The Problem With Faith: 11 Ways Religion Is Destroying Humanity

[NeoGreen]

http://churchandstate.org.uk/2015/10/the-problem-with-faith-11-ways-religion-is-destroying-humanity/

The Problem With Faith: 11 Ways Religion Is Destroying Humanity
By Shanna Babilonia

Religion has been a part of humanity since the first astronomers peered into the sky and created elaborate stories to define the movements of our universe. It made its way into our minds as we fearfully created devils and demons to explain the danger lurking in the darkness of night. It has both enchanted and burdened us as we attempt to define our world with the information available to us as we work our way through history.

However, things are quickly changing. For a growing number of us worldwide, what was once indescribable is now easily explained by the vast data we have gathered as we work towards refining our understanding. We are becoming painfully aware that, although our religions gave us a starting place for thinking about how our world functions, they no longer serve us in that process; and in fact, have left a trail of destruction in their historic path.

Here are 11 ways religion is destroying humanity:

1.) The assumption of truth.
Most of our world’s major religions each assume that it is their faith alone that is the “absolute truth” and refuse to concede that those traditions may be mistaken. Instead, they discover ways to force conflicting information to adapt to their own doctrine; no matter how effective the evidence is at actually disproving the rationality of that particular religion.

2.) The promise of reward.
The faith of many followers hinges on the idea that there is some reward for devotion to their deity. For the Islamic gentleman, it is a promise of virgins after death. For the Christian, it is a perfect place of infinite peace and comfort. For Hindus, it is escaping the grueling task of reincarnation; and for the Buddhist it is reaching Nirvana.

3.) The superiority complex.
Religion enables people to act callously and inflict mental punishment on those they label “evil” without consequence to their hatred; and then permits them to honestly believe that their hatred is defensible as “good moral conduct”.

4.) The usefulness of control.
Most religious supporters are not mindful of the fear that has been instilled in them, often from birth. It is a fear that is so subtle that it goes undetected for much of the follower’s life. It is so deeply embedded that it is not even recognized as fear, but as truth; when in reality, it is a most destructive form of control.

5.) The distraction of division.
As most propagandists understand, by separating individuals from their peers, they are usually able to think more clearly and logically about the information being presented to them. However, when consistently surrounded by their peers, if they are not cautious, they may likely fall prey to being persuaded into believing a “truth” that is not true at all. Religion depends on this human herd mentality in order to maintain its stronghold. When you keep a person within a specific religion, reinforce the ideas of that group and then make everyone else outside of the group somehow immoral, maintaining control of hatred towards others is effortless. The best way to do this is by teaching followers the religion’s concepts from birth; and then reinforcing those ideas throughout the entirety of their life.

6.) The threat of theocracy.


7.) The illusion of love.
Is it? There may be some parts that describe love and encourage positive relationships amongst members of the human race; but, what about all the other parts? Are we to ignore some things and only identify with the good?

Here is the problem: Many of our most revered religious texts have hundreds of verses where the deity of the story literally instructs people to abduct and rape young girls whose family members they have just murdered, kill disobedient children, kill disobedient women, commit genocide and infanticide, subdue and silence women, commit incest, oppress mass communities, force marriage on rape victims, torture people, enslave people and loot and pillage entire societies. All by the instruction of or in the name of their god.

8.) Justification for inequality.
A simple and honest study of our world’s theocracies (and countries such as America where those issues are being debated) reveals how our holy texts are used to discriminate against women, LGBTs, and foreigners. Our top three world religions’ texts are full of discrimination against these groups. In fact, it is openly used as justification for that discrimination.

9.) The subjugation of advancement.
We are moving towards a time where we no longer need to base our ideas on things that we cannot see or explain (faith). We can explain much more than ever and our ability to explain our world is expanding rapidly.

Now that science can explain our world, we no longer need mythology to do it for us.

