I think religion is pollution of the mind, why not teach people how to think instead of what to think?
539794
all hail the mighty television box before us, it tells us all what to think and not how to think... um what was the question again lol
937621
Not really.\n\nMost religions use an external belief in a 'God' or 'Jesus' to develop love and morality in their minds.\n\nBuddhists believe it is up to the individual to develop these traits. That's why Buddhism is sometimes called 'mind training' or a philosophy and not a religion.
1067599
I think you've correctly identified the fact that religious belief is not based on reason (since there has never been any valid argument or evidence for the existence of gods), but rather it is based largely on emotional needs, i.e. it's wishful thinking.
394445
I was raised by atheists, and am agnostic. I have studied religions comparatively for over 40 years. Most are utter rubbish. Superstition for the ignorant who cannot face their own mortality. Buddhism has the best ethics but it in its uncorrupted form is not a religion. A real religion would have to be stand up to scientific analysis.
643862
since religion began and no i think its awful, absolute power corrupts absolutely plus all the guilt issues they cause in people just for being human? no thank you. just being a good person should be good enough.
883244
It is absolutely true that every single feeling, emotion, belief that we have is a function of the brain. Even the denial of this fact from the other people answering your question is a product of complex neuronal interactions. \n\nReligion is not in itself hardwired into the brain. However, the underlying psychological processes which religion exploits - of learning (in religion's case, largely childhood indoctrination), trust, have given humans during their evolution a survival advantage. \nThere is no "God" gene. Belief in God does not provide a survival advantage. Community cohesiveness does, and religious belief is one mechanism of creating that.  \n\nA lot of the world's problems are due to people's inadequate understanding of science. If science (as a methodology for thinking about the world critically) was taught with the same vigour as the religious indoctrination and blind faith were encouraged then we would all be in a much better place!
254606
Religion covers a wide range of people. If religions is a mental illness, then the majority of people on earth are mentally ill.
1152039
I think religious beliefs are very much tied to providing answers for less educated people.  I note less educated people tend to flock to the most fundamentalist of churches, while more educated people tend to flock to the more liberal churches.  I find that fundamentalist churches say they are the only truth there is and other religions are a lie.  They teach people not to question the tenets of beliefs of their own church, but instead to learn to attack other churches.  This is not an exercise in education.  It is an exercise in intellectual prostration.
950810
Like most early religions, the condemnation of education was a way for the church to control the people. It's unfortunate but it is a fact that all religions are power based pushing their agenda and loosing sight of what God asks of man. There is a big difference in being spiritual and being religious.  I would say that any religion would be better than no religion but we must search our hearts to find a true religion for ourselves and not just follow the man made teachings because it's convenient
132433
You should read the book "Conversations With God an Uncommon Dialogue" by Neale Donald Walsch...it is VERY eye opening and explains quite a bit about people.  It explains the WHY behind a lot of the things we do.  You don't have to be religious to read it either.
1143654
ingest about one good helping of religion weekly for about 12 years thats around 625 hours of indoctrination that causes brain damage and irrational thought for the rest of the persons life. they can move no further on the evolutionary scale then the world is flat people and they are barely above them 2000 years of people hidding the truth  the sun goes around the earth oh no clitch some of my religious training seaping in sorry the earth goes around the sun thats it  .So much crap in my head 6 days to make the universe and flood the whole planet and kill everyone and start over crap come on people.\nFORgive them for they no not what they do  "IF" this was said by jesus and HE WAS REAL(no records except the bible not the only reference of the rimes) thats the only thing i agree with i remember.SO i forgive the idiots who are trapped in there fears and they call it freedom .TO do what is all i ask MATE after marriage till menopause then no mating is required with unfertile women so you have younger ones to mate with then jesus come s and says what one wife only .OK but what about the old rules never mind the new ones are almost the same mate after marriage until menopaaause and then refrain from earthly pleasures .well we do not like that so change it one wife no divorce for some lame reason .WHAT hypocrits these people are .THEY must be druged or absolutly brainwashed to beleif the crap they spout .I agree that life begins at the moment the sperm and egg join  this begins the process of lifee and needs to be protected unless we allow parents total rights over the lives of the children to a certain age . \nIF leaving a child were you have it if you are in the woods hikeing away from others is wrong then poping a pill or sucking it out is wrong to.ALLOWIng harm to come to the life growing inside a women is no different from saying two months after birth  i no  longer want a child and leaving it alone to die .your body protects the life growing inside and all science tells us this life goes through many stages of development from conseption to old age and senility but we care for the dying in the last year why not end it then early to  before its natural time .THERE is no reason on earth including the mothers life to end a life .try to simply treat the cause and save both if required no greater glory then man has but to lay down his life for another and if the baby will live and mother die the child lives in a civilized society that needs the next great leap in technoligy to be born . ii\nI ramble its been that way my whole life .