Would THIS world be a better place if there was no religion?

Assume that people didn’t have religion receptors in their brains. Or if you prefer, that there were no holy books, and your gods of choice butted out after Creation. Would the world be a better place? My personal opinion is that people can be saints or total bastards regardless of their religious preference. On the other hand, atheist suicide bombers are damn rare :).

I say that it would never happen.

Lets face it…before holy books were written, Neanderthals had formulated pretty extensive burial rites. Why would they do that if they didn’t believe in some kind of supreme power?

I think that its in our nature to want to believe in something.

Even my husband, who doesn’t believe in God, believes in the power of Mother Nature, and thinks that when we die we should be buried and returned to the earth naturally instead of being cremated.

However, if we are going to play that its NOT in our nature to want to believe, then I think we would still have good people and bad people.

I’m not nice to people simply so I can get into heaven. I’m nice to people because it makes me feel good. It gives me a warm feeling when someone smiles at me, or says “Hey, thanks for helping”.

Conversely, there are people out there who get a kick out of being nasty.

So I don’t think the world would be too different, except maybe that wars would be fought over power and land only, instead of religion. And maybe different cultures would get along better.

No.

I’m an atheist. However I still believe religion is necessary. I don’t think the bible is the word of god (or that there is a god). I think the bible is quite a good way to teach morals and ethics to generation after generation. Of course there are always misinterpretations. This leads to the suicide bombers etc. However the basis of the bible is too do good, isn’t it? Can you think of a more effective way of teaching people right and wrong? And its not just the bible. Most religions set out a list of ethics for people to follow. Its a good thing. I just think its just being over used. Religion should not control your life. It should not be used to convert others to your way of life. Everyone is allowed to (and should) have there own outlook and beliefs. That is there own choice to make. But having things like the bible are a good way of knowing what is good and what is bad so you can make the right choices. So I think religion should stay but it should drop all of the “converting the non-believing heathens” schtick.
Wearia

Imagine…

No afterlife promise to get people to fight in wars.

Leader: “Go attack that fort!”
Underling: “No way, look at all those spears. I’ll die.”
Leader (thinking): “No you won’t. If you do die, you’ll go to paradise!”
Underling: “Cool! Charge!!”

That must be why there are no atheists in the military.

At least not in foxholes. :smiley:

I agree with Tsubaki that religion is not going away, but that’s not what the OP asks. Would the world be a better place without religion? Yes.

Religion = stupidity.
Less religion = less stupidity.
Less stupidiy = a better world.

I’m another atheist who would say no. Many of the people I care for believe in some sort of higher power; I don’t agree with them, but I’m not particularly interested in forcing them to agree with me. If it makes their lives better and happier, so be it. And as for the suicide bombers and fanatics – honestly, if there were no religion they’d find something else to be fanatical about. I’m having a hard time thinking of a religious war that wasn’t really about money or power or territory, at heart.

Besides, I’ve got a great deal of respect for religious art and literature; I think the world would be a poorer place without George Herbert’s poetry or De la Tour’s “Magdalen with the Smoking Flame” or Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. (Sorry for the Christian-centricity of these examples; I must admit I’m woefully ignorant about the great achievements of non-Christian cultures, though I’m sure they equal ours.)

When false information and ignorance are eliminated, the world becomes a better place. Assuming religions are just myth, lies, and legends used to explain things which were at the time unexplainable, then I must say hell yes. Believing something which is not true is a form of ignorance. Removing ignorance is a very good thing.

Won’t it be great when people start acting with kindness and a reasonable morality without the fear of eternal damnation and without false promises of eternal anything? Won’t it be great when people realize they can make mistakes? Won’t it be great when people accept that it is OK not to have all of the answers? Like the karate kid who had to pour out the glass of pepsi (what he thought he knew) to be ready to be filled with water (what there was to learn) - How can we find real knowledge if we’re already filled with false knowledge based in fear and ignorance?

Truth, baby. It’s where it’s at.

DaLovin’ Dj

The world would not be a better place without religion.

It would be a better place without the fanaticism and intolerance of religions which dictate those who do not follow their prescribed set of beliefs are inferior.

If people were capable of holding their own beliefs, yet peacefully tolerating and co-existing with those who do not, the world would definitely be better.

Even if there were no religion (as regards a god or gods) people would find something else to be “religious” about. Just watch a Mac user argue with a PC user as to which is “superior”. :smiley:

Ben

The ideal wish is that, without religion, people would use reasoning and logic more, and faith and “hunches” less, which would result in more well-reasoned decisions and leadership, which would eventually lead to a better world.

Unfortunately, I’m cynical enough to say that this won’t happen. Evem without religion, I’m sure humanity will find lots of other excuses to behave stupidly and treat each other like dirt. If everyone had the same skin color, we’d merely start wars over eye color… :wink:

I think the world would be worse off without religion. Not only do I think religion can be a great uplifting experience that makes each day more fulfilling for those who practice it, but religious institutions are an excellent way to get charitable donations into the community and start and support organizations that are of great benefit to all the community.

—religious institutions are an excellent way to get charitable donations into the community and start and support organizations that are of great benefit to all the community.—

I don’t see how they are any better than charities. Non-profits are usually in the charity game for the express purpose of helping people, nothing more. Many religious charities are at least partially also out to win converts, and certainly large portions of the money you donate to them goes to the envangelical part, not the charity part.

