If religion is so good, why has it directly and indirectly been responsible for so many deaths over the ages?
445651
that would be false religion, And it is still going on today! But soon God will put an end to it! http://watchtower.org
663496
Of course memes exist, the name was coined recently to describe something which has existed since the dawn of civilisation.  I do agree with Dawkins that religion seems to spread like a virus, preying on the young and weak-minded, I don't think it is _always_ a bad thing, but it does seem to do more harm than good.
375434
More death, hate, and suffering has been committed in God's name than in any other...\n\nand\n\n"Good men do good things. Bad men do bad things. But for good men to do bad things, that takes religion." Steven Weinberg
485602
Well christianity has always had a history of violence - actually more so than any other religion = even now Bush laid waste to hundreds of thousands of people in Afghanistan and Iraq cause "God told him to"  no other religion can give you such a track record.
994101
Religion has been used as the justification for so much violence. But humans are naturally violent animals. Religion or no, we will always find something to squabble over.
879027
I DO THINK THAT RELIGION IS THE CAUSE OF NEARLY ALL THE WARS.YOU ARE MISTAKEN WHEN YOU SAY THAT THERE WOULD BE NO AFTER LIFE. JUST BECAUSE OF THERE BEING NO RELIGION. THE THOUGHT OF AN  AFTER LIFE IS THERE EVEN WITHOUT RELIGION. BECAUSE OF EXPERIENCES OF NON BELIEVERS AS WELL AS PEOPLE WHO HAVE A RELIGION. PEOPLE FIGHT ABOUT OTHER THINGS AS WELL AS RELIGION. SO WHO KNOWS IF IT WOULD BE A BETTER WORLD?
220202
To me it is quite obvious that religions are man made.. all history and facts point to that. For example, the Bible is so scattered. It was written by different people over a long period of time. Anyone could justify an action or belief with a passage in it. \n\nLife is scary and strange and there is a big unknown out there. The idea of a monotheistic male creator and judger seems so silly. However, the interrelatedness of all life is apparent, and that connection with the godlike can happen to anyone, whether religious or not. Of course, those who believe will tell you it's merely a question of faith. Therefore, no consensus can happen. There is no arguement available in response to that.\n\nWhat I find funny is that a lot of typical religious teachings about how to behave in society make logical sense for the survival of the species. We don't need religion to teach us to be "good" people. In fact, many people are killed in the name of "God."
806419
Maybe in the big picture.  However, I have a lot of friends and family that subscribe to one religion or another.  I would not want them to all die because of it.  \n\nI do wish that people were not so fanatical about their respective religions.  Religion is all about making a person feel better about the randomness of the world, how does being mean and judgemental make a person feel good? (Your question was mean and judgemental, does it make you feel better?)
622374
No, religion, for most people, is a way of explaining things that are essentially unknowable.  Does life have meaning?  What happens to us after we die?  Is there any reason to be ethical, even when we see others apparently succeed by being unethical? Why is so much of life a matter of pain and suffering? Etc., etc.  Religions attempt to provide answers to those questions, and therefore they are a comfort to their believers.
60239
I think religion is one of those "necessary evils".  I think many many wars could have been avoided without religion, but then the vast majority of people would not have any source of power to turn to in times of need.
382971
no god, no heaven, and yes people just say that so that people wont fear death\n\nreason?\nnone of it has been scientifically proven\nreligion is a bunch of legends, stories (fictitious or extremely exaggerated); it mainly acted to prevent basic civilization from destroying itself\n\nnow that we're an advanced civilization, all religion is doing is hindering our scientific progress
1056352
all problems in this world are caused by religon... Religion causes war
1175057
More people have been killed in the history of the world for religion than for any other reason.\n\nAtheists have been shown by testing results to be the most intelligent people in society.  They also have few children, so the resources of the Earth would be conserved substantially longer.\n\nA world of atheists would be the ultimate for intellectual thought, preservation of environment, and pragmatic realization.
460620
:}\nYES\n\npeople kill because people are fallen creatures, we have killed for land, wealth, racial differences and yes for religious reasons.\n\nYes we need Religion , not in spite of the fact that we are fallen creatures but because we are.\n\nThe Sad part is that only one of the religions can be true and it can represent only one of the gods.\n\nGood vs. Evil are juxtaposed\n\nYES, we need religion but which one?
212628
Political motivations start wars, not religion.\nReligion provides (im)moral support.\nThis is not to say religion is bad, quite the contrary, but that it has been historically misused to mobilize people towards war.\nAnd history keeps repeating itself.
791814
none, because I want to accept things as I see them, not how others, and especially ancients see or saw them. the religions of today are to old and full of crap to be relevant in today's society. religion has caused more major wars in the history of mankind than any other single factor. Lack of religion has caused none. ever heard of an atheist st. petersburg? Have you ever heard of an athiest saying "i killed them because no god told me to"?
804198
Because religion is a corrupt empire. Are we entirely sure that they werent changed by others as they years went by? History tends to be painted in a somewhat favorable light in order to keep weak minds controlled.