Is religion the root of all evil?

[Georgie_92]

I am beginning to think so.
I have stopped going to church a long time ago, it didn't feel right anymore.
It's a shame what people do in the name of Christ.
I think Pastor Wright has a few very good points.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Religion makes good people do good things; it makes bad people do bad things.

I don't think it's the root of all evil, but it is often used to justify evil.

[DemBones DemBones]

7. Well said. Evil people USE religion to justify their evil deeds. nt

[zonmoy]

53. problem is if you want good people to do bad things

you need religion to make them think that the bad things are actually good things.

[polichick]

2. imo we would do better with a non-partisan, non-religious society...

...active citizenship and spirituality are enough.

[Georgie_92]

4. I agree 100%

[OhioChick]

3. "Is religion the root of all evil?"

Not necessarily. You have the religious extremes on all sides that make a joke out of religion.

Bottom line is there "should" be a separation of Church and State.

[Crunchy Frog]

5. No.

There's plenty of evil that exists independently of religion. Plenty of non-religious people who do very bad things.

[randr]

6. Don't know the source of this quote but

I have often found comfort in it.
"Were it not for religion, the poor would have eaten the rich a long time ago"

[DemBones DemBones]

9. Probably true, and "the rich" would not be the really rich but

those of us who aren't rich or poor, because we'd be easier targets and the truly rich would be locked into
fortresses.

I don't know the source of the quote, either, but have heard it before.

[ozone_man]

11. It sounds Marxist to me.

As in "religion is the opiate of the masses." I think it is very true btw. This is the primary evil with religion. That it keeps the masses from demanding equity in their life times in hopes of achieving it in an afterlife. Fvck the afterlife, demand equity now!

The other evil is that it is used to justify bigotry, wars, and is in general a divisive force within humanity. All religion divides.

[selador]

16. rubbish

some of the worst mass murderers of the 20th century were atheists, and among the most despotic regimes were (at least officially) atheist.

c'mon.

man has great capacity for good and great capacity for evil

those that want to blame evil on religion haven't studied history and don't understand man's nature.

[TZ]

19. Hitler was a Catholic

Plenty of evul done in the name of religion in this century. And the "atheists" who were evil didn't kill in the name of atheism, but because they wanted power and felt threatened by others. That argument is a stupid bigoted argument.

[selador]

26. the irony

talk about projection. IM being bigoted, when you (et al) are blaming religion for MAN's evil

ah, the irony. i could cut it with a ladle

i am blaming NEITHER atheism nor theism. because i look at the facts

so, if any argument is bigoted - it's yours.

up until the 20th century, there were few examples of officially atheist regimes or philosophy. so your argument would have been wrong, but at least there weren't a lot of data points to look to

but now it's irrefutable .

even accepting that hitler was catholic (which is arguable, but irrelevant) we're not talking hitler. stalin, pol pot, mao, etc. etc. etc.

get real. i prefer facts to rhetoric. blaming religion for evil is like blaming cars for drunk driving

it's a MANKIND thing, not a religion thing.

[TZ]

36. Oh rubbish

I suppose you are of the school that guns don't kill people, that people kill people.
Yeah, evil is done for many reasons but there's an EXCELLENT cliche here..."The road to hell is paved with good intentions".
Has there ever been an army that went into battle NOT believing God was on their side?
To me thats the most dangerous thing about religion so many people are committing absolute atrocities while firmly believing they are doing what God wants them to do, or is "moral" or the "right thing".
People who are greedy and power hungry (except in extreme cases of mental illness) rarely believe that they are "helping others" when they commit evil.

[PassingFair]

48. Religion was/is created by man.

Religion is always a "mankind" thing.

[onager]

21. That's a quote from Ann Coulter!

:rofl:

The DU "progressives" sure have some strange bedfellows these days...

Interestingly, this was the approach of all the great mass murderers of the last century — all of whom were atheists: Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot.--Coulter, March 11, 2004 "Town Hall" column titled "W.W.J.K.: Who Would Jesus Kill?"

(FYI, "bedfellows" is just me speaking metaphorically. If you've bedded Ann Coulter I don't want to hear about it. And I REALLY don't want to see any pictures.)

[selador]

27. i don't care if it's a quote from satan

it's still correct.

and regardless of whether she made that point, numerous other people have made it too - on all sides of the political spectrum.

that's also irrelevant because i don't base my perception of truths based upon who (if anybody) has claimed it. i base truth on my assessment of facts.

my point is that it is NEITHER theism nor atheism that is to blame for man's evil.

it's ... wait for it...

MANKIND

we have it in our nature. we can rise above ... or not. we can choose evil... or not

bully for us.

after the numerous examples in the 20th century, it's just a complete denial of reality to blame religion for evil. religion is a MEANS for many to commit evil, and a justification thereof. but atheism can be (and has been the same) .

man doesn't need a crutch - whether religion, atheism, or any ideology to commit evil.

he does just fine either way.