If magically, there were no religion tommorow, I have no idea if the world would be a happier or sadder place. I cannot generalize my own life (which is perfectly happy without religion) to the lives and preferences of others (a huge travesty in economics :)).

If religion naturally went away, I would be inclined to guess that this would be a positive thing, but only because “natural” implies that people chose to abandon it, and by and large, I tihnk people know what’s best for themselves.

I wasn’t speaking of religious charities, but the parishes and other religious units themselves. A single parish can do a great deal of good in a community. One reason is that as a group relgious units have access to immense amouts of people, far more then any charity. Also, part of it is a religious obligation true, but there is also the fact that people are more likely to donate if they know the person they are giving the money to which makes the intimate setting of a religious community a very good place to raise donations. A third reason is that a religious community is far freer in the use of its funds then many charities. People rarely go “Father heres fifty dollars and by the way you can only use it for…”

I can’t speak for all relgious units, but as far as my parish works we put vast amouts of money into community projects (the majority of them nonrelgious) and very little money into any evangulizing. What we do is mostly
try to fund a minisry for hispanic Catholic migrant works who otherwise would end up going to the prodistant churchs because we lacked a mynistry that could connect with them in thier language.

As for those who do evangelalize a truly smart parish knows that the very best evangelism is, in fact, through good works, because it is a much better recommendation of your parish if others hear your name praised, not through your own advertisement, but through others praising your works. I can’t remember who said it but I believe the saying goes “Always preach the Gospel and if necessary use words.”

It would not only be a better place, it would make it a more honest world if religious dogma wasn’t proclaimed as truth. Many people need some escape from reality from time to time, which I have no problem with, do it myself on occasion, but damn, how so many do get carried away with it.

I’ve often wondered how much sooner the scientific explosion would have occurred if religious zealots hadn’t often been so successful in oppressing it. Science was rearing its head some 2,000 years ago, but never could get off ground without some religious fanatical movement often condemning it. I wonder what kind of world we would be living in right now if the scientific explosion that has taken place the last couple of centuries would have occurred 2,000 years ago.
John

Religion doesn’t kill people. People kill people.

Then again, “G-d told me to,” is a pretty effective excuse. However, I still think that religion helps more than it hurts. For example several religions pretty much states that if you do good stuff you’ll go to heaven, and if you don’t, you’ll burn in hell. This could force a completely selfish person to do good stuff for his/her own self interest.

Also, religious ideals can serve to create a sense of community as well as a pretty effective justice system. Have a look at the Torah (Old Testament) and you’ll notice that many of its morals exist in law today. (I don’t know a great deal about Eastern religions, but I’d expect that the same thing is true)

Most of the problems regarding religion have to do with the idea that “my way is better than yours.” Of course, this statement can cause other types of conflict. Just look at the Cold War (USA vs. the Soviet Union).

Well, let’s see. Would THIS world be a better place if there was no religion? Never mind the OP’s emphasis on THIS world, since it’s the only one we know of for certain. I think it might be a better place in the same sense that I think my life might be a lot easier if I won the lottery, or if all people (at least all women) were shorter than I am.

But there is religion in the world, I’m not lottery rich, and the majority of adults of both sexes (at least in the USA) are taller than I am. We might as well speculate on whether the SDMB would be a better forum if there were no believers on it. Personally, I think not. Without the majority of believers as members, the boards would not be as interesting as they are. The only improvement I can think of would be that a hamster could take a day off once in a while. :wink:

Serious answer to the OP: If by religion you mean all spirituality, then I’d say the world would not be better off. If people could retain the spiritual aspect of their lives (and I can’t really explain what that means – I’m an agnostic, but I think of myself as having a spiritual side) and dump the ritualistic, dogmatic, and coercive aspects, then I think the world would be a much better place.

cbtcad, the author of “Proclaim the Gospel through all your life, and if necessary, use words” is none other than Martin Luther.

Also, it may be true that the balance of intolerant folks out there seems to be religious, but that doesn’t mean that one should condemn religion as a whole. There is a “silent majority” of the genuinely kind, compassionate faithful that get out-shouted by the fanatics.

Condemning religion for the fanaticism of its followers is no less illogical than condemning Islam for the barbarism of suicide bombers.

No. Religion does a lot of good in the world, and helps and comforts many people. The fact is as well that most (not all) charities and work for the poor and downtrodden are run by religious groups. I think many of the assumptions listed here are fallacious, or at least unproveable:

“No atheist suicide bombers:” As we know, some of the 20th century’s worst atrocities were performed by atheists–Pol Pot and Stalin, to name two, killed plenty of people in the name of their atheistic philosophies.

“Not so many wars/afterlife an inducement to war:” Wars are not usually fought over religion, they are fought over power. Armies use techniques to foster solidarity and love among fellow soldiers because research shows that in battle, soldiers do not so much have religion, country, mom, or apple pie as motivators, but rather their comrades.

“More truth:” I personally feel that I am pursuing truth in my religion. I like truth, I hate lies. I am unpersuaded that you know the truth more than I do.
Scientific progress has just as often as not been supported by religion, IMO. Even Galileo, everyone’s favorite case, was encouraged by the RCC until he crossed the hypothetical line they had between talking about ideas and ‘preaching’ it as Truth–partly because he was going against Aristotle, who Could Not be Wrong. Copernicus was supported by the RCC, remember?
Sadly, stupidity abounds among the human populace, theists and atheists alike. So does fanaticism. A lack of religious feeling would not solve these problems.