Is Religion Stupid?

[domotime2]

Is believing in mythical magic stories that have lead to dozens of wars, death, and destruction stupid? Or does religion, and its meanings, symbolism, and hope do enough good for mankind, where's its actually important....and neccesary that it exists?

[phil19]

i wouldnt call it stupid. i would see it as outdated

[fadedmemories]

Nope.

[Domenic182]

seems like you just want to debate it with someone

[oddwithoutend]

It's like asking if laughter is stupid; religion is an element of human nature, not a logical decision. If I was under the belief that people used logic in deciding to be religous, I would answer this question. However, a level of stupidity doesn't enter the equation. It's irrelevant.

[superichie]

Religion has caused so many wars and so much death. The main reason for this is because pretty much every religion basically says they are right and everyone else is wrong. This causes the followers of said religions to push their beliefs on others causing conflict. If people could just keep their religion to themselves and accept the fact that other people believe differently than they do, we wouldn't have problems.

[domotime2]

It's like asking if laughter is stupid; religion is an element of human nature, not a logical decision. If I was under the belief that people used logic in deciding to be religous, I would answer this question. However, a level of stupidity doesn't enter the equation. It's irrelevant.
religion is an element of human nature? So you're saying its inevitable for a person to become religous and/or believe in a religion?

[SlappedActor]

No

[mutualaddiction]

There are a lot of problems with modern day religion, specifically within the organizations that run it, but simply calling it stupid is a rather immature argument.

[oddwithoutend]

religion is an element of human nature? So you're saying its inevitable for a person to become religous and/or believe in a religion?

No, I'm actually not religous. What I meant was that it's generally not a decision made using logic., but instead, it's a decision made because of basic human need to feel content with life and death and such.

[domotime2]

No, I'm actually not religous. What I meant was that it's generally not a decision made using logic., but instead, it's a decision made because of basic human need to feel content with life and death and such.
well then this question is really geared towards non-religous people...or those who are able to make decisions.... like to you my friend, do you feel that religion isnt stupid and it actually fulfills the human need to "feel content with life and death adn such"

[batmannj]

I would say that religion is not stupid, but it has caused some harm.

[oddwithoutend]

well then this question is really geared towards non-religous people...or those who are able to make decisions.... like to you my friend, do you feel that religion isnt stupid and it actually fulfills the human need to "feel content with life and death adn such"

I suspect that people do feel content by finding religion.. Yes.

[dpetty21]

Obviously it's a matter of opinion and cannot be disputed because there will always be two sides to the issue and arguing about it never gets anywhere. My personal opinion is yes, religion is stupid.

[Burn That Shit]

The morals presented in almost every religion are good, the religions themselves are lame.

[jjjkman]

i think it gives a lot of people the hope and faith they need to go through life, whether or not it be true, believing it gives a lot of people the will to go on and pull through difficult situations, so i say that it is not stupid.
I'm not religious, for the record.

[IceAge/HeatWave]

depends on how they are practiced. in theory, they're good and teach us important morals. however, people abuse religion as a way to make themselves feel superior to others. like slutty girls at my school who participate in YoungLife just so they can look down on other slutty girls. i hate hypocrisy, and the biggest hypocrites i know are 'religious' people. but that doesn't make it stupid.

[VIVALAMATT]

It does as much good as bad. I know so many people that have turned their lives around because they "found god". Let them believe what they will.

[AussieBoy]

is bloody a waste of ppl and energy, at least we should be fighting over worthwhile things like women and the illegal drug trade

although i will admit it has good effects on some ppl who need some guidance

its just fighting over who has got a cooler invisible friend

[LamarVannoy]

yes.

[WhoSaidThat?]

Where's the simple "not for me" option?

[cory-182]

Ignorance has been tearing apart the world for far too long, not religion.

[CarouselBoy]

i think it gives a lot of people the hope and faith they need to go through life, whether or not it be true, believing it gives a lot of people the will to go on and pull through difficult situations, so i say that it is not stupid.
I'm not religious, for the record.

depends on how they are practiced. in theory, they're good and teach us important morals. however, people abuse religion as a way to make themselves feel superior to others. like slutty girls at my school who participate in YoungLife just so they can look down on other slutty girls. i hate hypocrisy, and the biggest hypocrites i know are 'religious' people. but that doesn't make it stupid.

well put both of you. Also, I think a lot of people's view of religion as a source of war and conflict is heavily screwed by their own milieu and sense of Western History. In the US you hear religion you you immediately think of radical Muslims, crusading Christians, and an ignorant Christian Right in the US and completely forget about eastern religions and other religions that haven't been near the source of conflict western religion has.

