4 ms·
Rejecting organized religion for any reason is a step in the right direction.
by heavyset_go 5y ago
Rejecting organized religion for any reason is a step in the right direction.
- mistermann 5y agoCareful...delusion comes in many forms.
- coldtea 5y agoOr that's a facile thought, that doesn't take into consideration second order effects and utility, only whether "god is true" or not...
- celticninja 5y agoOrganized religion is a different kind of societal harm, where personal religion can be good or bad, organized religion will always be a net negative.
- dukeofdoom 5y agoOrganized religion helped to defeat Communism, and tempered dictatorial control of many despots in the middle east. So your statement is far removed from reality.
- MOUNOPANO 5y ago
- 93po 5y ago> Organized religion helped to defeat Communism Looks like this is helping the argument that religion is a net negative
- ElectricalUnion 5y ago> Organized religion helped to defeat Communism So it literally did nothing, because Communism doesn't exist in real life? > tempered dictatorial control of many despots in the middle east [citation needed]
- dukeofdoom 5y agoOrganized Religion is literally the only organized opposition left under dictatorial rule. Even tyrants have a hard time going around murdering clerics. But you go ahead and believe what you want.
- throwawaygh 5y ago> Organized religion helped to defeat Communism The cold war propaganda was ratcheted down some time after Gen X; to a super-majority of under-30s, even conservative ones, this probably sounds more like a knave's laugh line than a sincerely held belief.
- dukeofdoom 5y agoIf that's the case, they have no clue what they're talking about. The Pope literally helped to organize and support the main opposition Solidarity movement. With many churches across the world actively working to end it.
- underlying1941 5y agoSeems to me it would be more accurate to say that dictatorial despots helped temper organized religion.
- dukeofdoom 5y agoThis only works to your benefit if the despot is on your side. Even if you are in the inner circle, despots tend to be very temperamental and murder their own supporters on whims of insecurity. So be careful what you wish for.
- tbrownaw 5y ago> organized religion will always be a net negative. There are clear benefits to organized social stuff. For whatever reason, religions appear to be more effective at this than secular groups. One of the more "fun" theories I've seen is that this is because religious beliefs are often nonsensical and costly. For large scale events, I'm not convinced that nations that tried to do away with organized religion got better outcomes for it.
- Tepix 5y agoWhat are you comparing religions against? Boy scouts? Sports clubs?
- coldtea 5y agoActually, it's organized religion that can be good or bad. Personal religion is a personal affair, which seldom concerns society. But organized religion has been critical in the establishment of laws and customs, ethical change, societal norms, national expression against opression, etc.
- throwawaygh 5y agoOrganized religion constrains and directs group dynamics. That's not a defense or indictment of religion; it's just a fact. Getting rid of organized religion does not get rid of the fundamental aspects of human cognition that give rise to certain types of group dynamics. Since the 1800s, non-theists have warned that getting rid of religion is not an unmitigated good. "God is dead" was a warning.
- mbg721 5y agoSo...a desperate attempt to invent God from whole cloth?