Why is religion in the business of moral policing?

[NuclearEnergy]

Seems a big aspect of religion, Islam and Christianity is moral policing. You know, don't masturbate, don't watch porn and so on. Why is it these things are considered so bad according to religion? Or at least the Abrahamic ones? I don't see as long as it's not hurting one, then why is it really such a big deal?

[The Industrial Atheist]

As I've said in your thread about masturbation, it's a simpleton's way of trying to maximize the birth rate so that there are as many religious people as possible.
All it really accomplishes is to make people ashamed of doing stuff that helps them stay regulated and gets them through the day, and doesn't hurt anyone.

Also I read somewhere, in regards to Islam's restrictions on such things, but also premarital sex, that there is a relationship between physical and mental health.
So a sexually repressed tense person is more likely to become the fanatic they want to produce. But this is also true of Christians.

[Minimalist]

Because they can't mind their own fucking business.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

'Puritanism (n):  The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, might be happy.' - H.L. Mencken

Boru

[ignoramus]

Because God is all encompassing.

But the pope is communicating with God as we speak as a matter of urgency to decide whether anchovies on pizza is an unforgivable sin. I won't put them on! Pascal's wager, etc.

[Dropship]

Seems a big aspect of religion, Islam and Christianity is moral policing. You know, don't masturbate, don't watch porn and so on. Why is it these things are considered so bad according to religion? Or at least the Abrahamic ones? I don't see as long as it's not hurting one, then why is it really such a big deal?

For the record, Jesus never said a word about masturbation or porn, and for that matter he never mentioned GLBT's either, and people quickly realised he was something special, not like the snooty priests..
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2)
"Jesus saved you from the empty way of life handed you by your forefathers" (1 Peter 1:18 )

[ignoramus]

Agree... Doesn't say much for the corruption of religions does it?
Then cut out the middle man and stop going to church to listen to nonsense.

[Astonished]

Seems a big aspect of religion, Islam and Christianity is moral policing. You know, don't masturbate, don't watch porn and so on. Why is it these things are considered so bad according to religion? Or at least the Abrahamic ones? I don't see as long as it's not hurting one, then why is it really such a big deal?

For the record, Jesus never said a word about masturbation or porn, and for that matter he never mentioned GLBT's either, and people quickly realised he was something special, not like the snooty priests..
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2)
"Jesus saved you from the empty way of life handed you by your forefathers" (1 Peter 1:18 )

Would you stop pretending you know fuck-all about anything?







Controlling people's behavior is the first step in controlling their minds. If you can get them to believe that the things that come most naturally are actually unnatural, and make them feel guilty for something that is constantly on their mind, you're going to drive them nucking futs and break their brain so they can be molded to your desire. SIMPLE. AS. THAT. Same thing with ridiculous impositions like fasting, which will also weaken your mind and your ability to resist bullshit. Nothing but a colossal scam by lazy, vindictive cunts who want to make a living doing absolutely nothing, and not just a living, but an obscenely lavish one, and every aspect of it is so transparently obviously doing nothing more than feeding this end that you really can't be taken seriously for adhering to it when this is presented to you if you somehow managed to remain oblivious of this.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Seems a big aspect of religion, Islam and Christianity is moral policing. You know, don't masturbate, don't watch porn and so on. Why is it these things are considered so bad according to religion? Or at least the Abrahamic ones? I don't see as long as it's not hurting one, then why is it really such a big deal?

When you've got nothing to actually sell, you've got to guilt people into giving you their money.

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For the record, Jesus never said a word about masturbation or porn, and for that matter he never mentioned GLBT's either, and people quickly realised he was something special, not like the snooty priests..

Very few Christians in the public eye have ever let what Jesus did or didn't say stop them from offering their judgement. Jesus never said a word about abortion, did he? Still, his followers insist on trying to control the bodies of others.

[Brian37]

Seems a big aspect of religion, Islam and Christianity is moral policing. You know, don't masturbate, don't watch porn and so on. Why is it these things are considered so bad according to religion? Or at least the Abrahamic ones? I don't see as long as it's not hurting one, then why is it really such a big deal?

Richard Dawkins "The God Delusion"

But especially Victor Stenger's "The New Atheism"

Both explain scientifically why there is no god. The God Delusion addresses it from an evolutionary biological aspect. Our brains evolved to seek patterns, problem is with even other life, life doesn't always have time to slow down and assess a situation so our brains evolved to make fight or flight choices.  It is a false perception. It is gap filling. To put it bluntly, it is born out of scientific ignorance. 

Stenger's book in the beginning chapters explains why science proves it does have something to say about god claims. But in later chapters it compares the motifs and tropes in multiple religions to show they all contain motifs of empathy and sharing but can also be used to justify harm to other groups.

Religion is really nothing more than a comic book reflection of our evolutionary group survival. It does serve a real benefit in safety in numbers, the problem is that the religion itself does not have to be true to be successful, it just has to sell. It is why the ancient Egyptians were successful for 3,000 years but none of their polytheistic gods were real.

If humans were the only species with a sense of morality then the following should not happen. But this did happen.

Our species sense of morality is in our genes not in the labels we assign ourselves. 

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Humans form groups for safety for the same reason these elephants did this.