What are your thoughts on religion?

I think it’s one of the greatest illusions people have ever created for themselves.

Not for me.

Fascinating to study, but dangerous in practice, usually.

Religions need an upgrade. It over too many MM (roman) years old

I think religion is simply another way for the haves to control the have-nots.

There are things I like and dislike about religion.
I like the hope it gives people, I like the motivation it gives for people to do better in their lives, I like that it brings people together.

It isn’t for me, but I do admire it. :)

I think if it helps someone get through their life happily, then that is just fine and dandy. Other than that, I think it is the most effective method of social control on the planet.
Amen!

I’ve tried really hard to keep an open mind to religion, but I just see nothing but negativity. I respect those that believe and practice, and I think that if it does good things for someone – I’m okay with that.
As for the big picture, I think the world would be better without religion.

I look at it like I look at homosexuality. It’s OK if you want or need it. But, it’s just not my cup of tea.

I think religion is something people hold on to because it gives them hope for something more. It’s also a way for people to feel better about themselves when they “sin” because all they have to do is ask for forgiveness and they will be forgiven. The problem is that a lot of times, people who are very religious tend to want live in their own little heaven and forget to keep their feet on the ground. I stopped being religious when I learned that according to them, all gay people are going to hell. That just doesn’t make sense to me.

Religion, if practiced mindfully, offers invaluable guidance to harmonious living.
Unfortunately, it’s often used as a tool that creates hate and disharmony.

I think Sufism is the bee’s knees.

It keeps a limited number of people on an even keel, through guilt and fear of comitting sin or ending up in hell. But most people use it as a crutch, because they and we don’t have all the answers as to why things are the way they are. Some people cannot live without having some kind of explanation for the way things are, even if that reason is a fairy tale, or is false.

For another group of people, religion gives them a validation for their bad behavior, because if they just “repent” or say a few “hail mary’s” then every bad thing that they do is completely forgiven.

Another group uses their own particular brand of religions and it’s rhetoric to justify horrific deeds and actions towards/against other people and animals.

For a smaller group of people, saying that they are religious helps them to fit in with most of the rest of society who claims to believe in religion or a higher power and it keeps them from being ostracized, browbeaten or thrown in jail, if they fail to believe (or act like they believe) in a particular religion.

A lot of people enjoy believing in religion, because it absolves them of having to figure things out for themselves, to look for real reasons for why things happen (including the fact that there may be no actual “reason” but that things are just a series of chain reactions) and by hiding behind the word faith (which means absolute belief without quesion) because it absolves them of having to try to prove or dis-prove anything. It’s much easier, and probably a lot more pleasant, to blindlly go along with what some heirarchical bigwig has told you than it is to think for yourself. And if you allow yourself to have “faith” then you never even have to think about whether it’s real or not real. It makes life a lot easier to deal with.

Some people enjoy the social aspect of religion. It’s a lot easier to be exactly like everyone else. If you’re different, you will stand out like a sore thumb, are likely to be called names, be ostracized and possibly ridiculed and bullied or even killed.

And some people enjoy the pomp and circumstance and rituals of religion, even if they don’t have any idea what the religion actually stands for.

And some people, never stopped believing in magical pink unicorns and Santa Claus. Religion is another manifestation of “magical beliefs.”

And some people only come for the covered dish lunches.

I don’t doubt that people actually really do believe in religion. But I think those same people, if they were born in China or Africa or the North pole would still believe in some sort of religion, but it wouldn’t be the one that they were born into (as of today). People tend to believe what they are told by their families and communities. It depends upon where you were born and what you were told by your family and how strong the desire of the community to make sure you believe the same way that the majority of any particular community believes. If people were told nothing about faith and religion and then were made to wait until they were of age to study all religions and to pick one or none at all (with no pressure by family or community) people wouldn’t be so quick to fall into lockstep with the majority of people around them. There would still be people who believe in faith, but there would be lots and lots of people choosing all sorts of different ideas, rather than just going along with the one that is prevalent in their community or family.

More people have been murdered in the ‘name of God’ than all other wars and atrocities.
Kinda speaks for itself.

It’s fascinating. Our best hope, our worst enemy. Its existence speaks at once to Man’s need for God and our rejection of Him. Its variety pales in comparison with its far-reaching similarities.
Though mutually exclusive (and I am not including Scientology here, because of its origin), they share a few core concepts that, taken as a whole, suggests a common origin, a “whole” from which bits have been chipped off over the centuries. Move a few things around to account for drift and probable misrepresentation, and they all fit together.
I have yet to invest in intensive studies. But so far I can only see them fitting together under a Judeo-Christian paradigm, which allows for a large number of rogue entities- with real power – to go around setting themselves up as gods. AFAICT, this satisfies both their desire for godhood the reason for their fall in the first place – and their desire to keep people separated from the true God.

It never fails to spice up a dull social encounter.

