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Should all religion be banned?

glued

Do you think it's good for the mental health country that we have thousands of people attending religious ceremonies every week, talking to someone that doesn't exist and basing their morals on ancient scripture written centuries before them?

I know religion is a comfort for some people but it's seems bizarre that we allow it to be still significantly involved in modern society. I don't think the comfort it brings to people outweighs the negative cost and drastic burden it has on society.

Religion divides people more than it brings people together and, as such, I think it should be banned. What say ye?

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Comments

ConorDon97

I'm not very religious and I don't attend mass but I think it is a necessary comfort for a lot of people. That being said, I am glad the Catholic church has cut most of its ties with the state. They still need to reform education and downgrade the role of religion in schools though.

Also, I believe (for the most part) that religion throughout history has been used as an excuse by leaders for war which has caused division as you say. Religion is not the cause itself.

If your religion encourages division, then it is not a very good religion.

Barry Badrinath

Banning religion is a silly idea.

I'm not religious, infact, I think it's all a load of nonsense. The only one I respect is the Flying Spaghetti Monster as it highlights the stupidity if it all.

Now saying that, I have "prayed" to a higher being on occasions as I lay face first into a toilet bowl while hammered.

Feel free to worship whatever God, Deity or food you want. Don't force it on anyone else, don't hide behind it and most importantly don't kill anyone on their behalf.

[Deleted User]

You can't ban people's thoughts or beliefs.

McGruber has it nailed above. Keep it private, respect everyone else, and don't go killing anyone, and everything's cushty.

Lux23

No, because that would just make victims out of the fundamentalist types.

What I would do is call for a complete separation of church and state, this includes removing all schools and hospitals that receive from public funding from the management of any church.

DEFTLEFTHAND

The Soviet Union attempted this in their pursuit of "universal atheism". In theory I can see how they thought it would work, replace one ideology with another (Marxism). However in practice they went about implementing their goal in a terrible manner and never succeeded in eradicating faith.

AudreyHepburn

Live and let live - to ban religion or any form of ideology is forcing your ideas and beliefs onto other people, which is exactly what the non-religious are constantly up in arms about.

Live and let live.... as long as it's not being forced down your throat what harm does it do?

Eramen

Sleepy wrote: »

Ban it? Nah, prohibition doesn't work. I would, however, be in favour of:

Removing religion entirely from our health, education and justice systems.
Taxing religious orders as the businesses they are.
Removing all traces of it from the State Broadcaster: if a religious order wants media time, let them pay for their own advertising.
Removing the right of religious orders to carry out legal marriages: if people want a blessing or ceremony of some sort that's fine but no religion should be acting on behalf of the state.
Prosecuting anyone found guilty of the genital mutilation of children as the monsters they are.
Banning religious orders from lobbying government officials.

Once shorn of it's historic privilges, I believe religion would die out even faster than it currently is.

Religion is not dying out, but the contrary is happening - their beliefs and organisation on the whole are on the increase. Look at Asia and Africa, Christianity and Islam are thriving and finding new converts, while the Chinese and other former communist states have now sanctioned their own traditional religious systems to combat the renewed spread of the Abrahamic faiths.

In the West however religion has stagnated - but it has nothing to do with the religion itself. White western populations are in general on the decline and the European continent is being repopulated with Eurasians from the east. Islam is certainly in the running as the unapologetic successor to our own traditional religion, we must be astute in recognising its rise.

Your feelings of 'decline' and demise of traditional customs can simply be equated with the decline of European mankind in general, who, in most Western European nations, won't even constitute a majority in his own homelands by the middle of this century. Anybody who would have the care to moderate their own opinions for a moment could observe these obvious trends.

ConorDon97

Eramen wrote: »

Religion is not dying out, but the contrary is happening - their beliefs and their organisations on the whole are on the increase. Look at Asia and Africa, Christianity and Islam is thriving and finding new converts, while the Chinese and other former communist states have now sanctioned their own traditional religious systems to combat the spread of the Abrahamic faiths.

