The harms of religion

[Gendarme]

It's really easy to disprove any religion at all, but what I'm having a hard time doing, is explaining the harms of it, or just the harm of believing in a god. I'm not talking about brainwashed idiots, I'm talking talking about normal religious people who teach their children to believe in whatever they do; what is the harm?

[Panglossian]

The harm is that it instills the fear of eternal torture from a very young age, making it almost impossible for them to break out of their particular religion, and does actually lead to the brainwashed idiots we see today such as Ray Comfort. It basically creates a new generation of misinformed, delusional sheep who will believe everything their pastor/preacher/rabi etc. tells them. For example, pastors in Nigeria told parents to kill their childeren as they believed them to be witches, and the parents obliged; there are now many activist groups pushing for creationism to be taught instead of evolution in science classrooms, led by people who have been "harmlessly" taught to believe in creationism; most major religions (especially in the East) demote women as some kind of inferior species, leading them to be forced to stay at home almost all the time, and cover themselves up when they do venture outside; atheists have been shown to be one of the most hated and mistrusted minorities in the world (by numerous religious surveys who put them next to rapists and murderers); statistically, those countries with the highest religious density have more murders, rapes, poverty, thefts, infant mortality, disease and famine than those with the lowest religious density, who have almost the lowest in all those things.
Religion has waged many hundreds of pointless and bloody conflicts over the years, and is far from becoming a harmless institution. If it is not snuffed out, with advanced weaponry and ever more efficient ways of destroying one another (as we will undoubtedly continue to discover in the future), these conflicts are going to become more and more unstable and high-caliber. That is the greatest harm.

[Gooders1002]

The harm is that it instills the fear of eternal torture from a very young age, making it almost impossible for them to break out of their particular religion, and does actually lead to the brainwashed idiots we see today such as Ray Comfort. It basically creates a new generation of misinformed, delusional sheep who will believe everything their pastor/preacher/rabi etc. tells them. For example, pastors in Nigeria told parents to kill their childeren as they believed them to be witches, and the parents obliged; there are now many activist groups pushing for creationism to be taught instead of evolution in science classrooms, led by people who have been "harmlessly" taught to believe in creationism; most major religions (especially in the East) demote women as some kind of inferior species, leading them to be forced to stay at home almost all the time, and cover themselves up when they do venture outside; atheists have been shown to be one of the most hated and mistrusted minorities in the world (by numerous religious surveys who put them next to rapists and murderers); statistically, those countries with the highest religious density have more murders, rapes, poverty, thefts, infant mortality, disease and famine than those with the lowest religious density, who have almost the lowest in all those things.
Religion has waged many hundreds of pointless and bloody conflicts over the years, and is far from becoming a harmless institution. If it is not snuffed out, with advanced weaponry and ever more efficient ways of destroying one another (as we will undoubtedly continue to discover in the future), these conflicts are going to become more and more unstable and high-caliber. That is the greatest harm.

Does any more need to be said?

[Kayenneh]

Does any more need to be said?

Yes. I could add that sex is seen as something dirty and vile, that sex ed isn't taught in religious circles, leading in horrible teenage pregnancy statistics and abortion for those girls isn't an option. I could also mention mutilation of the genitalia of both genders to make sure that sex isn't pleasurable.
The fear of eternal torture isn't the whole story, thinking that someone is watching you constantly and judging your every move can cause severe anxiety and mental disorders.
My 'favorite' harm though is the inabilty to question. You're supposed to believe without a doubt and if you dare to ask "Why?" you'll be seen as insolent and evil.
That's my two cents.

[StatCrux]

Does any more need to be said?

Yes. I could add that sex is seen as something dirty and vile, that sex ed isn't taught in religious circles, leading in horrible teenage pregnancy statistics and abortion for those girls isn't an option. I could also mention mutilation of the genitalia of both genders to make sure that sex isn't pleasurable.
The fear of eternal torture isn't the whole story, thinking that someone is watching you constantly and judging your every move can cause severe anxiety and mental disorders.
My 'favorite' harm though is the inabilty to question. You're supposed to believe without a doubt and if you dare to ask "Why?" you'll be seen as insolent and evil.
That's my two cents.