It is unfairly disdained and ridiculed.

Many of my persuasion are fond of saying, “it’s not a religion, but a relationship,” thereby distinguishing between a proper Christian and the people who just go through the motions, or else are involved in positively unhelpful practices.

@Coloma That speaks for people, not religion. Don’t forget that we’re the species that riots over soccer matches.

Thankfully, I don’t need religion. I appreciate that some people do, and on the whole it’s probably good for them, but as with anything in life, moderation is the key. I also wish they’d keep it to themselves and stop foisting it and its values on those who don’t want it.

The most evil thing mankind has ever invented.

An embarrassing relic from a time when we were less civilized.

God is the personification of our ignorance. The God of the Gaps is the only god. He exists only in the way that a doughnut hole exists. He is used as a boogieman by those in power to keep the masses in their place. Our weakness is God’s strength and, conversely, as we learn more, God’s power and relevance diminishes.

Here is my view on religion. Ever heard of the so called God gene?
According to genetic research a high percentage humans have this gene, to start with we are genetically programed to believe in something. A psychologist told me about a theoretical experiment that should you take two human colonies and place them on different continents without any form of religious material or religious background after two generations you will find different forms of superstition. Colony A would say if an owl sits on a roof than it’s death, and the dog that barks at the owl is a bringer of luck and in colony B may see it as a sing of good luck, the barking dog will be seen as a sign of bad luck. Two more generations latter you will find that in colony A the owl is a part of religion depicting it as a devil and the dog will be the savior and in colony B it’s the opposite. And as time and generations pass the superstition and myth about the dog and owl turns into a religion.
It’s a proven theory. Look at the thousands of religions in the world.
In the book Fingerprints of the gods we can read about the great flood that plays so many roles in different cultures across the world. I think I may agree we are programed to believe in something. Because of this gene it made it easier to invent religion for things we can’t explain. Believers in religion finds it hard to explain what will happen if we die. Some religions like Christianity, Islamic religions created heaven and hell, others believe in karma and reincarnation. Einstein believed that our energy goes back to the universe. I like that one as-well…
I agree with @FutureMemory religion is honestly the worst thing ever invented but religion can be a good thing as-well. If implemented the right way I think it can better us, but sadly any religion have a bad track record. Christians destroyed entire nations in the name of God. The Islamic faith is nothing but intolerable towards other faiths and millions died at the hands Islamic soldiers. Even to this day there is still wars on this planet due to religion. Some religions do however teach of tolerance towards others, and some of those who practice religions with tolerance are good people. There is no religion in this world that can be good or bad, it’s what you make of yourself in this world.

“All religion, my friend, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry.”
-Edgar Allan Poe

“I was barked at by numerous dogs who are earning their food guarding ignorance and superstition for the benefit of those who profit from it. Then there are the fanatical atheists whose intolerance is of the same kind as the intolerance of the religious fanatics and comes from the same source. They are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who—in their grudge against the traditional “opium of the people”—cannot bear the music of the spheres. The Wonder of nature does not become smaller because one cannot measure it by the standards of human moral and human aims,” —Albert Einstein

I do a lot of thinking about religion. I’ve had both very negative experiences with religion and very positive experiences. Much of my thinking has to do with this question of how religion can become such a maleficent force in the world.

First, religion goes amiss when it tries to be science. Science deals with the world of objectivity, and when religion strays into the objective, it’s out of its element. Objectivity makes for terrible theology. Objectivity presumes division, separation, isolation. It compartmentalizes reality so that it can be studied. That approach is immensely useful and has made our lives better (for the most part).

But religion shouldn’t traffic in objectivity. Objectivity in a religious context produces a God that is separated from the material world, irreconcilably “other”, to be feared, to be appeased, to be supplicated. It also produces the world of Good and Evil, of Holy and Profane, of Saint and Sinner, of Orthodoxy and Heresy. Introduce objectivity into religion and it takes it as license to divide rather than unify.

Nor should religion get hung up on subjectivity. Religion misses the point when it simply enshrines one’s personal opinions or fantasies.

At its best, religion is an institution that supports transcendence of subjectivity and objectivity. That has transformative power in that it levels ego, bridges distinctions between self and other, making it unthinkable to intentionally harm. It ennobles the “profane”, and humbles the “noble”. This transcendence can’t be reached via objectivity or subjectivity or doctrine. And yet, that is what many religions attempt to do.

I think Einstein had the right idea, as @bkcunningham said. Religion is based on ignorance and superstition. But rejecting religion doesn’t mean you have to reject the wonder of nature and the universe, which is much deeper and more meaningful than Mesopotamian creation myths anyway.

I would also add that religious texts often contain horrifying morals that have no place in modern society, and I think that even “moderate” religious folks do themselves a disservice by interpreting such morals as “metaphors” instead of just coming out and saying they’re wrong.