In the West however religion has stagnated - but it has nothing to do with the religion itself. White western populations are in general on the decline and the European continent is being repopulated with Eurasians from the east.

Your feelings of 'decline' and demise of traditional customs can simply be equated with the decline of European mankind in general, who, in the majority of Western European nations, won't even constitute a majority in his own homeland by the middle of this century. Anybody who would have the care to moderate their own opinions for a moment could observe these obvious trends.

Agreed, religion has lived through the ages while empires have come and fallen. The decline of religion in Europe is cyclical and it will rise in some form again.

The Specialist

Complete separation of religion from state and laws. No special exceptions for any form of religious dress on any premises. No blasphemy laws to protect any belief system from criticism.

That's sufficient enough, whatever people want to believe is their own business after that. It just won't have any relevance in the real world.

Galwayguy35

ConorDon97 wrote: »

I'm not very religious and I don't attend mass but I think it is a necessary comfort for a lot of people. That being said, I am glad the Catholic church has cut most of its ties with the state. They still need to reform education and downgrade the role of religion in schools though.

Also, I believe (for the most part) that religion throughout history has been used as an excuse by leaders for war which has caused division as you say. Religion is not the cause itself.

If your religion encourages division, then it is not a very good religion.

Yes religion has caused wars but if I'm not mistaken wasn't Joe Stalin an atheist?

ScumLord

ConorDon97 wrote: »

Also, I believe (for the most part) that religion throughout history has been used as an excuse by leaders for war which has caused division as you say. Religion is not the cause itself.

That's true, The Catholic church often seems to be a continuation of Roman empirical desires. But there is inherent conflict in a lot of religions. Phrases like "there's only one true god", "chosen people", that there's good people and sinners. Creates a divide where you're either with us or against us, and rather than just be an enemy you're the devil's soldier, elevates the stakes. Christianity is a radical religion. People willing to die rather than compromise on their faith in any way was probably as shocking at the time as Islam is to Europeans today. It may preach tolerance and forgiveness but the end result is often intolerance and unabashed hatred.

ConorDon97 wrote: »

Agreed, religion has lived through the ages while empires have come and fallen. The decline of religion in Europe is cyclical and it will rise in some form again.

Religions have come and gone too. The Christianity practiced around Europe today is nothing like the Christianity that was practiced 1000 years ago, and more different from what the founding fathers of the faith practiced. Religion is just a concept, like empires are just a concept. As a concept religion is up against a completely new foe in science. Science is going nowhere and it's benefits are obvious, if you get stuck on a mountain you can pray to god for help and hope for the best, or take out your mobile phone, call 999 and people will descend out of the sky, rescue you, take away your pain, and put you on a measureable road to recovery.

Galwayguy35

ScumLord wrote: »

That's true, The Catholic church often seems to be a continuation of Roman empirical desires. But there is inherent conflict in a lot of religions. Phrases like "there's only one true god", "chosen people", that there's good people and sinners. Creates a divide where you're either with us or against us, and rather than just be an enemy you're the devil's soldier, elevates the stakes. Christianity is a radical religion. People willing to die rather than compromise on their faith in any way was probably as shocking at the time as Islam is to Europeans today. It may preach tolerance and forgiveness but the end result is often intolerance and unabashed hatred.

Religions have come and gone too. The Christianity practiced around Europe today is nothing like the Christianity that was practiced 1000 years ago, and more different from what the founding fathers of the faith practiced. Religion is just a concept, like empires are just a concept. As a concept religion is up against a completely new foe in science. Science is going nowhere and it's benefits are obvious, if you get stuck on a mountain you can pray to god for help and hope for the best, or take out your mobile phone, call 999 and people will descend out of the sky, rescue you, take away your pain, and put you on a measureable road to recovery.

Unless you have no phone signal, then nobody will come.

Renegade Mechanic

Who'd want to ban Buddhism? Buddhists are class.

dreoilin

There are times when I see the comfort people's belief systems can bring them and I envy them.

dreoilin

glued wrote: »

Religion divides people more than it brings people together and, as such, I think it should be banned.

