Why not? What would we lose if we did? Its social function has been declining for decades and is now served by other institutions. We know most of what it teaches is basically wrong, and those bits which are right are upheld by civil institutions better, more rigorously and accountably than the church ever could... It indoctrinates the young into believing falsehoods they cling to for the rest of their lives. It's a reactionary lobby on issues of equality, health and scientific progress (gay rights, stem cells, AIDS). Religion has in the past given us great art and poetry, but not for quite a while now - it's completely past its sell-by date. What's left? Ignorance, bigotry, and terrorism... We still have all that art, all those ideas, and we can study comparative religion in history ... what exactly would we lose by nipping it in the bud? Should we ban religion?
Surely people have the right to believe in what they wish if it doesn't effect people? And who can tell people what to believe and not? On another note, I'm not religious but believe faith in something is important. For me that faith is in myself and those I hold dear, but I've known people who've had their faith in other things destroyed, and religion has picked them up
Well, we tell people not to do certain things which aren't good for them or for society as a whole, and religion is bad for us and our society. I don't see what the difference is in principle between outlawing the indoctrination of superstitions and outlawing the incitement of race hate. For our own protection and the good of society, we need to check the spread of these harmful ideas...
I think banning organized religion would cause a complete and total uproar that's not worth it... It would be a form of anarchy. Organized religion is SUCH an intergrated part of our culture, all around the world, and basically has been since the beginning of civilization. And as Kier said, people have the right to believe what they want to believe, and if a mom wants to take her kids to church every Sunday morning or whatever, she completely has the right. Granted, of course organized religion causes major, major issues in the world. Fanatic groups killing and torturing people, ect ect, and I realize that, but government does that to, and so does almost anything that's organized on a national or bigger level. (Not counting things like the Red Cross, obviously, there are many organizations like that that are good) But choices like this can't be taken lightly... And on top of spreading horrible ideas, religion can spread good ideas, and spread ideas like peace and tolerance. I don't have any religious beliefs, but I see what it can do for people, like my mother when she was ill, and organized religion on a smaller and more personal level like that can be very good. When my mother was dying, as many people in my family have also done, she took comfort in the church she attended, and it became a common ground for her and other people going through the same thing. Without that support system church gave her, I doubt she would have been as optimistic as she was, and I doubt she would have held on a long as she did. I have such mixed ideas on this... And sorry if this doesnt' make any sense, I'm quite ill at the moment and it's hard to make sense of anything too serious... But hope this means something to someone...
just on this point ... I was raised in various protestant churches (as we moved around alot). my mom took me to church from the time i was born and kept me going to church until i was old enough (i.e. 19 when i could break free) to move out and thus wasn't required to go regularly. honestly, i feel and have felt for many years that i was totally brainwashed from day 1. i was taught to believe all the mumbo jumbo, all the stories as fact, that evolution was evil, rock music was bad, etc, etc, etc. it took me the better part of 1/2 a decade to un-brainwash myself from these ideas and still at times they creep into my psyche. people can believe what they choose to yes, but i have a hard time saying that i feel anyone has the right to brainwash their child from the beginning of their life that there is only one right way to think and everyone else is wrong, oh and if you think differently you are wrong too. yes, there were aspects of church-life i liked back in the day like the community and such; but i have found these same aspects in other places. people seem to think that churches are good nice places, but they aren't always. there is a lot of politics in most protestant churches - at least in all the ones i've ever been to - and there tends to be a lot of backstabbing and all the other horrible things that occur in life just under the "guise" of being "holy" and "religious." it seems religion is taken a bit different over in England compared to in America but i still think the same principles hold true. if you want to teach your kid to be good then teach them to be good ... don't put religion into it and make your kid all confused and have issues the rest of their life. it still makes me sick to think that i used to try to convert all my non-protestant friends because i thought for sure they were going to die and go to hell and that they were just wrong and misguided for thinking the way they did. if i could go back in time i'd kick my own ass. having said that though, i don't see that you could really ban religion. people need a cruch. most people need something they can fall back on, and for many that is religion. just as i have the right to sit here and say i can't stand religion they have the right to say they love it. if it got to the point it was something government mandated that you had to belong to a relgion then i'd be calling for that to be changed; but well, as much as i don't see religion providing a lot of good in the world but instead a lot of hatred, intolerance, and pain i still don't see it as being something that could be banned or even should be banned. it's going to sound strange but i look at relgion in the same light i'd even look at say alcohol .. you know it can be bad for you, you know it can lead to death and dismemberment, you know some people rely on it too heavily to solve their problems ... but ultimately you wouldn't want the government telling you that you can't drink now would you?
much good has come from organized religion... hernando cortez for instance, a devout catholic brought back massive gold reserves from mexico in the spirit of christian supremecy that revitalized the european economy
I think this is a very good point, bringing a child up with these ideas is in effect stunting their minds, and could quite realistically be termed a form of mental abuse. To be honest I'm not really suggesting banning religion is something we could actually practically do, I just wanted to get some opinions on what we might lose if we hypothetically could do it. So far I can't actually think of any negatives to wiping out religious ideas if we could easily do it. Yes religion has also spread ideas of love and compassion and charity at times as well as hatred and bigotry - but these ideas exist in other places, and are ingrained in our social institutions - the welfare state, charitable NGOs, groups like Amnesty, the NHS - they don't require religion, these ideas and organisations would all function fine if you took away superstitions and their propensity for spreading nastiness, ignorance and intolerance... Is there anything religion gives us that is worth saving and which doesn't exist elsewhere?
I think people who are anti-religious like to focus only on the cons of it, but what about the pros, such as here in the US despite all the sex scandals the Catholic church is still the biggest charity givers in the country.
lol ... despite the fact the old men in charge molest little boys while they are saying their prayers ... sure sort of a conterintuitive statement really. Catholics still have strong beliefs about birth control and the right to life and abortion, and homosexuals, and women in places of control, etc ... it's just as fucked up as any other relgion is - despite is charitable contributions. and how many of those contributions are given to people who either have to also take the bible with the charity or just to believers only? that's another problem i have with some religous places. there was one such place where i used to live, was a homeless shelter run by a chatholic priest, and was much needed in the community but in order to be able to get a hot meal and sleep there at night you had to show up about 5pm in the evening for a long mass and bible study before they'd give you a place to shower and then feed you and put you to bed. bit wrong to hand out charity in one hand but slide in their politics/religion in the other hand first.
The Catholic church is one of the worst offenders when it comes to the spread of dangerous misinformation about condoms which has been responsible for advancing the AIDS pandemic in Africa rather than helping to prevent it. Yes, religious groups do charitable work - but once we ban religion, there's nothing to stop these people still continuing to do the good work they do. In fact, it would be rather nice if they chose to do that work purely out of the goodness of their hearts rather than through selfish toadying and sucking up to some imaginary Daddy in the sky... there are plenty of charitable organisations and social institutions which work to help people because reducing human suffering is on its own terms a good thing to do, not because they fear supernatural punishment if they don't!
I *think* Dappy is satirising the idea of a religious upbringing leading to a stunted mind Of course it doesn't necessarily - some can manage to escape its confines and think for themselves. But many don't - if you're brought up from a very young age indoctrinated into an aggressively rigid belief system, taught to believe only one thing and told not to question it, and believing that everyone else is wrong, I'd say that's a form of child abuse and can lead to serious socio-developmental problems. Religion acts like a self-replicating virus, passed on to the young before they have any kind of insight (mental immunity) or ability to defend themselves against its onslaught.