10.) The fear of “end times”.
For thousands of years, religion has used the fear of “end times” to control the masses. What began as mythology that told gruesome stories of a horrific end to our world has evolved into periodic religious mania over an impending doom lurking above the future of humanity.

11.) Oppression by terror.
It would be easy for some to look at the violence in religion today and point fingers at one specific religion. The propagandist that dominate many of our mainstream news outlets ensure this. But, the truth is, many of our religions have already asserted themselves through force and violence in the past. This is not merely a modern problem.

[trotsky]

1. "The superiority complex."

You mean like trying to stifle criticism by declaring any negative comment about religion to be a blind adherence to a silly made-up "commandment" that doesn't actually exist?

Despite having multiple safe havens where no criticism is allowed, the superiority complex requires some believers to actively try and shut it down in the once place it's allowed.

[Major Nikon]

2. It's really just a defining feature of the history of organized religion

Religion must be allowed to promote itself without any voice of dissent. Otherwise the minority has a chance of becoming the majority.

[guillaumeb]

3. Far too simplistic.

[NeoGreen]

4. Thanks, since keeping it simple only increases...

...the possibility that everyone will be able to grasp at least some of the concepts.

l even trimmed a bit of text to enhance the simplicity for those who need it.

What did you learn from the article?

[guillaumeb]

5. What you describe are human behavioral tendencies.

And given that we are discussing human behavior, it is no wonder that the perfect will never be attained even by the good.

[Major Nikon]

6. Guns don't kill people

[Lordquinton]

7. So you didn't read the article

Thanks for confirming.

[NeoGreen]

8. Incorrect...

...ultimately, and fundamentally, what the article is discussing is the perpetuation of old and anachronistic ideas and explanations for that which we cannot see or do not yet understand by appealing to 'faith' based answers.

Plus, you have fallen into a strawman fallacy with your insertion of the assumption that anyone expects humans can attain 'perfection' (however it is defined). Nowhere in the article is that assumed or asserted.

Your catch-phrase answer suggest that you fail to realize that a faith based approach is no longer a 'good' approach for explaining reality. Human understanding and ability to deconstruct, describe and explain how and why reality is as it is has evolved to a point where the 'faith mode' of explanation is no longer beneficial and has turned the corner toward detrimental. A good result cannot be attained by a flawed process.

[struggle4progress]

9. That was a surprisingly superficial read, from the very first sentence:

"Religion has been a part of humanity since the first astronomers peered into the sky and created elaborate stories to define the movements of our universe"

Humans, being dependent social creatures from birth, need a worldview that involves other minds and agencies. Traditions passed from each generation to the next have gradually refined our notion of mind and agency, so that (for example) most of us no longer regard the wind as having any "will" of its own

People usually begin to appreciate that there are minds and agencies, other than their own, from an early age. Children, in their dependent state, may need to negotiate with or placate others, simply to survive. The ideas that other minds and agencies might be benevolent or malevolent, or that they might be persuadable by properly uttering certain phrases or by appropriate "offerings," therefore spring naturally from childhood experience

The usual conceptual problem, How far can I usefully push my ideas?, will arise with notions of mind and agency, as much as it arises with any other notions. The "watchmaker" argument, for a mind and agency behind the world, seems to spring from such an attempt to understand the world in terms of notions formed by earlier life experience. But there are many more examples of people arguing from preconceived notions: the article from the OP provides a good example, since the author is trapped by a belief that there must be one definite thing called "religion" -- Since we have the word, it must refer to something! -- and then attempts to reason about what "religion" must be, from the connotations the word calls up. This sets the table with the nutrition-free gibberish that follows, such as "Most of our world’s major religions each assume that it is their faith alone that is the 'absolute truth' and refuse to concede that those traditions may be mistaken" --- a statement that manages simultaneously to claim a grand generality and "truth" (for itself) while remaining grounded in nothing but the author's opinions, being at the same time so vague that no meaningful exploration can proceed from that point