So I've been pondering the existence of religion in our current society.

Some say the good of it outweighs the bad however I beg to differ. If it isn't for religion will there be terrorism occurring throughout the world and conflicts occuring, without religion will there be discrimination around the world?

I wonder what are your views on it? And here's another question do you think Humans are born with good or evil? (I apologize for the bad english and creating a sensitive topic for discussion)

P.S: Dollars isn't a gang or organization but rather a place for people to chat and have fun its really annoying how people these days are insisting on taking actions with Dollars as a symbol

religion isn't the only thing that causes discrimination, terrorism, and conflict.

i'm an atheist - but i feel like when you really get down to it, religion has nothing to do it. religion was never supposed to hurt anyone, it was supposed to be guide to life and well being. the people that twist that around and use it for wrong, they're either radical, ignorant, or simply evil.

some people claim to be a christian without reading the bible.
some people claim to be muslim without reading the qu'ran.
some people claim to be jewish without reading the torah.
(i probably have this mixed up - dont take my word for it)

when it comes down to it - religion didn't do anything wrong. people did. people trying to find an excuse to hate certain things, hate certain people, hate certain actions, etc.

The constant problem with this argument is that "good" or "evil" are relative concepts.

Morals are cultural concepts, developed and accepted by certain groups.
Religion, also being a part of culture, is subject to what a group thinks.

Catholics have confessions. Many types of Christians turn to a pure figure or role model. All of these things take the weight of "sins" off, and allow the person to continue living. Rules and consequences help guide the way we live, regardless of our religion (or lack of).

Personally, I view it this way - religion, in itself, is a man-made idea. Humans inherently have both good and bad properties. So, religion can take whichever form the person takes it as.

As humans, we are all so different. Many of us enjoy the individuality we have. Although this creates tension and clashes of opinion, it also allows us to learn from another. We can grow by watching others.

tl;dr Humans are both good and evil. Religion is a human concept. Therefore, religion can take either form.

If anything is confusing, please let me know.
If I am wrong, please enlighten me.

Thank you for your time.

Religion is good unless people become radical with it. Otherwise it's good no matter what you believe in and what you choose not to believe in.

In Chi-chan opinion, religions does makes some people become bad and all...because they didn't want to accept the difference. And because also the what is 'right' and 'wrong' is different from each. I think we just have to appreciate them~. We born with many differences in the world, so we can learn more about those differences

I think what #2 said is most accurate. The root of these things aren't religion, but just people. If no religion existed, there would still be terrorism. Have you never seen terrorism against governments and large corporations?

It comes down to people tunnel-visioning their concepts and ideas (not being open to other things), and then rationalizing their malicious behaviour against others as an act of protection, good-will, or an act of God.

In the end, it all comes down to us individuals.

Religion isn't bad itself, in fact I think its a good thing as it brings people together and establishes morals that otherwise would have no foundation. Without a God to establish right and wrong there is no right and wrong, which would make your second question completely subjective.

That being said, people can use anything, including religion to serve their own purposes. As others have already said, there are plenty of radical religious groups out there but it is the people who are twisting the religion to fit their own misguided beliefs.

I am a catholic myself and i have to mention one thing here. The way you are using a few bad people from a few select religions and viewing them all as bad counts as discrimination, you know.You are being hypocritical without a care for those whom take religion close to their heart and it's infuriating.

Take a look at yourself and see who is in the wrong.

Whoops, Kinda got carried away. Sorry.

People make some religions so twisted. The fact is that all religion teaches is how to care and love your family, friends, and so on. And if you think about it back in the older times, popes used the idea of it to get money for wars and for their own pleasure. So to sum it all up...I'm not a religious person

gods don't make people "evil", it's the desire for power. People make religions, not gods. And if there weren't any religions people would continue to find reasons to start a war. It's in the human nature to strive for power, to outmatch animals and other forms of life.
There are those who make opinions, those who share the same opinion, those who follow the lead, those who are too afraid to say their opinion, those who are too naive to see the truth and those who defy the leaders.
If you want true religion, don't stand under a church, don't think you are religious without doing anything to change yourself to be better. Live by the things you see as legit and believe in yourself, not in the so called leaders.

What really pisses me of is that people see their psychology as the true and only one and everyone who is different is abnormal. If you don't believe in god you have only two choices here, either go into religions and try to convince the mass to go into your direction and mostly get laughed at, or go into another subject where you will learn about other religions... What I want to say is that people see their ideology as the one true thing and those who say else are ignored or stomped at.

And do me a favor people, please stop saying "good" and "evil". What is "good", what is "evil"? -The understanding differs immensely.

There is no such thing as good or bad or evil or holy that is only words of ignorance and so is religion it self.most religions teach people how to live and look at things one way and to cover everything that gose against there religion by calling it a lie.religion has started the worst wars killed the most people caused the most war and conflict.i believe human kind must push foreword in technology to survive and we must eradicate all ignorance before us.excuse my bad grammar and english

Sorry for writing such a long post, if you don't read it all or don't read it all I completely understand because even I wouldn't read it all. However, if you do take the time to read it all, thank you.

