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Do you think religion should be abolished?If yes why , if no why not?

I think that religion didn't cause anything good but only start wars, create gilt , hold science back , repressing women's rights, repress sexual subjects , promotes violence racism sectrianism backwardness discrimination ignorance , violates human rights , opression of homosexuals , bigotry , hatred , extremism , terrorism . But sometimes it helps people cope with their problems. I want to hear your opinions and arguments. Plus excuse my English since it's a second language.

PS : I meant abolish not by forcing but using logic and reason.

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Permalink Reply by Secular Forces 2013 on November 10, 2012 at 8:37pm

ssssss... glitchy browser! case in point:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20280223

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Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on November 11, 2012 at 4:16pm

Thanks for the link Guitarzeroh.

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Permalink Reply by Secular Forces 2013 on November 10, 2012 at 8:38pm

plastic shit from china slave factories for traditional holidays from hell.. that clog our environments with shit that's a bs thing too biproduct from xyz blah blah puke! > : ) n' the garlic

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Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on November 11, 2012 at 4:19pm

Guitarzeroh, you have every right to express yourself any way that feels right for you. I, on the other-hand, find nothing useful in this comment. No information, no definitions of your terms, I don't even know what you mean by "traditional holidays".

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Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on November 10, 2012 at 9:50pm

Of course religion should not be abolished! That would be as bad as religion being required. Some people find real comfort in their religious experience and why should they be denied that which they feel or want? Others feel no need for religion and have every right to not believe god or whatever name you want to use. As for myself, the notion of god is so tiny, so insignificant, so historically destructive, I don't want to even listen to other people talk about their understanding of god. I hear of a loving god and remember what the old testament said about him. I hear about jesus as lord and I think of the fables and foolishness of his story. Aside from boredom the only other reaction I have is all silly. So, if you don't want to hear me laugh, take your palaver somewhere else.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Schultz on November 10, 2012 at 11:55pm

I assume you selected the word "abolish" to generate interest, however you really need to clearly define your terms for there to be any reasonable, thoughtful response to your question.

The Oxford Dictionary defines Abolish as "put an end to the existence or practice of (esp. a custom or institution). Some of the methods listed are acceptable - "set aside, dispense with, ... " but most are not - "destroy, annihilate, liquidate, obliterate, stamp out, quash, eradicate, ...)

I think the selection of another term would seem to be desirable.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Schultz on November 11, 2012 at 9:40am

Sorry, I did not read all the comments before posting. There has been much thoughtful response and discussion.

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Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on November 11, 2012 at 9:45am

So long as people have the right (or even the ability) to be stupid, woo will persist, whether it's in the form of religion, homeopathy, belief in ghosts, or any other form of self-delusion. To utterly defeat woo would take a level of general societal education which human culture has yet to see, and even that is no guarantee, as that persistent minority of the members of the National Academy of Scientists who are believers will attest to.

We may be able to reduce religion's impact on the individual and society, disempower it from interfering with governments, perhaps even to the point of rendering it utterly irrelevant in any significant fashion ... but removing it entirely may be like reaching zero degrees, Kelvin. You can come tantalizingly close, but get there? Impossible ... at least so long as stupidity exists in humankind.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Schultz on November 11, 2012 at 10:09am

I agree. It is like those who believe in "I want a bigger government, so I can help you even more". Stay Away, I think you have helped me enough already - Thank You anyway.

Note - I was thinking specifically of His Honor the Mayor of New York - I am going to ban large soft drinks to cure obesity, and I think we can recover from "the worst natural disaster" while running a large marathon during the same week. Look away people - so they still don't have power, and it is snowing out, TRUST ME we will fix it someday.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on January 18, 2013 at 3:31am

Jim, your quote stirs its converse.

I'm thinking of an essay on "I want a bigger government, so I can help you even more" and "I want a smaller government, so I can help myself even more".

On second thought, I guess the Dems and Repubs have milked that pairing for what it's worth.

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Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on November 11, 2012 at 11:15am

I agree, Loren, that religion can and should be eliminated from government. Also, I like your reference to woo factors and I even wonder why there are scientists at all who profess belief in god and all that implies.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Tawney on November 11, 2012 at 10:36am

Ibrahim, religion is bad without any doubt in my mind. My personal belief is that there should be no religion what-so-ever! Our founding fathers understood that religion will be around a long time and also understood the influence believers have in governmental affairs. They felt it was so important that they wrote this into the first amendment of our constitution. Separating religion from government was one of their biggest concerns. Their wisdom then has prevented the formalization of a state-sponsored or state-sanctioned religion, even now.

My personal belief is that religion should be abolished, but it is outweighed by my stronger belief in our founding fathers' wisdom. Unfortunately religion is going to be around a long time. All we can do is work hard to show how ridiculous this magical thinking is and stand strong to prevent it from influencing governmental actions, such as allowing it in our education system, our healthcare system and of course, our own government.