This quite simply absurd, sex is not viewed as "dirty and vile". It is viewed as wrong outside of marriage. I would be very interested to see the teenage pregnancy statistics for before and after the introduction of contraception and liberal sexual attitudes (pre and post 1960's) The teenage pregnancy rates in Europe have soared in recent years not gone down, as religion has declined teenage pregnancy rates have increased not decreased. And finally, are you saying that a belief in hell creates serious mental disorder? I would suggest that people susceptible to mental disorder can become fixated on the idea of hell, but the idea doesn't create mental illness.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/...32669.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/health...soars.html

[Gendarme]

What you wrote applies to religious fanatcs, not people who merely believe in God and pray to him every now and then. You don't necessarily have to believe in Heaven or Hell to believe in God.

[Panglossian]

What you wrote applies to religious fanatcs, not people who merely believe in God and pray to him every now and then. You don't necessarily have to believe in Heaven or Hell to believe in God.

Which religion are you talking about specifically? Because for most of the majors (Christianity, Hinuism, Islam etc.), surely the whole point is that they believe in heaven and hell...?
Plus, those people who pray to a god "every now and then" aren't religious by definition. They are simply seeking an option after life other than death, and occasionally praying to a deity is just their way of making themselves feel better. Infact, I put it to you that the crazy fanatics are the ONLY religious people left, as they follow their holy books to the letter, rather than cherry-pick the fluffy bits and believe in them.
On another note, what I wrote doesn't even apply to the fanatics. For example, the people in Nigeria were just regular, run-of-the-mill, impoverished, uneducated, penniless Africans until those Christian pastors started blaming it all on the "witch childeren"; the women being suppressed, cut off and even stoned to death in the East are just average women from average families. That's just the way it's done out there; creationism being taught in some schools rather than evolution is only as a result of "nice, normal, Christian families" slitting the intellectual society's collective throats with their proofless beliefs. These things aren't as a result of any obvious fanaticism, but from teaching childeren not to question a fictional character's will.

[Godscreated]

Does any more need to be said?

Yes. I could add that sex is seen as something dirty and vile, that sex ed isn't taught in religious circles, leading in horrible teenage pregnancy statistics and abortion for those girls isn't an option. I could also mention mutilation of the genitalia of both genders to make sure that sex isn't pleasurable.
The fear of eternal torture isn't the whole story, thinking that someone is watching you constantly and judging your every move can cause severe anxiety and mental disorders.
My 'favorite' harm though is the inabilty to question. You're supposed to believe without a doubt and if you dare to ask "Why?" you'll be seen as insolent and evil.
That's my two cents.

Sex is not a taboo in Christianity until it's taken out side marriage. You need to read the Songs of Solomon, Christians see sex as pleasurable and why not it is a gift from God.

Circumcised men transfer less disease than uncircumcised men, this is a health issue. Christian women are not circumcised, I do not know why you would believe they are, unless you're uninformed.

Fear of eternal punishment is not an issue with Christians, it's not a part of our future, again I do not know why you can't understand this, the fear of eternal punishment belongs to those who are not saved.

Again you're wrong, Christians question all the time it's the way we're able to find truth, I personally have questioned God directly on issues, I ask for a reason to the truth.
Seems that two cents you threw in is not worth, well noth'in.

[Faith No More]

This quite simply absurd, sex is not viewed as "dirty and vile". It is viewed as wrong outside of marriage. I would be very interested to see the teenage pregnancy statistics for before and after the introduction of contraception and liberal sexual attitudes (pre and post 1960's) The teenage pregnancy rates in Europe have soared in recent years not gone down, as religion has declined teenage pregnancy rates have increased not decreased. And finally, are you saying that a belief in hell creates serious mental disorder? I would suggest that people susceptible to mental disorder can become fixated on the idea of hell, but the idea doesn't create mental illness.

Well, this link doesn't state the change over the years, but here's a break down by country. Noticed the U.S., on of the greatest advocators of abstinence only education, is responsible for nearly 60% of all teenage births worldwide.

[Annik]

StatCrux: Abstinence doesn't work.


Gendarme: I was raised by casuals. Raising your children to believe in a certain religion limits their freedom of choice by brainwashing them at an early age. As parents, we have an obligation to limit the amount of decisions are make that effect our children's freedoms. Now, not all of these choices can be avoided, but religion is a big one. Additionally, I think the belief in a heaven really diminishes the finality and harshness of death. Some might be context to whisper to themselves that they'll see their passed loved ones again, but I'd rather not.