\nthis is not the only ingreediant  in the neocons brainwashing a healthy dose of constant they did it to them selves and they all have the same chance you do drummed in year after year.INSTEAD of my parents telling me black people were poor because of economic and social injustes dating back 300 years in america i got the old story its because they are lazy and un-educated .does this sound familiar at all with current thinking on why 35,,000,000people are at the poverty line and 15,000,000 are buried under it .MILLIONS OFAMERICANS WORKED HARD BOUGHT HOUSES PUT KIDS THROUGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE WITH NO MORE THEN 8 YEARS OR LESS OF SCHOOLING RAN LARGE COMPANYS EMPLOYED THOUSANDS AND TODAY A CEO NEEDS TO COME FROM HARVARD OR YALE THIS IS CLASS DISCRIMINATION AND VERY FEW OF THE BEST JOBS ARE ATTAINED BY WORKING CLASS AMERICANS .I am not fooled one bit by the rehetoric spued by neocons against good hard working americans.THEY have begun to treat us the same as the minoritys were treated in america up until just a few years ago.POOR WHITE TRASH was mentioned around my home too.THEYwere drunkerds and lay-abouts with no ambition to succeed .I DO NOT hold the veiws of these twisted and warpped minds that were part of my upbring but i have lost 2 members of my family to this tragic affliction neoconism.educate them if you can but i have found over the years this is harder then pulling teeth without a loc
683087
Athiests are ignorant? Uninformed on what? People's opinions? You have your right to practice religion, but others have the right to not practice it. Religion is faith, not a fact, understand that. Arrogance is worse than ignorance, don't look down on those that look at the world differently than you.
232217
I beleive people are trying to find some sort of excuse for everything they do in life, and it is always easy to find some excuse or to blame somebody else. For me, it is really annoying when people put religion in everything they do, regardless of the religion.
773082
I could have written this question myself, and I look forward to your answers received.  I too am of the mind that it is what we are taught, and in the worst cases what we are taught to fear the questioning of.\n\nI always thought it would be an interesting (although possibly psycologically cruel) experiment to take a child or two from each of the major religions and raise them with no mention or concept of "god" or religion.  Would the develop a belief of their own?  At least it would be interesting to see what an intelligent person would lean toward if they only learn of the concept of god after growing to an age where they can decide on their own.\n\nI feel that is what I did, but in reverse, and it sounds like what happened to you as well.  As I got older and learned more about our world, I found that I didn't really believe what I was taught all my life.  Frankly, I don't feel the need to believe in a god or religion.\n\nI believe in being a good person as much as I can be, and that is fundamentally based in not causing other creatures intentional harm and living a moral and decent life.  Very similar ideas to what most religions teach.\n\nI also think it is a fine line between a religion and a cult.  Religions just have broad acceptance.  Kind of like if in 3000 years, the Branch Davidians were the most popular religion and David Coresh is referred to as Jesus is today.  Obviously that won't happen, and I really only used that example because I think it is the one most people will know of whom I am speaking.
1032239
Depending on where you live, religion might be a choice or enforced. I agree to a point with what you are saying but, if people were to simply filter out and use ONLY the morality, spirituality and common sense religion CAN teach one, then I say teach away. Unfortunately the belief in the intangable is rampant even in this modern day and age.
255762
How is that any different than what most religions teach?  Go take your pills or bad things will happen.
622736
Well really, in my opinion, you shouldn't. However I think I understand why religion exists. It started to give answers to difficult questions (what happens when we die, why do storms occur etc.). People liked it because they were afraid of being mortal and by becoming religious they could believe that when they died they simply went somewhere else. Religion then began being used by intelligent people to control large amounts of people (i.e. attack that tribe, they're evil or work hard to avoid hell). In christianity, when the bible was translated and publicised, some people took religion into their own hands and used it to give themselves confidence and give meaning to their lives.