Religion = 1984 and God = Big Brother.

Wow, @Qingu thank you. Thank you for the insight and most of all, thank you for agreeing with me on some points. Woohoo! High five guy! I’m just wondering what are your thoughts on the other part of the equation, ”...intolerance is of the same kind as the intolerance of the religious fanatics and comes from the same source.” Just wondering. I honestly appreciate your views. One of the peeps here who keep me on my ballerina toes. ;) Hope your Passover was טוב.

I guess I would need to know who Einstein had in mind. Certainly there have been atheists, notably Stalin, who were every bit as intolerant of religion as Inquisators were of atheists… though I’d argue that this wasn’t because of their atheism but rather because of a rival ideology (Stalinism).

In Einstein’s time, I could be wrong, but I don’t think the atheist “materialist” view of science had really established itself as a plausible alternative to religious wonder. Like, there wasn’t a Carl Sagan in Einstein’s day. So I wonder if his deeper point was in response to a mechanistic view of scientific reality, a tendency to reduce nature to a machine (as opposed to a complex, interdependent system), a point that I would agree with him, but which I definitely feel science (and atheists) have moved well away from in recent decades.

And thanks for the Passover wishes, and I hope you had a happy Easter. I should tell you, though, that I don’t celebrate Passover because I find it to be a disgusting holiday. Yes, I am that much of a curmudgeon, and yes it breaks my poor grandpa’s heart.

i think religion is all about setting examples. it’s more to do with what i believe in and less with what fanatics try to shove it down my throat. religion should be for the betterment of mankind rather than making things abominably horrid for mankind.

(@markylit Well said!)

I think it’s an error to make a blanket statement saying religion is bad. Sure, it’s often used inappropriately, but you can’t negate the positive influence religion provides for a lot of people. It’s up to each individual to decide for him or herself whether religion has anything to offer…

…and to be mindful that their decision is their decision , and not try to (as @markylit says) try to shove their decision “down other people’s throat”.

@SABOTEUR, I don’t think it’s that much in error, at least not with monotheistic religions. Because you can read the books they’re based on and come to meaningful conclusions about their merit.

Yes, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam cannot be completely reduced to the Bible, Quran, and hadith. But these documents underpin everything about these religions. And they are garbage, both morally and epistemicaly.

@Qingu Fair enough…we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

@Qingu In the Judeo-Christian system, Right and Wrong are determined by God. It matters not what you think of the morality therein. IIRC the Bible explicitly says as much.

@Nullo, I’m aware. That’s why Christians such as yourself agree with your deity that genocide is morally permissable and a valid way to snuff out “problem cultures.”

Most Christians are a little more squeamish about it than you are, but I can’t take issue with your intellectual honesty on this one, Nullo.

@Qingu Mmm. I wouldn’t call it “genocide,” nor is it accurate to say that God snuffs out cultures. He doesn’t target culture or ancestry, but informed unrepentant sinful behavior. Granted, there are cases where this extends to the elimination of peoples and cultures, though the scholarly will note that in each Biblical instance that gets elaboration, people are given a way out.

Killing every man, woman and child of a tribe is the definition of genocide, Nullo. Even if you tell them to move first.

@Qingu That made me giggle for a full minute

I’ll take ‘Flimsy Excuses for Genocide’ for $200, Alex

It’s not bad or good. It works for some people and for others it doesn’t. I know people who pray, goto church/mosque and truly practice a religion but they tell me they know that it is likely that God does not exist. They seek comfort and solace in these practices and beliefs and if this way of coping works for somebody then what the hell.

Remember its not religion that is bad necesarily, it’s people who use it as an excuse to feel better than somebody or cause harm to somebody. People do that on the base of race as well that doesn’t make the concept of different races bad.

@sarahhhhh, I don’t think that analogy works. The concept of race has no ideological content. It is a physical description. It’s not even a very good way to describe people because most humans are mixed-race. The color of someone’s skin conveys absolutely nothing about what they believe, how they act, or how they treat other human beings.

Religions, on the other hand, are full of content. The Bible and the Quran say what they say, and to varying extents Jews, Christians and Muslims base their worldview and moral systems on these books.

@Qingu What I meant to say was that people use different race as a reason to hate/kill. In a similar way people use religion to hate/spread hatred hence all the negative connotations with “religion.” So however people use it doesn’t make it bad or good. Or whatever people use religion to justify doesn’t make it bad or good.

It all depends on the benefit it brings you on a personal level.

But religion has content. Religious texts say things. They make claims about reality and they tell you how others should be treated. “Religion” is not a pointless physical description, like race.

I think that most of religion is teaching falsehoods. I think the Jehovah’s Witnesses are teaching truth. Most people just don’t know it.

Jehovah’s Witnesses stay out of the world’s wars and don’t share in their bloodguilt.

I think of “religion” as an institution and of “spirituality” as a state of being.