The Pitch: Banning All Religion

[Zophia]

Sorry, talk about your books:

LOL! You really outdid me on that!

Thank you for your eloquent and passionate response.

Thanks for yours!! I love civil discussions. While my position hasn't changed, you have given me some things to think about!

Oh, I agree with you whole heatedly. Religion is not necessary to be a good person. But I don't think it inhibits a person from being good either.

What I worry about here are people who used to be like I was back when I was an early teenager (I am definitely not proud of that). They don't understand why there are rules against certain things (like, sex before marriage, for example) but they defer to god on such topics, when otherwise they might disagree, due to a fear of punishment. I think, in this way, it can inhibit a person from being good (of course, "good" is subjective). If someone believes what the Bible might say about homosexuality, then even if they don't understand how it could be wrong, they may vote and make decisions on how they treat people based on those beliefs. And if someone believes what the Bible says about the role of women, it could pose similar problems.

I want to stress that I feel bad mentioning Christianity so much -- it is merely what I know the best. Other religions are guilty of the same sorts of things. Every religion we covered in our Comparative Religion class had *something* against women -- even Buddhism (Theravadin Buddhism to be exact), where it mentioned some texts were edited to portray women as hindrances to monks' spiritual development.

A problem with most religions is the way people approach their beliefs -- not as inspirational books or ideas to pick and choose from, using one's own logic and conscience to light the way, but as written-in-stone rulebooks and guidelines never to be broken. Some people, granted, break free from this mold -- like Liberal Christian denominations who don't always take things so literally -- but according to a Gallup poll (conducted between 2005-2007), 1/3 of Americans believe that the Bible is literally true. (I am new to these forums. Is posting a link to sources looked down upon?) That is scary. It worries me that people would accept a viewpoint blindly and not think for themselves.

If religion is what some people need in order to be a good person, then I am glad they have it. I’d rather people be good and religious if that is what they need than be bad and irreligious.

I think the majority of people can easily be "good" without it. But I have nothing to really back up that claim except naivete and a belief that most people are naturally empathetic. Will find you a cool vid on that a bit later.

I understand many GLBT peoples’ distaste for religion, especially the Abrahamic Religions, as many have been victims of religiously based bigotry (I know it took me a long time to get over my own anger at religion).

Guilty as charged. I am definitely angry when it comes to religion. Not just for myself in the past but every time I hear of a horrible situation inspired by it. What makes it worse for me is how religion seems so very FALSE and farfetched -- entirely unbelievable -- yet people are hurting each other over it.

Yet, even people who are not gay often rail against religion. There are many people in the media who treat it with similar distaste as those on GS. Some have even made a career of criticizing religion.

The Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens of the world seem few and far between to me. At least where I live, it seems like Christianity is surrounded by an impenetrable blanket of political correctness. Along with politics, it is definitely not something you discuss at the dinner table. Perhaps it is different elsewhere.

And yes, we do have websites and videos detailing the inaccuracies, hypocrisies, and biased politics of religion. I just don't think that ONLY talking about its negative aspects is honest, objective, or productive. I don't like institutionalized religion, but I acknowledge that it has its place and serves its purpose for those who do like it.

I am not sure that it has its place but I can respect that it is not my place to decide what someone believes. All I can do is provide education (or my point of view). I have a VERY unfavorable view of religion, and perhaps some of that is colored by my own experience. I do think that highlighting inaccuracies and hypocrisies is important, though, and I'd venture to guess that people already know enough about the higher points of religion, but not enough about the negatives. I do not think that the positive points should be ignored -- I find there are some good things to take out of most religions, otherwise why would anyone follow them? -- but I do think the negative trumps these things. I suppose my main issue is -- if you can be a good person and follow an exceptional moral code, and treat others with charity and kindness WITHOUT a religion, which carries with it some rather (IMO) immoral, discriminatory teachings, then shouldn't that be preferable? Like cake icing without trans fat vs. cake icing with it. If they taste the same, why not go for the "healthier" version? (Lame analogy, I know, but I'm tired!! Throw me a bone, here! )

I will have to get to the rest of your post a bit later. I have class tomorrow and it is late (I've already stayed up later than I should have! Crap! I'm blaming you if I fall asleep at my desk! For shame!)