Does the World Need Religion?

[phoenix31]

If there is no God then there is no divine consequence for actions. Power hungry people can take advantage of others and get away with things like murder and genocide as much as society allows them to. I'm not saying atheism itself leads one to ill will, but that some people are predisposed to a thirst for power and will pursue these ends if they believe they can without consequence, whereas the majority of religious teaching is centered around peaceful actions and instills fear of divine consequence for wrongdoing. So possibly those brought up with this worldview are less disposed to things like murder and genocide.

You weren't listening to me. You are setting up a belief in these divine consequences as the only solution, and I am telling you that there are other (more immediate) solutions. Humanity may have flaws, but we are a social species that is able to work together to smooth out our individual flaws. Your scenario only spells our doom if we were all lonely hermit savages, which we are not. With that in mind, why is a fear of divine consequence (which we see the religious ignore anyway) suddenly better than our own social consequences that we are able to call into question in this life instead of waiting for the afterlife?

I see that working together toward a common good with logic and decency for the rules of society could work well for society but I don't know that it would give a reason for personal integrity. I don't know that a majority of people would restrain themselves from behavior which we would consider immoral if they did not think they would get caught. On a small scale, if one can lie and cheat others and get away with it, and it benefits them personally, why not?