that :) 

Also, Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship. Religions have gods that are fickle, fake, unconcerned, selfish, and DEAD. My God is loving, just, righteous, compassionate, etc… Everyone has to have faith in something. God gave us all a space in our hearts that needs to be filled - a void only He can fill. I also heard this illustration for atheists: I don’t think you believe in Santa Clause. But do you go around, passionately arguing your cause and reasons for not believing in him? mmm…I doubt it. It’s the same with atheism. If you truly do not believe in a God, why spend so much time trying to prove it?

I was raised by devout Christians who were of the mind that every person had the right to choose for themselves…as a result, my sister is a Wiccan and I am a Buddhist - both religions accepted wholeheartedly by my parents…who, let me remind you, are Christians.

I think you’re trying to take all religions and people and band them together - it doesn’t work that way. It’s not the religion that makes people act in the way they do, it’s the person, and more often than not, they are using their religion as an excuse.

For the record - Buddha (a man, not a god) never tried to solve the world’s problems…he accepted that the world has problems and that each and every person needs to find their own path to solving our own problems. We are to learn for ourselves, not follow an already over-tread path.

One more thing - if you truly believe in Karma, then you must understand that every action has a reaction, and intolerance is one of the highest negatives of Karmic balance…you are intolerant of others, hence others will be intolerant of you.

I’m not suggesting that it’s wrong for people to believe in stuff. All I’m saying is that there should be laws against forcing your religion on your kids, you should say something like ‘ go read some books and make your own mind up’. And there should be more privacy about faith, sure people can meet up with like-minded worshippers. Their rights to do this should be protected. But people shouldn’t be forced iinto faith just because of their culture and society, basically, I just think free thinking should be promoted. and as for mikeh, your answer barely qualifies as a response to my question. My beliefs, which I’m entitled to, are laid out and labelled as ‘my beliefs’ I cannot see that any part of it condemns other beliefs or proclaims mine to be right. IT IS LABELLED MY BELIEFS (read the bottom) I wanted to start a debate and hear from other people of different faith for friendly debate and ponderring because I’m interested in what people would say to it. I don’t feel strongly enough about it to give people I don’t even know abuse and I would never tell someone they are wrong. Maybe that’s what atheism is about? Im sorry you don’t agree with me but to call me a red neck and suggest I was preaching is somewhat unfair. And thefew points I made with the problems with religion are valid and proven so I don’t think it was wrong to point them out, if it was insensitive in any way my apologies. not intended- only human.

Hmm. You realize that atheists (or rather a lot of them) tend to be people who dont conform. Which means, in general, a lot of them are open minded. Which tends to lead them to be open minded about religion. Of course you have zealots, you always have zealots, but in general, people arent going to fight over a lack of belief. So, I dont know how you’re going to have a debate, because a debate takes two sides. And it doesnt sound like there’s anyone on your side. You’re talking about how religions are intolerant but you’re being intolerant. That just doesnt work very well. I dont particularly like organized religion, but then again that’s just the way I see things. A lot of people get something out of religion, or it wouldnt exist. It’s not just living things that evolve. If you look at some theories that argue that societies and parts of societies also evolve. If religion didnt serve a purpose in people’s lives, it would have become extinct. Do I think that people have done some atrocious things in the name of religion? Absolutely. Do I think they may not have been able to do those things without a religious reason, yes. But, bottom line is, if it wasnt serving some sort of purpose, it would have simply disappeared…