Religion, has it been a benefit?

[Father-Ted]

Has religion been an overall to benefit to mankind or would we have been better off without it.

[bert_h]

The answers you get will tell you all you need to know about the answerers, but nothing really about the question.

[naomi24]

Thats a very big question, and it seems Bert is a 'don't know'. However, on the whole, I think we would have been better off without religion - but it's late now and no doubt I'll expand on that as the thread progresses.

[baza]

didnt someone once say that IF God did not exist then someone would have to invent him.
Mankind on the whole appears to need something.

[mibn2cweus]

While religion might have played a role in our evolutionary development in the distant past, providing a virtual touchstone from which to compose and organise our thoughts, religion is inherently plagued by a lack of basis in reality lending itself to presupposition while maintaining a pernicious grip over ones ability to assess and reframe ones world view in the light of newly acquired knowledge. Religion is at best a primitive form of philosophy built on false premises and opposed to revision.

Lacking a sufficient knowledge base upon which to begin to build a coherent view of reality, our place within it and a basic tool kit enabling them to deal with effects of unknown cause and origin, the world must have appeared a much more frightful, random environment in which to live fostering feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. It's not so hard to imagine how religion might have provided an albeit illusory coping strategy when people first became aware of their inescapable impending death, dreading the unknown with only the imaginations of the worst amongst them to inform them of what might be waiting for them beyond.

I suspect it is an ignorance and dread, in excess of the knowledge of ones eminent and possibly painful demise, of that which might be ones fate beyond the grave, that remains one of religions greatest attractions to this day, another being a distrust of accompanied by an apparent need to rely upon the rationality of others, no less than on ones own, fears that are both instilled and fostered by religion for the sake of acquiring converts and obtaining tribal loyalty.

Whatever false hopes early humans might have leaned on and unfounded beliefs they might have clung to in the past, the reality that has always been and remains is that knowledge and the understanding which can only be acquired through a process of reason is and has always been the source of each and every benefit we have derived beyond that which we acquired by trial and error, natural selection and survival of the fittest which we inherited from and own entirely to the ongoing process of evolution. When all of the trials and tribulations we have endured due to religious beliefs and practices are finally confined to the history books perhaps then the answer to this question will be as startling clear to all as it is already to some . . . if only a few.

But in the interim, there's little point in trying to explain that which some remain afraid to consider, those who, having been encouraged by religion only to dread that which they are afraid of knowing, cling steadfast to their ignorance, much to the detriment of us all.

In short, for learning how best to live ones life there really is nor ever has been a substitute for rational thinking, in spite of anything which poses as an alternative to or for it.

[jomifl]

Within a small primitive society with limited communications and poor understanding of the physical world, religions that evolved to fit local conditions would have provided a framework that provided social stability. However now that the physical world is better understood and communications have increased enormously, the dogma of religion is a hindrance to considering ideas coming from other societies which may be beneficial. In the past man religions have prevented their adherents from accepting and adapting to change and have resulted in their ultimate destruction (when the supply of sacrificial babies has run out in an effort to appease the gods for example). The lesson of history is that all religions eventually become redundant, it is simply a matter of time as the dogma upon which they are based becomes their achilles heel. So to answer the question, religion may have been a benefit once but not any longer.

[sith123]

I agree that it has benefited mankind, but that is my opinion.

[jomifl]

Sith, who are you agreeing with?

[sith123]

the overall question.

//Has religion been an overall to benefit to mankind or would we have been better off without it.//

[naomi24]

I was going to start by saying that some organised religion has its benefits insofar as it offers practical help to those in need and aid to the less fortunate. However, non-religious organisations offer similar so in that respect religion is superfluous.

Over all, religion has hindered mankind. It has been, and still is, instrumental in impeding human progress, and it has been, and still is, responsible for conflict, separation, hatred, suffering, and untold bloodshed and misery. Furthermore, it demands the abandonment of the intellect, replacing rational thought with notions of fear and guilt – and its authority has been, and still is considered by its adherents to be absolute and unquestionable. It is a blight on humanity and it is a blight on this planet – so, no, I don’t think it has benefitted mankind and I do think we would have been better off without it.

[bazwillrun]

No, its a scourge.
Its based on lies threats and for the most part is the biggest con ever perpetuated on humankind.

[tamborine]

Without the missionaries spreading the Word globally initially, developing churches, schools & hospitals many would remain illiterate & world commerce would be lacking.

[bert_h]

To birdie1971:

It was quite unfair of you to describe my brief initial contribution as "pre-emptive criticism". It was merely a confident prediction, based on the character of previous postings on similar topics, and it turns out I was completely correct. The anti-religion contributors have just weighed in with re-statements of their already-known attitudes.

And you were wrong about me being a "dont know", either. For myself, I know perfectly well that "mankind without religion" is a contradiction in terms, but there's no way to convince the anti-religionists of that, so they'll carry on posting their prejudices.

[tamborine]

Dalits of India, being of lowest caste are last allowed into christian schools by Indian Gov. They are still born into servility and only christian schools help them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit

[bert_h]

Good point, tamborine; but the caste system is part of India's religion, so your point relates to one religion versus another, as opposed to all religions versus none at all.

[tamborine]

It was religion/christian missionaries that gave lepers medical help. My convent regularly took in babies abandoned at their gates, reared & educated them. This was my convent in S'pore (opp Raffles).

http://en.wikipedia.o...ansit_%28Singapore%29

[tamborine]

I cant speak for other religions as I haven't studied them; mine is dilemma enough for me. There were no orphanges of other religions in my schooltime else chinese/indian/malay babies wouldn't havent been abondoned in my convent.

[TheOtherHalf]

Folk have always got to disagree about something. If its not religion, it would be something else. None of us are perfect and anyone who says they are, are showing they are not perfect. We all have our own ideas, thats what makes us unique.

[jake-the-peg]

Without religion good people would still do good things and bad people would still do bad things.

But for Good people to do bad things - that takes religion

On that basis - you'd think it's been a net loss

But then there are the sories of bad people turning their lives around due to religion

So I don't think you can judge on presumed behaviour of people.

What other ways can we judge?

Patronage of the arts? yes

Repression of knowledge and learning? yes that too but then the first Universities were religious and without religion the works of the ancient Greeks would be lost to us.

Over all I'd say the score's pretty even - but I do think that account leans heavilly on past sucesses.

If you're judging on the past hundred years or so I think a rather different answer appears