[Realityhack]

32. to be fair

Neither being to blame is not the same as the two being equally blameless.
Religious or atheist people can do horrible things to each other. However, many religions are inherently evil and it is far more common for people to excite others to violence in the name of religion than in the name of the lack of religion. You see people saying 'those people over there hurt us we should hurt them' (neither religious nor atheist) and you see people saying 'those people don't believe in the religion we do so we should hurt them'(religious) but I have yet to see the rationalization that 'those people believe in religion and we don't so we should hurt them'(atheist) as a fundamental piece of the propaganda for a war.

[selador]

38. EXCEPT

"However, many religions are inherently evil and it is far more common for people to excite others to violence in the name of religion than in the name of the lack of religion. "

i agree.

except it is also true that far more people ARE religious than atheist, hence ceteris paribus we would EXPECT to see more evil justified in the name of theism than atheism

the staggering fact of the 20th century was the undeniable fact that atheism did NOT result in peaceful regimes, but the exact opposite

which proves my point. man's evil shows plenty of suckitude when it wants. regardless of religious influence

[TZ]

40. Okay how many Western Countries are theocracies?

Almost ALL the European govts are strictly secular as is Australia and Canada. The US is SUPPOSED to be secular but is not.
So don't give me this nonsense that "atheism has never resulted in peaceful regimes".

[selador]

41. i said

that atheist regimes showed JUST as much suckitude (at least) as theistic regimes

secular regimes are NOT the same as atheist regimes.

do you grok the difference

and fwiw, we ARE a secular government.

[onager]

35. Satan doesn't exist. Coulter does.

n/t

[SidDithers]

42. Ahh, I see you're new here...

welcome to DU.

Sid

[hifalutin]

18. That sounds

like a very bigoted opinion to me.

[onager]

17. Napoleon Bonaparte. At least a version of it.

"Religion was created to keep the poor from killing the rich."

Another good one attributed to Napoleon: "Never argue religion. It has too great a hold on the minds of fools."

When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, he toyed with the idea of converting his entire army to Islam. He thought this would swing the Egyptian population over to his side.

That only lasted until he talked to a few imams, who told him Islam prohibited drinking alcohol but required circumcision.

He wrote a pretty funny letter to the holy men. First, he said, wine was essential to the health of French soldiers, so teetotaling was a non-starter. And as for circumcision, Napoleon wrote that he was already somewhat...lacking in those parts, and regretted that he could not lose even the smallest bit.

:rofl:

(After Napoleon abandoned the army in Egypt and went back to France, one of his generals did convert to Islam in a massive public ceremony.

There are 2 stories about why he did it. The boring one says he wanted to impress the locals. The more interesting story says he fell in love with a gorgeous but devout 16-year-old Egyptian girl who refused to marry a Christian.)

[ozone_man]

24. So, it was Napoleon.

Then the concept was borrowed heavily by Marx. I think it's a natural conclusion to arrive upon, for free thinkers anyway.

"wine was essential to the health of French soldiers" :rofl:

You have to love that guy.

[PassingFair]

39. Denis Diderot said it better!

“Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest”

Are we there yet?

[mtnsnake]

8. If religion is kept private, no. Organized religion? Probably.

[Occam Bandage]

10. No. Don't be stupid.

[TexasProgresive]

12. No humans are the root of all evil

and some do it in the name of religion, politics, for power or just plain hatred. This is not to say there are no good people. There are those who are good who are atheists, theists, Buddists, homosexuals, heterosexuals or whomever. People are people and they make choices that bend them towards evil or good.

[crawfish]

13. It's a paradox...

A thing that has a capacity for good has a capacity for evil. You can power a city with nuclear power; or, you can blow it up. A car lets me travel long distances and see things in a weekend that people 100 years ago didn't see in a lifetime. Yet, that same car lets my in-laws travel 100 miles to see us over a weekend.

If the capacity for evil in religion is great, that is because it's capacity for good even greater. There is an underpinning of charity, kindness, love, giving and caring that religion provides that at least equals the evil that's done in its name. And the problem is, there is NO proof that in an absence of religion something else of equal power won't arise to take its place.

[Jamastiene]

14. You asked this in R/T?

Mmph, that's gotta hurt. Something tells me are going to need this:

[Goblinmonger]

30. A giant red buttplug?

:shrug:

[Georgie_92]

46. LMAO .

[Georgie_92]

45. No, lol I asked it in primaries, it got moved.

[selador]

15. rubbish

if there is one thing the 20th century proved conclusively, it is that man does not need religion to inspire or justify evil.

this is a tired claim that never dies, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

[TZ]

20. I think it does create some evil yes

Is it responsible for all evil? No. You have other things like mental illness, egomaniacs, lust for power and lust for money.
But it *does* contribute. Anyone who denies that has blinders on.

[onager]

23. Y'know, Hitler had some strange atheist allies in WWII...

Spain: Gen. Francisco Franco, a very famous atheist. :crazy:

Slovakia: Josef Tiso, former Catholic priest turned dictator.

Croatia: Ante Pavelić, founder of the Ustashi. He had a personal audience with the Pope in 1944. That would be the same Pope, Pius XII, who watched from his windows as Italian Jews were rounded up in St. Peter's Square and hauled off to the death camps.