Somehow I think trying to ban religion would cause more of an uproar than it existing currently does.

PucaMama

People actually want to remove religion from healthcare now....do they realise who ran most of the major hospitals in the country in the first place

Renegade Mechanic

PucaMama wrote: »

People actually want to remove religion from healthcare now....do they realise who ran most of the major hospitals in the country in the first place

And the religions the majority of the doctors and consultants in there now. We'd end up losing half of our already atrocious healthcare capacity

ScumLord

PucaMama wrote: »

People actually want to remove religion from healthcare now....do they realise who ran most of the major hospitals in the country in the first place

So? If you want to get treated by a nun go to church. Hospitals are for trained Doctors and nurses. All thanks to the nuns for doing the job when others wouldn't but we have a better system in place now.

mrcheez

dreoilin wrote: »

There are times when I see the comfort people's belief systems can bring them and I envy them.

Surely a reliance and comfort in one-self while living for the moment rather than an afterlife is far more worthy of envy ?

wakka12

ConorDon97 wrote: »

Agreed, religion has lived through the ages while empires have come and fallen. The decline of religion in Europe is cyclical and it will rise in some form again.

With the advancements in science and medicine of the future I doubt it

genericguy

eviltwin wrote: »

And what would be the penalties? And how would you apply them ?

If you are A true Muslim, you behead those who worship anyone but Allah

ConorDon97

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Yes religion has caused wars but if I'm not mistaken wasn't Joe Stalin an atheist?

True! I don't think he needed religion to find something to fight about though. The most obvious enemy for him was facism and war was inevitable. That being said, he used religion to persecute anyone who believed in religion I think.

So either way, religion is used as a weapon to begin war or in Stalins case, remove opposition.

[Deleted User]

How about the tenets of religion be made compulsory?

So "love your neighbour as yourself" becomes law. Wouldn't that make society a little better, and have much more impact than prohibiting freedom of thought, of expression, of association etc.

ConorDon97

ScumLord wrote: »

That's true, The Catholic church often seems to be a continuation of Roman empirical desires. But there is inherent conflict in a lot of religions. Phrases like "there's only one true god", "chosen people", that there's good people and sinners. Creates a divide where you're either with us or against us, and rather than just be an enemy you're the devil's soldier, elevates the stakes. Christianity is a radical religion. People willing to die rather than compromise on their faith in any way was probably as shocking at the time as Islam is to Europeans today. It may preach tolerance and forgiveness but the end result is often intolerance and unabashed hatred.

Religions have come and gone too. The Christianity practiced around Europe today is nothing like the Christianity that was practiced 1000 years ago, and more different from what the founding fathers of the faith practiced. Religion is just a concept, like empires are just a concept. As a concept religion is up against a completely new foe in science. Science is going nowhere and it's benefits are obvious, if you get stuck on a mountain you can pray to god for help and hope for the best, or take out your mobile phone, call 999 and people will descend out of the sky, rescue you, take away your pain, and put you on a measureable road to recovery.

I agree with your first point but I think the fact that empires are still around today in different forms to previous empires proves that religion can also do the same, which I think is what we were both getting at.

Also, I believe the only reason humans created religion in the first place is to create a comfort for themselves knowing that life would not end on death. Until science can tell us what happens after death, people will always look for that comfort.

smash

ConorDon97 wrote: »

Also, I believe the only reason humans created religion in the first place is to create a comfort for themselves knowing that life would not end on death.

Religion was created for population control. You know, to stop people riding and killing each other.

Rezident

No. Just Islam - it's clearly incompatible with civilisation.

beardybrewer

You don't think people would instantly find something else to kill each other over?

ConorDon97

smash wrote: »

Religion was created for population control. You know, to stop people riding and killing each other.

Well, it has done a great job.

ToddyDoody

I dunno. I hear there's good money in setting up one of your own. EU competition laws and all that.

MRnotlob606

Ban religions? and I thought boards was hotbed of indefatigable resistance to political correctness. Seems some people here actually like if it supports their own agenda.