[ElevenElm]

No, it's not. Almost all religions teach good lessons and morals; they are meant to better people. However, the line is cross when people use religion as an excuse to do things that aren't even a part of it's practice. Religion does help loads of people and does a lot of good in the world, such as giving money to the poor, etc. The problem, though, is the psycho people who do horrible things 'in the name of religion' when it has nothing to do with it. But all in all, the psycho people are going to be psycho whether or not religion is around. They would just find something else.

[sofaraway]

Religion has made up the fabric of culture ever since Constantine made the Christian religion the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century. It is an inescapable part of human culture and history. Even in prehistoric times there werefindings of old Cro-magnon people being buried in certain ways. While this may be evidence of nothing, I suspect that there is something to say about finding graves of people all buried the same way.

Now, in terms of its use, I would agree with people on here who say that it is abused. The word religion in the Latin means "To Bind Together." This is its original intent, but obviously in the world today it has been used as a dividing line between peoples. And while most religions claim their absolute truths, I can say that most average Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, etc. are willing to dialog about what their different faiths bring to the table. There will be differences, but if we lived in a homogenous society, then we would not have as much beauty or discovery in it, which goes for scientific, literary, etc.

Religion is necessary and, while it has been abused, it causes more good than pain.

[liveloud4life]

So many people go about it in a stupid way, just randomly picking in choosing the things that they want or "what they feel inside." I mean really what are the odds of all of your whims, completely individual to you, being the actual truth about the afterlife. Assuming you believe that it does matter. Like it's logical if your belief is that you have to keep a clear conscience and stay true to what you honestly believe is right. But, for example, if you believe that Bible is the instructions to Heaven, how do you justify adding your own random requirements and completely ignoring things that are really there? I think most Christian religions are stupid in the fact that they base far too many of their decisions on the traditions and independent beliefs of their particular denomination. If you wanna be a Christian than make your decisions based on the Bible and don't take anyone else's word for it.

[mrnegativezero]

I'm not exactly religious, but I would think it would be taking it too far to say it's stupid. Sure, it has done plenty of wrong, but there are equal amounts of right. It all depends on one's perspective.

[jawstheme]

There should be a "depends" option.

[codypayne]

love god. hate religion.

[TreyForest]

to me, Religion is the belief of a greater power and that we are more important then the animals we live around in that we have a purpose in life
so yeah to me in my own personal definition of religion, i just think its complete bullshit
were not more important then a dog or a blade of grass, we live and we die just like everything else and the only purpose of life is to live it in whatever way makes you happy
i think its pretty much proven that the only reason we exist is because our planet is in the zone from our star (sun) where water can exist and life has evolved from that

but as people have said, if the idea of it makes people turn around there lives then all power to them

[Machu505]

I wouldn't say that it's the worst thing that's ever happened to the world, but it has caused it's share of problems. I didn't vote.

[ellenfg.]

what i think is stupid, well, not stupid, but i think "whyyyy?" is when something good happens to someone religious (let's say musicians/actors who win awards) they thank god.
why?
because they couldn't get there themselves?
they should start taking some of the credit & not thank some... thing, who probably has better things to do with its time.
anyway, i digress.

i think the ideals of religion are a decent way to live your life (hello 10 commandments).
it's the execution of it at certain times that really is not cool.

[_Sumeet_]

I feel like this topic is being discussed through the lens of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Sikhism, for example, is a very egalitarian religion that expresses nothing more than good works towards others. So, it may be that some religions have caused many uproars and crises, but that doesn't mean that all religion has.

[_Sumeet_]

Ignorance has been tearing apart the world for far too long, not religion.

Well said, I agree.

[Ryzenfall]

False religion, hypocrisy and ignorance has been messing up the world. All of that gets stuffed under the blanket term of religion a lot of times.

[etheritcher]

lol you sound like my anthropology TA.

I feel like religion is important to me. I think violence in the name of religion is stupid though. I have my beliefs and if you don't believe the same thing I'm totally cool with that.

[tjb4233]

life would incessantly be meaningless without it

[Tead42]

life would incessantly be meaningless without it
Why would it be meaningless?

[Bruised26]

I think religion is great, because it offers people hope, and something for them to live for. Now cult-organized religion is terrible.....but thats a different story

[ohh lee]

Just finished watching Religulous. Great movie. Religion is stupid and causes too much war.