Hungary (1944, after Horthy abdicated): Ferenc Szálasi, leader of the anti-Semitic and fascist Arrow Cross Party. Just FYI, atheists don't normally form political parties containing the word "Cross."

Crosses have the same effect on us that they do on vampires. Not really, I just made that up, so don't go adding it to the Wikipedia entry on atheism or anything.

Romania: Gen. Ion Antonescu, leader of the fascist Iron Guard and a raving anti-Semite. He belonged to the Romanian Orthodox church, for the curious. After Germany itself, Romania killed more Jews and Roma (Gypsies) than any other nation. The Romanian government admitted that in a 2004 report.

An Iron Guard student leader, Viorel Trifa, had an interesting career after WWII. He escaped to America, became Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the U.S., and once led prayers in Congress. Trifa was finally stripped of his US citizenship and deported in 1984.

[dmallind]

50. Yep - all atheist armies have "God is with us" on their belt buckles. NT

jlj

[pingzing58]

22. Cupiditas radix malorum est! It's not religion its "cupidity."

[Jim__]

25. No.

Not if you consider killing other humans evil. We need resources to survive, for instance food. Even if we were herbivorous, as our tribe grew, we would come into competition with other tribes for resources. In primitive man, this struggle for resources was deadly - it was deadly in our non-human ancestors.

The struggle for survival and some of the attributes that aid in survival lead to a pretty violent species. I believe that inevitably leads to "evil".

[pingzing58]

28. In nature there is no morality only survival. Big fish eat little fish. It's the way of nature.

[Jim__]

29. And everything that happens is "natural".

"Evil" is just a label people attach to some of the things that happen.

[Realityhack]

31. No

But that doesn't mean it isn't evil. Just that it isn't the root of all evil. I would argue human stupidity is the root of all evil and religion is just one of the symptoms of our general stupidity. Certainly religion can be viewed as evil but I would not say it is the root of all evil.

[kedens]

33. Not if you follow the Golden Rule...

The Bible says"Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not." Romans 12:14 , You probably already know that the Bible tells us not to judge others and to love your neighbor as yourself. Those who use religion as a stumbling block for those would follow the light, are not in light but rather in darkness. Jesus said, "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.". As a Christian myself, I believe that Satan as our greatest adversary is trying hard to turn us away from God. Satan will try the hardest with those that are getting closest to God.
I can not judge each minister. Some of them may be misled, some turned by Satan, some may be evil. These are things God can judge and it is not my place. Besides there may be few that have sinned as greatly as I have.
What I can tell you though is that God and Christianity is all about love and hate should have no place in our hearts. I am sorry to hear that you have stopped going to church. I pray that you do not stop following our Lord though. Just because some people shut up the kingdom of heaven doesn't mean that you are not loved. Christ calls us to repent, let go of worldly desires and material possessions, and to love one another as ourselves. It truly is not easy and the moment you embark on that path, Satan will try to stand in the way, and tempt you. I am sure that Satan has tempted and misled many good Christians and ministers, but don't let him mislead you.
May the love of God which surpasses all human understanding go with you. :-)

[pingzing58]

34. Sorry no such creature as satan - "satanas, stumbling block"

[Meshuga]

37. Religion can be used as a tool for evil

It can also be used as a tool to achieve good things. but I don't think it is the root of all evil just like it is not the root of all good either.

[goddess40]

43. it's a tool used by evil people

and those that belong need to take the responsibility to be alert for that, they need to ask questions even when they are being told not to question.

I think religion provides a great service toward the social needs of people and then evil people like Pat Robertson come along and exploit it.

[Deep13]

44. Not all evil, but much of it. nt

[Georgie_92]

47. Through my children I have met

some very religious parents. I am appalled, when friends of my children come over, I let them have drinks and snacks. Yet my children have to watch when they go over and their children have a drink, being told to go home.
Two very religious kids, stole my kids PSP system, parents refuse to speak with us. I can't talk to them without Jesus coming up.
I am tired of it.
I am a very empathic person, but these people disgust me, telling my 8 year old will go to hell because he listened to a rap song.
I could go on and on about it.
If they are right, I wanna be wrong! They can quote the scripture, but don't live by it, hypocrites.

[hifalutin]

49. There's religion............

and then there's religion.

[Rob H.]

51. The root of ALL evil? No. The root of a LOT of evil? Yes.

I agree with Dawkins on this one--he objected to his recent documentary being called The Root of All Evil? because, as he put it, "Religion is not the root of all evil, because no one thing is the root of all anything."

[Manifestor_of_Light]

52. Blaise Pascal.

"Men never do evil so cheerfully and efficiently as when they do it in the guise of religion."

-- Blaise Pascal, Mathematician/philosopher/expounder of the laws of probability



Not the cause of all evil, but the philosophical justification for a great deal of it.

[pegleg]

54. Then I guess the officially atheistic Chinese should be cheered

for stomping out all that evil religion in Tibet?