Does organised religion have a useful social function?

Discussion in 'Agnosticism and Atheism' started by Bilby, Feb 4, 2020.

  1. Bilby

    Bilby Lifetime Supporter and Freerangertarian Super Moderator

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    I cannot remember you ever breaching point 4 of posting guidelines.
     
  2. Hey @Bilby what sort of religion are you on about mate?
    If it's in a school as well i think you can opt not to attend it.
     
  3. tumbling.dice

    tumbling.dice Visitor

    Where do I find the posting guidelines? Can you link it?
     
  4. guerillabedlam

    guerillabedlam _|=|-|=|_

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    tumbling.dice likes this.
  5. I'minmyunderwear

    I'minmyunderwear Newbie

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    thanks. must be a combination of luck and good manners, since i don't remember seeing the posting guidelines anytime recently.
     
  6. Flagme15

    Flagme15 Members

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    Organized religion seems to fill a void in some people's lives. IMO, organized religion's purpose is to line the coffers with the tithings of it's parishioners. Also, I believe organized religion is it's own worst enemy.
     
  7. CONTROL.....

    Keep people from thinking and using their minds.
     
  8. endlessdistanthills

    endlessdistanthills Members

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    Definitely!

    I guess everything we experience changes our thoughts, but religion is especially effective in the control area...
    Groupthink - Wikipedia
     
  9. As for social function, my dear friend now deceased and a jewish woman, loved her Unitarian Universalist community...so many helped her get thru her long life, lived to 93, and her children were not around. She actually left some $$$ to the UU church. Good on her.

    This lady was a traditional jew, but a non god believer....very much an activist a lot of her life....she was a great teacher in my life...
     
    Bilby likes this.
  10. scratcho

    scratcho Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    Keeps those that are afraid of authority figures in line. And kickin' them-there clams into the pot.
     
  11. rasta g child

    rasta g child flower power

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    good = Christian
     
  12. granite45

    granite45 Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    Could, although the track record is not good.
     
  13. Brian Fey

    Brian Fey Newbie

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    Sure. I think it can, but most religions evolved a long time ago and don't serve today's society well.
    It is useful to have ethical standards which allow for diversity, community spaces, and rituals.
     
  14. Bilby

    Bilby Lifetime Supporter and Freerangertarian Super Moderator

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    People end up in jail because they lack a moral compass. In Australia the incarceration rate for Aborigines is 20 times that of that of the rest of the population. Maybe if they got involved in organized religion there would be lower incarceration rate.
     
  15. rasta g child

    rasta g child flower power

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    we donT believe in God
     
  16. Bilby

    Bilby Lifetime Supporter and Freerangertarian Super Moderator

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    Maybe not that far. But would you agree that a lack of a moral compass has a bearing i incarceration rates? Do you have a better idea?
     
  17. rasta g child

    rasta g child flower power

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    [we believe in good]
     
  18. Bilby

    Bilby Lifetime Supporter and Freerangertarian Super Moderator

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    Aboriginals get treated the same as anyone else. Problem for many of them in court is that English is not their first language. In some cases it is their 3rd or 4th language.
    If you think that organized religion has no useful social function, that is ok.
     
  19. Bilby

    Bilby Lifetime Supporter and Freerangertarian Super Moderator

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    This is an anecdote I heard from a devout atheist.
    A man when he was at school was always in trouble with the teachers. When he left school he was frequently in trouble with the police. Then one day he became a Jehovah Witness. Then he started behaving himself and no longer got in trouble with the police.
     

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