Would the World be better off without religion

[john]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zcnm82p#zct79qt

According to the current position on this BBC poll  85% say yes.

[jeremyp]

The only problem being that there is religion in the World and we can't just wish it away.

Anyway, vote early and vote often. You can vote more than once simply by deleting your bbc.co.uk cookies.

[Nearly Sane]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zcnm82p#zct79qt

According to the current position on this BBC poll  85% say yes.

Brain dead voters voting on a brain dead question

[Hope]

It is interesting that you have misrepresented the poll in your thread title, john.  I wonder whether that was intentional or just unconscious.

The question the poll was based on is

"Would the world be more peaceful without religion?"

Let's see.  Were the 1st and 2nd World Wars to do with religion?  Were the 1st and 2nd Gulf Wars to do with religion?  I am sure that if I were to go though all the main wars that have occurred over the centuries, many would have had as much to do with 'politics' as with 'religion'.

[Sebastian Toe]

It is interesting that you have misrepresented the poll in your thread title, john.  I wonder whether that was intentional or just unconscious.

The question the poll was based on is

"Would the world be more peaceful without religion?"

Well Hope, would the world be better off if it was more peaceful or not?

[trippymonkey]

'' "Would the world be more peaceful without religion?"

Let's see.  Were the 1st and 2nd World Wars to do with religion?  Were the 1st and 2nd Gulf Wars to do with religion?  I am sure that if I were to go though all the main wars that have occurred over the centuries, many would have had as much to do with 'politics' as with 'religion'. ''


Substitute religion with culture !!! Look at IS for example - they so obviously want to be rid of western & non-Islamic culture & ANYTHING THEY consider not their version of Islam.

Nick

[Leonard James]

The world would be better off without religion if it were replaced with a universally accepted moral code of respect for other people and the environment.

There's the problem! 

[trippymonkey]

The problem, for me, is not religion per se but cretins that feel, in their own stupid ignorance, that THEIR way is superior to any others !!

Despite the fact that their way has been adapted to suit the place where their religion was 'founded' !

There will be similarities as basically humans are the same as regards most needs but when people from a different part of the world start issuing 'orders' to the rest about what to eat & wear, THEN we have problems.

And this has been going on for thousands of years so what's happening now is nothing new. I say that in case any saddos go on about the British Empire, etc etc BLAH BLAH !!! 

Nick

[Hope]

Well Hope, would the world be better off if it was more peaceful or not?

Not necessarily; humanity has developed a huge amount of important stuff - scientific/medical/industrial - off the back of wartime developments.

[Hope]

The world would be better off without religion if it were replaced with a universally accepted moral code of respect for other people and the environment.

There's the problem! 

That is the problem, Len.  For instance, I have a respect for humanity and the environment partly because I believe that they have a purpose, that there is a reason for their existence.  There are others, including folk here, who don't believe there is such a purpose or reason.  It can be difficult to develop a universal moral code when such diametrically different views of creation/the natural world are held. 

[jeremyp]

Well Hope, would the world be better off if it was more peaceful or not?

Interesting question. It would certainly have been more peaceful in the 40's if we had just let Hitler take over, but would it be a better place now.

[Leonard James]

That is the problem, Len.  For instance, I have a respect for humanity and the environment partly because I believe that they have a purpose, that there is a reason for their existence.  There are others, including folk here, who don't believe there is such a purpose or reason.  It can be difficult to develop a universal moral code when such diametrically different views of creation/the natural world are held.

Yes, Hope, and as a non-believer I recognise that difficulty.

However, I think that both of us believe the same as far as respect for others and the environment are concerned.

All we have to do now is convince the rest of humanity that we are right! 

[floo]

Religion has caused a lot of strife since humans created it. The extremes of Islam and Christianity being the worse offenders.

[Hope]

Religion has caused a lot of strife since humans created it. The extremes of Islam and Christianity being the worse offenders.

Created what Floo; strife?  Do you have any evidence that humans created a belief in a deity (aka religion)?

[john]

Created what Floo; strife?  Do you have any evidence that humans created a belief in a deity (aka religion)?

Oh for GODS sake Hopey here we go again.... Where do deities come from if not the human imagination? Are you related to Jeremy Corbyn? Your complete lack of an understanding of reality/stubborn refusal to consider it, would suggest so.

[floo]

Created what Floo; strife?  Do you have any evidence that humans created a belief in a deity (aka religion)?

Do you have any verifiable evidence humans didn't create all the gods, which they worship?

Wars have been fought in the name of religion throughout the centuries to the present day.

The bigotry and abuse displayed by some of the Christian fundies who believe the Bible to be literally true is EVIL!

[Sebastian Toe]

Not necessarily; humanity has developed a huge amount of important stuff - scientific/medical/industrial - off the back of wartime developments.

Hurrah for wars then?

[Hope]

Wars have been fought in the name of religion throughout the centuries to the present day.

Wars have also been fought on purely tribal/political grounds 'throughout the centuries to the present day', Floo.  Are you suggesting that they are more acceptable than religious wars?

[Hope]

Hurrah for wars then?

Good to see that you miss the point.  War isn't always bad - for instance, there have been wars where one side has battled against what can only be called horrific evil - such as that against Hitler (note that I intentionally don't say the Germans as not all were supportive of him).  Part of the fallout from such wars have been the development of things such as prosthetics, better medical care for patients, nuclear power (and I accept that that is a debatable example), etc.

The warfare itself may have horrendous, but then developments of all types can result in the death of their experimenters and developers.

[trippymonkey]

Hope
May I ask if you can tell us why there are so many differing religions?

[Hope]

Do you have any verifiable evidence humans didn't create all the gods, which they worship?

There would seem to be a part of the human make-up that involves worship.  That might be of another humnan being, some

The bigotry and abuse displayed by some of the Christian fundies who believe the Bible to be literally true is EVIL!

No worse than some of the bigotry and abuse displayed by some of the fundamentalist atheists, Floo.

[Bubbles]

No, IMO it wouldn't be better off without religion because the problem is people.

You can get some very nasty non religious people who use political ideology instead.

It might be better off without people.

One day we will probably irreversibly poison our beautiful planet 

[Leonard James]

Hope
May I ask if you can tell us why there are so many differing religions?

I think the answer to this question is that man began to attribute things he didn't understand to powerful forces, calling them spirits or gods.

It is obvious that this would have occurred in tribes that lived in many different parts of the world, so the "gods/spirits" would be whatever the imagination conjured up.

I'm sure that is the source of the diversity.

[Leonard James]

No, IMO it wouldn't be better off without religion because the problem is people.

You can get some very nasty non religious people who use political ideology instead.

It might be better off without people.

One day we will probably irreversibly poison our beautiful planet 

It is true that dangerous people infest all parts of society. I think the only way to combat them is for the rest of us to unite and control them. Everything that divides us into smaller groups is counterproductive, and religion is one of those things.

[floo]

No worse than some of the bigotry and abuse displayed by some of the fundamentalist atheists, Floo.

And what bigotry is that?