[brtnsnw4]

Worst thing since sliced bread

[liveloud4life]

That is exactly why I find Christianity to be so hypocritical. People just pick and choose what they want to believe to conform to their lifestyle. For example the Bible blatantly states being gay is ungodly and sinful.I don't understand why homosexuals ignore this, claim people interpret it wrong,, and still choose to to be Christians. Why the fuck would you believe in a god that thinks you sexual preference is immoral and evil. For the record I find nothing wrong with being gay

I agree with you, only I think that it is possible to be a Christian and follow the Bible, all of it, and not be a hypocrit. I think society in general today has taken the whole idea of, I can do anything I want to and no one else better dare try to tell me anything different, way to far. People apply it to religion and they take the Bible and do literally anything they want with it. Those two idealogies don't mix.

[Chancetobe]

I agree that religion is outdated. We invented it because we didn't have answers to questions, but now through science we have those answers. Religion does some good, and makes some people better than they would have otherwise been, but for the most part I don't think it's really necessary anymore. People base their entire lives on things, that in my opinion, are fiction.

[handlikesecret]

objectively they aren't, but people who misinterpret them and get a bit overzealous are.

[liveloud4life]

What do you think of the point I made about gay Christians?

I totally agree. That's exactly the kinda things i was talking about, people picking and chosing the things they like because everyone thinks that they're always right and even suggesting anything different is oppressive.

[MyNameIsRoss]

Some people that subscribe to it are stupid, a lot of people just never got themselves "un-brainwashed" and they're simply misguided.

[Alex DiVincenzo]

I personally don't need it, but I know many people that do and it helps them. Still it causes most of the world's wars. It's impossible to just say that no one or everyone needs it, because it's highly subjective.

[Sandie-Jenkins]

This survey is way to biased. Either love it or hate it, there needs to be one where it's like an in between. Because religion has had it's ups and downs on society.

[TotalCollapse]

I wouldn't say it's stupid, but it's not for everyone.

[eudaemoon]

Religion may be comforting, but that doesn't make it true. It violates the most fundamental principle of intellectual honesty: that is, that one's convictions should be proportional to one's evidence. There is no reason to believe in the god of the three Abrahamic religions just as there is no reason to believe in Zeus, Mithras, Baal, or Thor. This extreme conviction without evidence is not just stupid, it is dangerous. Without religion, evil people would do evil things and good people would do good things, but to get a good person to do something terrible evil, it takes religion.

[hipvee43]

Obviously it's a matter of opinion and cannot be disputed because there will always be two sides to the issue and arguing about it never gets anywhere. My personal opinion is yes, religion is stupid.

well i personally don't think its a matter of opinion as to if noah's arc actually existed, or if the world is 5000 years old, or if there was a virgin birth, or if there was a talking snake, or if adam and eve were the first humans (i could go on forever).

THESE THINGS ARE NOT TRUE fact.

u can however, dispute if there is a god or not. but that argument has nothing to do with any kind of religion because religion is the beaurocracy between humans and God which is where the danger is.

[hipvee43]

i think it gives a lot of people the hope and faith they need to go through life, whether or not it be true, believing it gives a lot of people the will to go on and pull through difficult situations, so i say that it is not stupid.
I'm not religious, for the record.

if only it didn't come at such a price...

[gumby.]

It's impossible to claim that religion is "stupid." First of all, let it be known that everyone has a faith. Faith is a belief about any unavoidable questions regarding life/after-life, which everyone thinks about on a number of different levels. Religion, then, is simply an organized group of people that belief in a certain common faith, but even those who do not affiliate themselves with a religion still have faith. I do agree, that some religions have "stupid" aspects to them, but that does not denounce religion as a whole. I mean, saying that religion is stupid is like saying that it's stupid that people choose to unite for sharing a common faith.

[Facemelter42]

Religion on its own is stupid. Religion to me is all the red tape in between you and actually worshipping God. The self-righteous, religious people who care more about their reputation inside a church than caring for others and actually living out life like God intended make me sick. The last thing Jesus ever came to do was start a new religion and bog people down with an endless list of rules and customs. He came to show love to others. That's what religion should be. There are people that have this down and live only to serve our creator with all their hearts. But there are a lot of people out there have evolved religion into a total mess and have yet to figure out how to act like Christians.

[thiseternalsnow]

The morals presented in almost every religion are good, the religions themselves are lame.

How I feel, too.

[briXinRhands]

No, it's not. Almost all religions teach good lessons and morals; they are meant to better people. However, the line is cross when people use religion as an excuse to do things that aren't even a part of it's practice. Religion does help loads of people and does a lot of good in the world, such as giving money to the poor, etc. The problem, though, is the psycho people who do horrible things 'in the name of religion' when it has nothing to do with it. But all in all, the psycho people are going to be psycho whether or not religion is around. They would just find something else.

