If everyone was atheist

[Longhorn]

I don't care what you believe. Just leave the fucking kids alone.

No. On itself, eliminating belief in god wouldn't change our propensity towards violence and irrational thinking.

Religious institutions, on the other hand.....

[downbeatplumb]

Do you think the world would be a better place if everyone was atheist?

Please explain your answer below.

Religions are by their nature divisive.
 
Look at Ireland, the Middle East, Africa and European history. millions have died from religious conflict and oppression in the name of religion. So no religion no death in the name of religion think no ISIS no Al Shabab no pogroms no holocaust no Catholic V protestant killings like you in Ireland and to lesser extent in Scotland.

You wouldn't have the stagnation that religion brings to science and scientific teaching.
People would start looking at what is true not what they want to be true.

You wouldn't get well intentioned but misguided abstintence only family planning.

 You wouldn't have the oppression of homosexuals and women to the extent you do now.

You wouldn't have the child murders in Africa where they are accused of witchcraft.

You wouldn't have the murder of albinos in Africa because of their "magical" properties.

You wouldn't have the so many awful things and religion brings nothing positive to the table that a secular organisation couldn't.

So a world without religion would be great....wont happen though.

[abaris]

Do you think the world would be a better place if everyone was atheist?

Please explain your answer below.

My answer to this is and always has been "no". The reason for this, humans being humans, would instantly rally behind the next game in town. The void would be instantly filled with some ideologies to identify with and I'm going by the old saying "better the devil you know".

Also I think, given human nature, it's highly unrealistic to expect religion to go away. As long as people fear death and can't cope with the thought of simply not existing at some point in time, there will be a need for religion.

[ignoramus]

If religion didn't exist, we'll just find another set of ideologies to use as an excuse to segregate and kill each other. That was evolved monkeys do? Obviously.

[Aoi Magi]

I chose no because it is impossible, cause without theism there is no a-theism, and secondly, atheism isn't a worldview and isn't something that makes the world better or worse. Religion on the other hand, especially theism as it is presently, is quite dangerous. A skeptic world would be a better world than a theistic world.

[robvalue]

I voted other, because there's too little information.

Reducing the harm religion does would be a great thing. Other than that, atheism is no guarantee of a better society.

[Cyberman]

Since atheism is a specialised critical position on theism, the goal (such as it is) would be to render itself ultimately redundant. Theism goes away, atheism becomes unnecessary. I'd much rather have a world in which rational scepticism and critical thinking were default factory settings and valued as virtues, than one 'faction' responding to the fairytales of the opposing one.

[Longhorn]

@Stim

In fact, "atheism" is a term that should not even exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a "non-astrologer" or a "non-alchemist". We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens have traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs.

~Sam Harris

[Cyberman]

Knows what he's talking about, that bloke.

[Homeless Nutter]

Here's an idea - compare the countries with the highest percentage of atheists/agnostics (like Sweden, or Japan) and those most religious (like Middle East countries). Number of recent wars, violent crime rates, standards of living, personal freedom, etc.
Seeing a pattern yet?