I'm sorry but sadly the people in this thread that view "religion" as the threat to our society are misinterpreting the main issue, which is selfishness.

Being self-centered and focused on our own needs more than the people around us is the primary problem with our society today.

-Today, stuff takes priority over people
-Today, we will gossip and tear other people down to make ourselves feel better
-Today, we watch more TV and focus more on entertainment than we spend time reviewing history and discussing the real issues at hand
-Today, corporations and major companies start the wars seeking power and money
-Today, religions are taken out of context and used as excuses for atrocities that no real religion supports
-Today, we have people taking the easy road and blaming religion for the world's problems when the real issues lie within people, themselves

As long as selfishness and self-focused lifestyles persist our world will suck.

Selfishness will be the downfall of humankind. It must end.

Now to close with some "religious" advice to stop our world from sucking and to ensure the survival of the human race.

-love your neighbor as yourself
-love people unconditionally
-do unto others as you would have them do unto you
-feed the hungry, house the homeless, help the sick, and be there for the widow
-think about the needs of others before you think of your own needs
-empathize with people before you judge them or talk about them or hate them

Doing the above would result in a far better world and ensure our survival as a race far before eliminating religion would.

So, examine yourself and ask, "Am I just parroting the trendy rhetoric that religion must die if we are to survive or am I actually changing myself and becoming a person who is focussed on the needs of the people around me?"

[edit on 23-12-2008 by Bugman82]

Didn’t read the rest of your post but this stuck out to me. I think the OP meant war in a general since, the war that rages in the Middle East and past wars that have been fueled by religion. Religion has certainly played a part in war and different meanings of war (hostilities, confrontation, combat, warfare, conflict) through out our history. There is no need to dismiss that while defending religion, it makes the rest of your point moot.

Then the OP is speaking nonsense.

Because of wars in the past, and because of war between uncivilized, undeveloped countries we should abolish religion?

A fail to see a point being mooted - Following that logic, I should abolish all economic establishments, all systems of state or country, and any reason a human being would disagree with another human being.

Because it started a war?
Nonsense.

That would mean we all believe the same thing.

And that'd be more Hell than a thousand crusades.

LOL! sorry OP, but your statements are actually pretty lacking. To say if religion is abolished, things will be better is pretty naive IMO. As has been stated, nothing will change, we will just find other things to hate each other and divide each other (race, hello?) Also, I find it pretty sad that you believe that we should abolish one of the mediums by which people try to spread a message of love towards your fellow man.

You want to abolish the REAL cause for wars, for the sad state of this planet, look no further than greed. Seems logical, no?

im not saying I totally disagree either, BUT...if you are saying you watched a movie that was made by Bill Mayher and now you think religion should be abolished...hmm let me think about this...you watch too many movies. I do agree things have to change, but not because Bill Mayher says so.

The OP has things backwards...



Without fear of the wrath of a higher power, there is no accountability, and with no accountability, you have chaos... Plain and simple. The police wont be able to control the population, the population has to control itself...Period

Oh, we're not going to survive. I think that's a "given."

But it doesn't have anything to do with religion. It has to do with us being like successful rats in a small cage. We overpopulate, we ruin the environment, we become a breeding ground for highly resistant diseases, we invent Artificial Intelligence that will outlive us forever.

For all these reasons, it is unlikely human beings will survive another 5,000 years. Maybe less than 1,000. Just a blink of an eye in geological terms.

But, what the hey. It was a good run. And besides, once I die, so will the Universe, so what do I care?

Why don't we start with responsible adults having children? Statistically speaking, the majority of kids today are raised by young, mostly irresponsible parents. My GF calls it 'baby's having baby's'. She's a teacher and has good observation to this unfortunate concatenation of citizens.

I agree religion has caused many global issues, but at the root of mankind is an individual attitude and skill-set inherited by his or her prophet err parent.

When kids can sing a Kanye song before they can read I'd bet the farm that's not a good thing.

Hummm while I'm not religious but I do actually believe that the world was a better place without...

Atomic Bombs,
Missiles,
Guns,
etc, etc.. you know without science, I think mankind was happier when it was simpler.

