Can religion be positive

[Brian37]

Is religion always a bad thing?

I find that when a proposition is loaded with the adverbs "always", "never" or the like, it's a good indicator of it's falsehood.

You know what is almost always a bad thing? Black and white thinking. :p

I hope you are not accusing me of black and white thinking. If I said we had to get rid of it by force, then that would be black and white thinking. You also wont get rid of 7 billion humans wanting guns either, but that does not make guns harmless. They are still weapons.

There is not one religion in human history that has not set up a social order then reacted to any challenge to that religious based social order. Claiming religious people can be good, is not the issue. The issue is the blind protection of it which is the dangerous part. And as long as religion exists it must always be treated like a loaded gun.

The only "always" I am advocating is to always insist on the ability to challenge it. You take away that leash, you set up a future abuse.

Humans will want their kaleidoscopes but those are in reality a reflection of our own selfish desires, they do not reflect our species understanding of evolution or our understanding of how bad claims can lead to bad ideas which can lead to harm to others.