Does religion make this world a better place?

[Mr Rayon]

Overall, does the abundance of religion make this world a better place to live in?

 

What do you think?

 

Certainly if there was no religion and everyone were agnostics, it would make this world a much boring place to live in. Religion also encourages one to become a more morally better person. For example, through recycling, having good relations with neighbours and looking after poor/lost/homeless strangers and charity etc.

 

But then you hear people doing outrageous things as well in the name of religion, whether it be Hinduism, Christianity, Voodoo or other religion.

Edited July 10, 2011 by Mr Rayon

[Fuzzwood]

Are arrogance in conjunction with morale also part of religion? You can replace morale easily enough by something like common sense. I think that from that point onwards, you are a better person because you are doing stuff like recycling and being nice to others for yourself and your surroundings instead of having to think about the flying spaghettimonster every time you do something.

Edited July 10, 2011 by Fuzzwood

[pwagen]

Overall, does the abundance of religion make this world a better place to live in?

No.

 

Religion also encourages one to become a more morally better person. For example, through recycling, having good relations with neighbours and looking after poor/lost/homeless strangers and charity etc.

Which part of that has anything to do with religion? What has religion to say about recycling? Where, in any scripture, can you find references to saving the planet by re-using your waste? Good relations with neighbours? Have you looked at the Middle East lately? Helping exposed people? No.

 

 

Also, I believe this to be better suited for the religion forum.

[Marat]

It seems the height of absurdity to say that only if you believe in a fairy tale can you find sufficient motivation to treat your fellow humans decently, which is what morality is all about. Unless you treat other people decently for the intrinsic goodness of respecting other people, you are essentially psychopathic, since you don't understand the value of moral behavior in itself, since you have to support it by something alien to it, like an imaginary story about a mind-reading giant in the sky who will burn you in a cosmic frying-pan after you're dead unless you're nice on earth. Someone who is 'moral' for that reason is not really moral at all, but just prudent, acting to his own long-term self-advantage. So belief in God and heavenly rewards for being good, instead of promoting morality, actually makes morality impossible, since believers could always be being good just for the reward, which is about as moral as a trained seal leaping out of the water to get a fish.

[Brainteaserfan]

It seems the height of absurdity to say that only if you believe in a fairy tale can you find sufficient motivation to treat your fellow humans decently, which is what morality is all about. Unless you treat other people decently for the intrinsic goodness of respecting other people, you are essentially psychopathic, since you don't understand the value of moral behavior in itself, since you have to support it by something alien to it, like an imaginary story about a mind-reading giant in the sky who will burn you in a cosmic frying-pan after you're dead unless you're nice on earth. Someone who is 'moral' for that reason is not really moral at all, but just prudent, acting to his own long-term self-advantage. So belief in God and heavenly rewards for being good, instead of promoting morality, actually makes morality impossible, since believers could always be being good just for the reward, which is about as moral as a trained seal leaping out of the water to get a fish.

You have probably heard of the prisoner's dilemma and know what you should do. Sort of like that, without religion, if you were intelligent, you'd probably be better off if you were just slightly dishonest in everything that you did.

 

One of the major differences between a fairy tale and the Bible is that the vast majority of fairy tales do not tell you to do much.

Edited July 10, 2011 by Brainteaserfan

[rigney]

You have probably heard of the prisoner's dilemma and know what you should do. Sort of like that, without religion, if you were intelligent, you'd probably be better off if you were just slightly dishonest in everything that you did.

 

One of the major differences between a fairy tale and the Bible is that the vast majority of fairy tales do not tell you to do much.

 

Do you, or do you not believe in GOD? This is a rational question besetting us "ALL". Me, I am an Agnostic for only one reason. If GOD exists, I don't want him to forget that I was here too. If he is not, it really doesn't matter, does it? If there is no GOD, then there will definately be no DEVIL, right? So, just conduct yourself in a descent, moral manner and "PRAY" that neither side is wrong.

[Brainteaserfan]

Do you, or do you not believe in GOD? This is a rational question besetting us "ALL". Me, I am an Agnostic for only one reason. If GOD exists, I don't want him to forget that I was here too. If he is not, it really doesn't matter, does it? If there is no GOD, then there will definately be no DEVIL, right? So, just conduct yourself in a descent, moral manner and "PRAY" that neither side is wrong.

That was not the question asked by the topic. How does your post relate to mine?

[Marat]

In response to the point about Pascal's Wager as applied to religious belief or disbelief, the problem is that religious belief is not just an option which I can select to be safe and at no cost to me. On the contrary, the cost to me of being a believer is huge, since it would amount to what I feel is intellectual suicide and existential cowardice. Belief would make sense though if life were just a 'dimensionless' move in a hypothetical gamble.

[Edtharan]

You have probably heard of the prisoner's dilemma and know what you should do. Sort of like that, without religion, if you were intelligent, you'd probably be better off if you were just slightly dishonest in everything that you did.

 

One of the major differences between a fairy tale and the Bible is that the vast majority of fairy tales do not tell you to do much.

I would point more to the Ultimatum Game (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimatum_game) than Prisoners Dilemma. Specifically the variations whit "tipping" (players can let others know what either of the players currently playing have done in the past).

 

In these versions, what occurs is that moral behaviours ends up giving the players a better score in the long run, and, that punishing a player at your own expense is better for you in the long run too (as other players will realise that you will punish them for bad deals and so offer fair deals to you).

[Moontanman]

Overall, does the abundance of religion make this world a better place to live in?

 

What do you think?

 

Certainly if there was no religion and everyone were agnostics, it would make this world a much boring place to live in. Religion also encourages one to become a more morally better person. For example, through recycling, having good relations with neighbours and looking after poor/lost/homeless strangers and charity etc.

 

But then you hear people doing outrageous things as well in the name of religion, whether it be Hinduism, Christianity, Voodoo or other religion.

 

 

I think this video explains why religion does not necessarily make this a better world.

 

[ydoaPs]

No, religion does not make the world a better place. The correlation between religiosity and societal health is a strikingly inverse one.