OP, Stop being such a superior prick and let people believe what they want... the world would be a lot better place without arrogance in my opinion, the worlds greatest problems where committed by arrogant people whether the front of it was religious, scientific or not.

One thing Id like to point out is the question, can this strategy work?

We have seen that in religion from the dawn of man, religion changes. There are people who have kept track of the growth and decline of each religion and they have also kept track of new religions that spawn from unsatisfied people looking for a change.

So what causes all of this fluctuation? The cause is being unsatisfied, persecuted, oppressed or simply giving up. Peer pressure is a powerful tool organized religion uses to drive people to either be more religious or to abandon their current religion for another by converting them.

Islam is the fastest growing religion because they use peer pressure to convert people.

Interestingly enough Judaism which is one of the oldest is now one of the smallest religions at only 14 million world wide.

Christianity is growing very fast due to conversion.

Here is the interesting number No religion and Atheist is currently at about 925 million. So that is about 1/6th the world population.

All those numbers are not important as much as the fact that they fluctuate. The change indicates that religion is not a constant.
So my goal is to use the same method of peer pressure that organized religion uses, but to pressure people to abandon religion all together.
How to convince someone to join a religion is a large task because you have to explain the features of the religion and entice them into it. To pressure someone out of religion you simply need to tell them they are not the type of person your want to associate with.

It seems like many on ATS are already familiar with this tactic. MSM has been using it against Conspiracy Theorists for years. By not acknowledging something, it is squelched and the louder your scream, the crazier you are made to look. I have seen this tactic work so many times.

Religion represents hope (to me it does). Hope has nothing to do with what you know or who you are. No amount of logic can take the place of hope.

Religion has been part of culture. Taking it away is not the answer.


My 2 cents.

Here is an open ended question to all those who have starred and flagged this thread: Would you support your country instituting a national religion?

Obviously, judging by your support of the OP, you would be against it. You would say such a thing would infringe upon the citizens' right to either worship or not worship as they choose.

So how is the proposal in the OP any different? It would be demanding the people follow the 'religion' of atheism.

Hypocrites. You have become what you hate. Enjoy your NWO.

On a side note, lol @ 'Ron Paul' in the OP's mood and 'Liberty Hill' formerly in their location slot. Freedom for your view but not for others, eh?

This merits a reply. (I know that sounds arrogant, but that what I am)

I never said make a law. Don't confuse my ambition of abolishing religion through social pressure, to abandoning my admiration for the Constitution and the rule of law. Laws don't need to change and I am not insinuating oppressing any one. I'm suggesting ignoring them on a personal level only.

Originally posted by AshleyD
Here is an open ended question to all those who have starred and flagged this thread: Would you support your country instituting a national religion?

Obviously, judging by your support of the OP, you would be against it. You would say such a thing would infringe upon the citizens' right to either worship or not worship as they choose.

So how is the proposal in the OP any different? It would be demanding the people follow the 'religion' of atheism.

Hypocrites. You have become what you hate. Enjoy your NWO.

On a side note, lol @ 'Ron Paul' in the OP's mood and 'Liberty Hill' formerly in their location slot. Freedom for your view but not for others, eh?

religion is not what will destroy man kind, it's the people in charge. the people in charge don't follow any religion they pervert it so that it's message is twisted and they can manipulate it's followers to do what they want them to do. it's not religion that must go, it's the people that wrongly interpret it. what the majority of the church believes (let alone of any religion) isn't what it's meant to preach. for example islam means peace but radicals twist the quarans meaning around so that they can have violent followers. jesus christ didn't teach anti-abortion or banning gay marrage.

the people who blame religion as the source of man kinds struggle are wrong. it's not religion that will destroy us. it's not the church itself that preaches the negativity that people perceive, it's the illumunati editing all the scriptures. just like the way they filter news on the radio and television and the way that the people who run this website filter what they believe is worth reading. how can this website be the truth when it's filtered just like the news

Id like to point out to the people who agree the following fact.

People who have disagreed with me through out this thread, have resorted to attacking me personally. Notice the name calling, the insinuations and the general hostility. Isn't it now a self enforcing fact that religion breeds hatred when one person voices an opinion that is contrary to religion?