Pretty much what I came here to say. Religion itself doesn't cause horrible things to happen, extremists who take their beliefs way too far, push their beliefs on others, or hold some unfounded sense of entitlement are what start the problems.

[Charles777]

Porn is better than religion

[tjb4233]

Why would it be meaningless?

What's your purpose? Reason you exist? What happens after you die? Without believing in something I find it hard to answer those questions..but I guess that's my opinion..I'm pretty religious, so its hard to see from the other side

[tjb4233]

So many people go about it in a stupid way, just randomly picking in choosing the things that they want or "what they feel inside." I mean really what are the odds of all of your whims, completely individual to you, being the actual truth about the afterlife. Assuming you believe that it does matter. Like it's logical if your belief is that you have to keep a clear conscience and stay true to what you honestly believe is right. But, for example, if you believe that Bible is the instructions to Heaven, how do you justify adding your own random requirements and completely ignoring things that are really there? I think most Christian religions are stupid in the fact that they base far too many of their decisions on the traditions and independent beliefs of their particular denomination. If you wanna be a Christian than make your decisions based on the Bible and don't take anyone else's word for it.

That's spot on at the end man...Christianity is a personal relationship between you and God...church and all that stuff is just guidance...really it all comes down to how you interpret the Bible..

[feversNmirrors]

Religion has caused so many wars and so much death. The main reason for this is because pretty much every religion basically says they are right and everyone else is wrong. This causes the followers of said religions to push their beliefs on others causing conflict. If people could just keep their religion to themselves and accept the fact that other people believe differently than they do, we wouldn't have problems.

:thumbdwn:

Religion has made up the fabric of culture ever since Constantine made the Christian religion the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century. It is an inescapable part of human culture and history. Even in prehistoric times there werefindings of old Cro-magnon people being buried in certain ways. While this may be evidence of nothing, I suspect that there is something to say about finding graves of people all buried the same way.

Now, in terms of its use, I would agree with people on here who say that it is abused. The word religion in the Latin means "To Bind Together." This is its original intent, but obviously in the world today it has been used as a dividing line between peoples. And while most religions claim their absolute truths, I can say that most average Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, etc. are willing to dialog about what their different faiths bring to the table. There will be differences, but if we lived in a homogenous society, then we would not have as much beauty or discovery in it, which goes for scientific, literary, etc.

Religion is necessary and, while it has been abused, it causes more good than pain.

:thumbup:

[Charles777]

I posted this in the "who believes in the one we call God" thread, but I figured I'd post it here too.

http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww201/CharlesPostsPicatures/SCIENCEPWNSFAITH.jpg

[redherring]

Any religion that is man-made is stupid. The real question is which is which one isn't man made? Either we and the universe were spontaneously generated or we were created by some sort of Being and there is a purpose to our existence. Either one of those options is just as far-fetched as the other. You might as well claim some religion...just in case.

If you do claim a religion, it makes sense to go with the one that wasn't man-made; something that explains everything and has references.

I do think it's funny for people to create half-assed religions based on one theory or one verse in a book. There's thousands of forms of "Christianity" that are based on one or two verses of the Bible that ignore everything else. Kind of strange how there's not hundreds of versions of judaism, buddhism, or islam.

Man-made churches make Christians think all they have to do is accept Jesus and be done. Really? That's it? B/c last time I checked, the Bible says a lot more than that.

Anyone that believes in a Supreme Being should question the reason for their existence. If indeed we were created by some Being, it seems like a tremendous waste of time to create the whole damn earth and universe just to have us say or do one thing one time and be good to go. If that is what religion is, then yes it is stupid.

Summary:

Either we were:

A) Spontaneously generated = 50% likely
or
B) Created by some Being = 50% likely

If A is true, then we can do whatever the hell we want.

If B is true, then there must be some kind of purpose for all the shit that we go through. Whoever created us is going to want us to know what that purpose is so It is going to make us know about it continually. If there is only one Being, then there is only going to be one form of direction to follow. So where the eff is it?

[Who's Chris?]

i dont think its bad. i just dont believe in it. i think that religion is good in that it gives people morals to live by

i on the other hand, believe in doing good and dont need a religion to tell me that.

[princesschad]

I hate it.

[rising_tied]

Ive seen people say it already too... Bible for example. the storys are told to get people to do good things, I believe that is good.. But its STORIES. They are not real life (remember Im talking how I feel), and they shouldnt be followed the way they are. There is no need nor use for religion

Who's Chris brought up another point. You shouldnt need a book, or a higher being to tell you what good to do.. You should know how to treat others and treat them that way because they are OTHER BEINGS. Not because someone told you to treat them nicely. Thats not truely being good. Thats just acting like it because you think it's right