Overall, is religion (of ALL varieties) good or bad for society?

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It’s a broad question, but one that I feel that I need to ask. It just seems to me that over the course of the centuries so much violence and oppression has been committed in the name of religion, with the support of religion, or by the dictates of religion, that it seems like it’s had a very negative past.

But even so, I guess more pertinently, I’m asking if you think it’s good for today’s society. I know there is Islamic extremism and stuff, but overall maybe it’s good? I mean, there have been Mother Theresa and stuff.

Your thoughts?
 
Religion, which falls under the virtue of justice, is the justice toward God. It disposes man to believe, hope, trust, love, and adore God, and to show justice toward men.

I would say religion is very good for society.
 
If you mean the term to be simply a codefied faith system, then it is neither good nor bad. It would depend upon the implimentation of the religion.

If you mean the term as Eucharisted used it, than it is good and needed so long as men do not pervert its use.

If you mean the term as something used by a small group of people to control a larger one, with no recognition of God, it is a bad thing.
 
I think that I heard on the radio last week there was a study that said “the religious” tended to be healthier and live longer. 🤷
 
Chesapeake said:
It’s a broad question, but one that I feel that I need to ask. It just seems to me that over the course of the centuries so much violence and oppression has been committed in the name of religion, with the support of religion, or by the dictates of religion, that it seems like it’s had a very negative past.
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It’s a myth that religion has been responsible for most of the violence in the past. Apart from the Crusades, most wars were about ownership or control of people. Stalin and Hitler, both avowed athiests, between them killed more people than most wars put together.

As for society, the decline in religion has been accompanied by a rise in violence. Our peaceful, enlightened, no need for religion society has murdered more than the two men above by the holocaust that is abortion.

Religion (excluding the new age relativistic) has been overwhelmingly good for society
 
I smile wryly when antireligious folk say, “religion is responsible for most of the destruction in history,” and we point out the much higher body counts of atheism and they counter that those people didn’t do those thing because they were atheists – but try to say that religious civilizations didn’t commit their violence because they were religious, either, and watch the reaction. Control is the reason for most violence. History shows that ideologies that demand total control of people thrive mostly when religion is removed. Then the violence escalates indefinitely.
We could add to the body counts the estimates of the dead from neglect and the youngest victims – the unborn. That would probably tilt the violence statisitcs even more heavily toward showing religion has a protective effect.
 
It totally matters WHICH religion you are talking about. Christianity is good for society. The Church of Satan is bad for society.
 
Without the faith (religion), we are nothing. Everything that is happening with corruption in the past and present in all churches was predicted by Christ.

"They will hate you because of me."
 
Religion, true Religion, is the cornerstone of Civilization. A person who truly embraces Religion realizes that there is something greater than themselves; hence, charity arises. One need only study pagan Rome or the barbarian tribes of ancient times to see what life was like without Religion. In modern times we only need to study the rise of the totalitarian regimes of the 1920’s and 1930’s, the Marxist states and the far-left liberal intellectualism that is today trying to do away with the continuous moral code (i.e., pro abortion, birth control, homosexuality, sex ed for youngsters). True Religion has been the most civilizing thing that the world has known.
 
Coincidentally, the Atheist Society at my university are hosting an open debate on this question on the 30th, with Richard Harries (former Anglican bishop of Oxford) debating with humanist Julian Baggini. They have invited all the Christian societies on campus as well.

It is one of these questions which can turn people away from religion quite easily (which, I think, is the reason why the Atheist Soc. are organising a debate on it) because it is very simple to paint a picture of the killing that has gone on over the centuries and in the Bible. It breaks my heart, because in British society people have become very secularised because they are not prepared to look beyond the shallow arguments of atheists. I see two groups - one group who enjoys the way they can employ such simple arguments to rebel against the “establishment”, the other group being afraid of being challenged by such people.

I think that to be properly prepared for this Christians need to face up to the fact that there have been atrocities carried out in the name of religion. History is full of atrocities, but those committed by Christians stand out because people expect the Church to be a museum of saints. As somebody said somewhere else on this forum, the Church is not a museum of saints, but a hospital for sinners. Also, the concept of “good” which these people judge us by actually comes from the major religions. It is my view that Western law and ethics were fundamentally built on the biblical commandments. Considering the values of the Druids, the pagan era of the Anglo Saxons, the Vikings, the Huns, the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan, the Goths etc. I would say that Judaism, Christianity etc. has shaped the values of the world for the better. Even now in the dawning of secularisation we are seeing family life deteriorating, we are seeing increasing abortion, teenage pregnancy, crime, STIs, and any number of other social problems.

I think the danger lies in getting hung up on these simplistic arguments and not looking into them deeply enough. I got caught in that trap, and it took a lot of effort to climb out.

God Bless.
 
Sorry Timothysis, didn’t mean to duplicate bits of your post - I must have still been writing my massive post when yours appeared.
 
LukeV said:
Sorry Timothysis, didn’t mean to duplicate bits of your post - I must have still been writing my massive post when yours appeared.
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No problem at all, Luke. In fact, what you say isn’t just my opinion or even yours alone but what intellectually honest people have said for a long time; that the Judeo/Christian ethic is what has brought civilization to the world.
 
All the greatest civilizations have been religious and all the crappiest ones haven’t, so I would say religion makes a positive difference. As Chesterton says, men who love even Pimlico can turn it into Florence, and that love comes out of worship.
 
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