Trigger Warning Time to do away with organised religion/no place for it in the developed world?

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

[trigger warning as I did NOT create this thread for people to argue - debate, sure, but not argue/fight - and religion tends to be one of those topics where people get insanely angry and defensive]

Organised religion is directly or indirectly responsible for a LOT of the evil we have in this world, and I'd argue the majority of hate and prejudice.
To be clear, I am emphasizing ORGANIZED religion here. Obviously like an enforced atheism would be just as bad as an enforced religion. If someone believes in a god or gods and that brings them comfort, or makes them strive to be a better person, I think that's fantastic and I'm genuinely happy for them. I see no problem there. But ORGANIZED religion, a lot of it is about control and oppression and the whole thing is incredibly archaic now.

 

[Redington]

.....you see, once upon a time, I felt life was empty. I simply lacked the ability to hold on to the belief that there is something more to strive for, or to live for, and no matter how much everyone around me tried to make me see the greater picture, it never sticked with me.
I was on a very dark path that would have strayed either in the direction of multiple suicide attempts (I did attempt once) or in the direction of me obtaining some guns and ammo, getting drunk, and killing everyone in sight, just because life felt empty, and also because I wanted to do something, and not sit still, drifting away through life.

But, I was saved by religion, by orthodox christianity. God gave me forgiveness. He gave me hope, and the strength needed to push through life. I think some people, just like me, simply need religion, or more like really need it, to understand that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, that we are part of something meaningful.

You know, religion in itself is not at fault for the hate and prejudice out there in the world, if anything, the lack of belief in God or the perverted twisting of the word of God is the stimulus for all the evils out there. I've experienced divine forgiveness for myself, and I am forever grateful. I wish everyone in the world would see the beauty of God's grace in their lives.

Also, from what I observed, religion, just like money, forms around itself a community based upon a common denominator. In the case of money, that is physical, material wealth. In the case of religion, that is a connection to the divine realm. I think we need both in order for society to progress, and for society to hold on to a greater meaning.

 

[Redington]

*To make it clear, I also think that it's important that religion stays organized, and not up to every individual. That's because the community that a particular religion brings around it matters greatly. And where there is a church in a local neighbourhood for people to go to, it creates new bonds between people, or reinforce old ones. So there is that aspect of it.

 

[Cheshire_Kat]

If "humanity" did not have organized religions it would find something else to fight about.

 

[assclass]

If you ban religion, the vacuum will be filled by something worse.

 

[Foreigner]

You can't kill an idea as big as religion. You will just end up strengthening it. A lot of communist governments have tried over the years and the backlash was very intense.

Spirituality is an integral part of the human experience and religion is an expression of that. You can't take that away from people.

Christianity itself started as a cult in ancient Rome. The Christians literally lived in underground catacombs and tried not to show their faces. Centuries later, Emperor Constantine endorsed Christianity as the official religion of Rome, and the Vatican was created. That's what happens when you try to quash religion.

 

[Mjäll]

You can't kill an idea as big as religion. You will just end up strengthening it. A lot of communist governments have tried over the years and the backlash was very intense.

Spirituality is an integral part of the human experience and religion is an expression of that. You can't take that away from people.

Christianity itself started as a cult in ancient Rome. The Christians literally lived in underground catacombs and tried not to show their faces. Centuries later, Emperor Constantine endorsed Christianity as the official religion of Rome, and the Vatican was created. That's what happens when you try to quash religion.

Trick is then to do away with it in a spontaneous bottom-up way and not in an organized religion type way.

The idea of diminishing the role of religion gets conflated with the method of prohibiting religion. They are separate issues. I think the idea posited in OP is a no-brainer. Organized religion is archaic and obsolete. But as you say, so is forcing opinions on people.

We should have spiritual communities but the burden of old superstition needs to be thrown off.

 

[Foreigner]

Trick is then to do away with it in a spontaneous bottom-up way and not in an organized religion type way.

The idea of diminishing the role of religion gets conflated with the method of prohibiting religion. They are separate issues. I think the idea posited in OP is a no-brainer. Organized religion is archaic and obsolete. But as you say, so is forcing opinions on people.

We should have spiritual communities but the burden of old superstition needs to be thrown off.

Religion is already diminishing in the Western world. We don't need to do anything about it.

 

[Mjäll]

Religion is already diminishing in the Western world. We don't need to do anything about it.

Yeah

Not a new idea

But now there's a religious war going on in Mordor sorry i mean the middle east, and western people seem to engage in that...

 

[Foreigner]

Yeah

Not a new idea

But now there's a religious war going on in Mordor sorry i mean the middle east, and western people seem to engage in that...

That war isn't just about religion, no matter what it is they're trying to tell us. There are major geopolitics at work in that region.

Without the US protecting Israel from repercussions at the UN, there would be real solutions.

 

[Lil'LinaptkSix]

Agree on one side and wonder what replaces it... maybe AI.
imma whoop his/her/it's ass swear fore god and errything else.
Booooyakaaaa
But organized "religion" has had it time in colonial years (still around, IMO) but the loss of life in the name of god just seems a misnomer.
Whatta we do?
And "organized" world; what is this I have no recollection of iirc.
I feel that the connection we share with all is god. Meaning that IME there is no "god" greater than human as we are everywhere and nowhere at once.
Just an opinion.
Could anyone actually think of the power we have that has been lost or stolen: Esoteric
Guess that's enough for now.
Bable on, my prettys.

 

[Mjäll]

That war isn't just about religion, no matter what it is they're trying to tell us. There are major geopolitics at work in that region.

Without the US protecting Israel from repercussions at the UN, there would be real solutions.

Of course it's not just religion. It never is, since religion is intertwined with all aspects of human life.

That's an example of potential for diminished respect for a religion. USA in itself is also stupidly christian still.

What solutions do you think there'd be?

 

[Foreigner]

Of course it's not just religion. It never is, since religion is intertwined with all aspects of human life.

That's an example of potential for diminished respect for a religion. USA in itself is also stupidly christian still.

What solutions do you think there'd be?

I think we should just continue on the course we're already on. Increased education and social development. There may be a lot of religious people still but they are different than they were 200 years ago. The stuff religious people do in their daily lives now would've been heresy back then.

These days people often mistake a very vocal minority for religion having a lot of power. Overall fundamentalism is on the decline.

The Middle East appears to be an exception but that's because the Western world has armed them, trained them, protected one tribal faction over another, and played geopolitics with the region for more than a century. Religion didn't do that.