would the world be a better place without...

[bernie]

christianity, judaism, muslim, etc...

contrary to what i think of organized religions, im not sure it would be much better.

thoughts?

b

[George Rice]

In some ways yes. But these beliefs came about because of our curiosity to discover where we came from and what our purpose was. And also our failure to explain it any other way. These traits, curiosity in specific, have been a plus in many other ways. I think it's a tough call. It's hard to figure how we would have turned out without them. We might have just whithered away when our first food source was depleated.

[Taxman]

While it's an interesting question, it can never really be answered because religion was an inevitable step in human evolution. The desire to understand the universe is inherent in human nature and thus especially before the creation of science, religion was the most logical step. The natural organization of men based on fear and superiority also made organized relgion an inevitability as well. I feel like organized religion may have even been an integral part of societal development and perhaps without it, we would have perpetually existed in a state of nature. Ethnic divisions have probably caused as many problems as religious ones throughout history and so I might argue that with the absence of religion, other forms of hatred would have only grown to be stronger. While I agree that the overall good provided by organizerd religion may in fact not outweigh the bad, I also believe that it prevented a world that could potentially have been much worse.

[Gamblor]

the continuation of this desire to achieve superiority includes a newfound need to achieve superiority over our forefathers by announcing our "revelations" that religion is just the result of ancient confusion over the elements.

I'm sure you're all extremely proud of yourselves.

I happen to like my religion and I still think the strands of your moral fabric were woven within it.

[Taxman]

I never said God was dead or anything similar. Personally I am a moderately religious person, I just believe that I can practice my faith personally, without need for an organized base. I also hold an intense curiosity and I enjoy exploring various parts of every faith. My point was that regardless of the truth of the matter, organized religion was inevitable. The fact that such organizations have caused many problems is undeniable just like the fact that they have done a lot of good. There is no need to be so reactionary to my comments especially when I never said any of the things you imply.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

a newfound need to achieve superiority over our forefathers by announcing our "revelations" that religion is just the result of ancient confusion over the elements.

and

I'm sure you're all extremely proud of yourselves.

Although I tend towards Objectivism and believe that Pride is a virtue, I think one point needs to be made.

The pridefulness of all faiths claiming to define what the deity wants was critiqued eloquently long before the birth of Abraham in the Tao Te Ching.

"The Way that can be named is not the true Way."

[Gamblor]

Doesn't the "right to practice my religion in whatever way I choose" basically mean if I don't feel like following a given law, I don't have to?

Who are we to argue with "all powerful god"?

Organized religion is only a sham as far as you accept its doctrine. For example, for Jewish law, one accepts the words of the Rabbis simply by virtue that this is what they spend their time doing. They simply know how to interpret it better, and in the absence of my own efforts to understand the Bible as well as they do, I place my faith in their ability to interpret it for the betterment of the people who follow it.

I suppose your argument is whether or not the motivations behind those decisions are pure. But the lack of a single spiritual leader in Judaism points towards a dearth of selfish interests available (though not completely absent) in the religion's establishment.

But to simply discount it on the basis of its level of organization is absurd, no?

[Taxman]

I never discounted it. To each his own. At least I know that when I observe my faith in my own way, the only biases I gain are my own. I am making no real argument other than to say that it is not so simple as saying that all religion is bad or that all religion is good. Ultimately, the intentions behind organized religion are good, but sometimes it only takes one person to twist such intentions in a most undesireable way. Nevertheless, my ultimate conclusion was that the existence of organized religion is probably preferable to no religion.

[Gamblor]

"To each his own" is the right way to approach others' beliefs.

Having said that, what do you have to say of Gentiles who celebrate Christmas but observe no other rituals of Christianity? And Jews who claim to be Jewish but haven't prayed to their God since their bar mitzvah, which their parents threw only to give their son a party and get him a pantload of presents? Aren't they simply having their cake and eating it too?

If religion is in any way correct, don't the commandments of God demand that one accepts the benefits with the sacrifices?

This is where, in my opinion, organized religion went by the wayside. When people began to observe the convenient rituals and ignore the inconvenient ones. That is not religion, that is selfishness. Religion requires total belief in the tenets of the religion, as they are interpreted. The Crusades, Jihadis, etc. are not religious, they are manipulating their religion to suit selfish goals i.e. imperialism. Just my opinion, as a fairly Orthodox Jew. I just don't see any significant events in Jewish history (or Buddhist, etc.) history that has produced misery on the same scale. Correct me if I'm wrong, of course.

The point: to each his own is right in that all are entitled to believe what they want - but to claim to be Jewish but not keep kosher is simply avoiding the sacrifices that come with Judaism. Let's call a spade a spade.

[slavic]

Considering that we develop our moral codes and basis for civilization from the foundations of the Jewish faith, I would have to say that it would probably not be a good thing if the whole setup never existed.

Lennin called religion the "Pacifist of the masses" but do you really want to live in his secular world?

Now if you want to talk about the organizations, well we can get off into some strange topics there, but as far as the uniform moral code that each of these religions presents I can't help but say that society greatly benefits from their existance.