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The World without Religion


Infernal Monk

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Well, just refer to the title...do you think it would be a better place without religion? I know this is a religion site, but I just wanted to hear people's opinions on this.

I mean look at all the evil things done in the name of religion, wars, inquisitions, hatred, etc.. so many problems...or do you believe that such things are just human nature, and would have occurred irrespective of religion.

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okay... imma try this...

socially speaking, people need groups. they need definitions of who is an outsider and who is known. it's a need for affiliation that leads us to create groups. and over time, these groups of people tend to find themselves in conflict over things.

but the the thing to remember is that there are many types of groups and religious groups are just one type. there have been wars based on nationality, ethnicity among other things too. religion on its own is just ONE type of social group.

when talking about whether religions cause war, i would have to think about it in the same context as these other groups. let's make an analogy to ethnicity, because god knows ethnicity has been a common factor in many wars.

has ethnicity on its own been a cause for war?

the answer is no. people's biased views of others' ethnicity has definitely generated hatred and animosity which has led to war. but ethnicity on its own, hasn't.

i think the same thing applies to religion. religion on its own hasn't caused wars. and i don't think it can (i'll talk about this later). but people's interpretations and beliefs based on these interpretations CAN lead them to feel hatred and animosity towards what they BELIEVE other religious groups are preaching, which in turn leads to hostile actions.

now spiritually speaking, i don't think religions were made specifically for the purpose of bringing people together. i think the point of religion is something that should be discussed in a separate topic or after your original query has been addressed.

but in the end, from what i've seen, it isn't really RELIGION per se that has caused wars. it's been people's misunderstandings and hatred that has caused wars.

things like religion, ethnicity etc are highly subjective and what is said should be taken in an appropriate context.

it's when we misunderstand what is being said and alter our beliefs accordingly to accomodate that understanding that our perceptions change, and we allow hate to come into the picture.

talk to any member of the taliban. they're belief is that the quran specifically wants their women to be oppressed and treated brutally. but from what i've heard from others, the quran hasn't said that it was right to treat women that way, and so people refer to the taliban as an extremist group. they have a different interpretation of the quran and islam than other people who practice it do. and their beliefs as such lead them to act differently than those who have different interpretations.

okay, now i'm babbling. hopefully i made some sense through all of this.

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good points so far people...and I agree with most of what you have written Sukhi, but I just thought things were different with religion. I agree it is a social group like any other, but its message is different (ie most religions speak of peace, love, etc...) I mean the people misinterpreting and then preaching it must be quite clever to get so many to follow them. I mean you have religious teaching which preaces love, tolerance, but you have people that would fight over it. I hope I'm making some sense here..

Anways continue sharing your views people.

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people tend to forget the universal message of love and tolerance and assume it to apply to those that are part of the group. we're humans. we're narrow-minded like that. forgive them for being who they are and move on.

and apart from that, for some people religion is meaningless. it's what they can get out of it that matters (ie money, power, whatever else).

doaba, let's discuss whatever can be discussed. i'm pretty sure that i dun have everything down pat anyways.

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