Throughout history religion has been continuous. Impacting society in many ways. Religion has had both negative and positive effects on both a personal level and global level to people. In addition, throughout history, religion has been seen to give people stability when the world seemed to be at its worst. It gives people answers for what they question, people will accept these answers, even when they are wrong. The Greeks believed Hephaestus, the god of fire and the forge, was angry at the Greeks when Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried and destroyed under the pumice and ash of Mount Vesuvius. However, now we know why Mount Vesuvius erupted, it was not because a god was angry but because of the shifting of tectonic plates beneath the earth. In addition, religion has evolved and changed throughout time because society and current events have also changed and evolved. Just as religion evolves so does science. Science is seen as facts and truth. However, the facts, the truths, the theories they are all only true until proven otherwise. The world was once thought to be flat, this was taken as the truth, however humans have evolved and now it is the truth that the world is not round but is a sphere. Both religion and science evolve as people evolve and grow; yet people do not start wars over science. However, people do start wars over religion. Is this right? Perhaps not. Would there be less conflict without religion? No. It is actually quite ironic how historians consider religion to be a form of stability to people, yet religion has also been the cause of many conflicts causing instability. In ancient times, I can understand why religion was important, because in a world of not knowing anything the world is simply scary. However, in the modern day, people know so much more and if comparing religion of the modern age to religion of the past, religion has been dying off in a sense. Religion will never disappear. Conflict will never disappear. Nothing is black or white. The world is gray and that's what makes life interesting.

Religion is just something humans have created from the last strands of hope and sanity they had left. That then led to humans creating more than one religion to fit their selfish minds some peace.... blablabla

>>14 Totally agree with your statement [BLANK]-siblings.

Bacon

I am a Christian and I HATE the word "Religion" because it creates such an evil vibe in people's minds. People have done horrible things in the name of religions (crusades, terrorism, discrimination, ect). However relgion itself can't be evil because it is a thing, however; people who write up horrible religions or twist peaceful religions to their selfish desires are evil. All humans are born selfish and all humans have selfish desires (some more than others), and this drives them to do horrible things. If you consider selfishness evil, then all humans are born evil. People who call themselves Christians do horrible things too and it is disgraceful to true Christians and is insulting to God. True Christians are people who try to help others and treat others as they would like to be treated (it is still hard). The reality is that when God created the heavens and the Earth, man rebelled against God for their own selfish purposes. The Old Testament of the Bible is a place to see God's qualities and nature. In the Old Testament we can see God's wrath and judgement on those who turn against him. In the New Testament we see God's loving nature through Jesus Christ. God's judging nature means that man is under God's judgement and soon enough we will be under his wrath (hell). God gave us the 10 commandments to show us how impossible it is for us to follow his commandments (don't believe me? When was the last time you lied, stolen, cursed, were disrespectful to your mom and dad, ect. Break one and you are guilty). Because we cannot keep the commandments, God came down as a man (Jesus Christ) and lived a perfect life (never sinned... ever). When he died on the cross he took all our sins (that we have committed or will commit) and put them on himself. Whoever believes in this, puts their faith and trust in this instead of their own works, and repent and turn away from their life of sin will not be under God's wrath, but will be able to live forever in eternity (heaven). Everyone dreams of a perfect place, with no corruption, evil, sadness, or pain. This perfect place is heaven with God! It will be a civilization like ours, except without the hatred, boredom, corruption, pain, and suffering of ours. However, those who do not believe in this or put their faith in trust in what they've done, they are still under God's wrath (hell). Hell is a place with nothing but pain, suffering, boredom, sadness, and God's judgmental and wrathful nature. People hear this and think that Christians are judgmental because of it, this is not true, we are all sinful and we have all broken from God (from birth). We can "believe" anything we want, but that doesn't change the reality that we are under God's wrath. Society claims that humans don't have the right to judge people, this is true, because God is going to judge all of us later, and none of us stand a chance in that court. However if we have our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, then we will be innocent in God's eyes. My point in a nut shell:
Religion itself is not evil.
Man is evil.
Man is under God's wrath because we are evil.
Jesus made away for those who believe in him to be free of God's wrath.
Those who accept this are accept this way are going to heaven
Those who do not are going to hell.

I have accepted this way and am confident in where I am going when I die... What about you? I am only saying this because I care for all of your eternal well beings and I don't want for any of you to have to endure God's wrath and punishment, but forever enjoy his loving nature with me! Please if you have any questions, politely say so (no hating). I have heard virtually every argument (problem of evil, Theory of Evolution, discrepancies in the Bible, ect.) and have an answer for all of them.

>>3 I fully agree with what you said.

I believe we already have a thread on this

For me religion is a good thing, because if you believe in something you would fear that in every bad thing you do, you would have consequences even after death. I remember that I tried to enter many religions as I can because I believe there is only one God in every religion he just appeared in different ways wich we interpreted differently too. And to answer the other question I think humans are born inocent. Not knowing what is bad or good. ~^O^~

Yes thats true.. There are some people tht judge religion is like bad thing I respect every single one of religion cause I know there will always good thing.. Its not your religion want you do some bad stuff.. And I always always respect to the non muslim if they still virgin.. Sorry if it hurt your heart.. but its true..

bumping for bumping's sake

^

I an Pagan. I feel that religion is a way to guide humans through the unknown. For example, we don't know what after death looks like so we still have religion to give a creative afterlife. And it also helps and teaches us what is good and what is bad (depending on what religion it) for different reasons and things.

I don't mind when religion is used as hope for people and such, but when people use religion (to me at least) to say that that god/holy being will save us and put 200% of faith onto that being that he/she/they/it will save us if anything bad happens, then to me I feel like no matter how bad I mess up and screw up (like start a massacre) I will be forgive 100%. Of course I also don't believe that a person should live in an eternity of torture for what a person has done. I believe humans should be able to stand up for themselves and understand what is right and wrong and be able to go on but still understand what he/she/they/ did wrong and or right.

A proper punishment for the wrong or right action, but of course every good thing in one's eyes is also one bad thing in another's, so trying the person's best is the only thing that they can do.

Though, what can I say, I haven't seen anything, I have barely lived what so ever.

(I hope I said that in the right way. I'm very sorry if I offended anyone in this. I do not mean to offend anyone)