[Sqweerl]

Religion literally creates war

War creates war.
Money creates war.
Race creates war.
Beliefs create wars.
People create war.

Yes nearly everything creates war

Sadly yes. But without the wars we wouldn't be here now.
Most big advances in technology happened in times of war. (ex: Germany WWII)

That is really true, and without war we wouldnt have fanta :)

[Gooze]

Lots of things cause war, but religion is definitely one of the most consistent and prominent factors. That said, in times of peace it's still able to give many, many people a place of happiness and hope and a strong community. I think the amount of happiness it can give people counters out the amount of pain it causes, in the long run.

[necr0]

No, I believe religion is a mental illness.

I don't really see how believing in something is a mental illness, but sure.

I think history confirms this. All the war, the Inquisition, the isolation of monks, the escapism, the homophobia, the us-and-the mentality, the hadephobia, the scapegoats, the xenophobia, the ostracism, the corruption, the thievery and con jobs, the misogyny and busted marriages. Somebody had mental problems, that's for sure.

[Gooze]

I think history confirms this. All the war, the Inquisition, the isolation of monks, the escapism, the homophobia, the us-and-the mentality, the hadephobia, the scapegoats, the xenophobia, the ostracism, the corruption, the thievery and con jobs, the misogyny and busted marriages. Somebody had mental problems, that's for sure.

>the war: not exclusive to religion.
>the Inquisition: okay. There are non-religious movements too.
>the escapism: what? How on earth do you think this is a sign of mental illness? People are not burying themselves in worship or devoting every minute of their lives to chasing a religious delusion. Everyone uses escapism. Video games, books, movies, sports, etc.--all of these are used as refuges from reality. There is nothing wrong with using escapism once in awhile. I would say it is a necessity.
>the homophobia: not exclusive to religion. There are other forms of bigotry, e.g. racism, sexism, transphobia, xenophobia, which may have roots in religion but are just as prominent among nonbelievers.
>the us-and-them mentality: not exclusive to religion at all. Nationalism, cultural and ethnic pride, even members of competitive hobbies and clubs have this mentality.
>the hadephobia: hardly different from fear of death, something that is mutual to believers and nonbelievers alike.
>the xenophobia: just as common among nonreligious people. This is a nationalism thing.
>the ostracism: not exclusive to religion whatsoever.
>the corruption: what a joke. Anything that has a system of authority or any rules will have corruption.
>the thievery: what? How are you connecting this to religion?
>the con jobs: see corruption. This isn't associated with religion and would happen regardless.
>misogyny: not exclusive to religion.
>busted marriages: yeah, because nonreligious people's marriages are all fine and merry. Because most people break up because of religion instead of adultery, abuse, financial issues, family problems, lack of interest, etc. Damn you, religion it's your fault my isn't working!

Are there religious people who are mentally ill? Yes. Does being religious make you mentally ill? Absolutely not; are you fucking daft?

Religion has played a huge part in human history, and as such, it is going to reflect a lot of human nature. This includes insane people, it includes aggression and war and corruption, and it includes hope and love and faith. None of these things are exclusive to religion. Religion is a conduit--hate and terrorism and murder would happen no matter what we believed in.
The hivemind is dangerous, but again, this is not exclusive to religion. Any time we have a crowd mentality, be it nationalism, racial pride, or religious beliefs, we will have the potential for a pitchfork-equipped mob. This isn't a religious thing.

Bad people can harness the hope and faith people have in religion and use it to do bad things. These people are mentally ill. Their victims, among them those who are convinced or pulled along, are not. Religious people, who maintain belief in a god in order to have a source of hope and sense of community, are not.

Religion is not a mental illness.

[Dr Zoidberg]

^ Was about to write something close to that, not in so much detail but you beat me to it.

[necr0]

I think history confirms this. All the war, the Inquisition, the isolation of monks, the escapism, the homophobia, the us-and-the mentality, the hadephobia, the scapegoats, the xenophobia, the ostracism, the corruption, the thievery and con jobs, the misogyny and busted marriages. Somebody had mental problems, that's for sure.

>the war: not exclusive to religion.
>the Inquisition: okay. There are non-religious movements too.
>the escapism: what? How on earth do you think this is a sign of mental illness? People are not burying themselves in worship or devoting every minute of their lives to chasing a religious delusion. Everyone uses escapism. Video games, books, movies, sports, etc.--all of these are used as refuges from reality. There is nothing wrong with using escapism once in awhile. I would say it is a necessity.
>the homophobia: not exclusive to religion. There are other forms of bigotry, e.g. racism, sexism, transphobia, xenophobia, which may have roots in religion but are just as prominent among nonbelievers.
>the us-and-them mentality: not exclusive to religion at all. Nationalism, cultural and ethnic pride, even members of competitive hobbies and clubs have this mentality.
>the hadephobia: hardly different from fear of death, something that is mutual to believers and nonbelievers alike.
>the xenophobia: just as common among nonreligious people. This is a nationalism thing.
>the ostracism: not exclusive to religion whatsoever.
>the corruption: what a joke. Anything that has a system of authority or any rules will have corruption.
>the thievery: what? How are you connecting this to religion?
>the con jobs: see corruption. This isn't associated with religion and would happen regardless.
>misogyny: not exclusive to religion.
>busted marriages: yeah, because nonreligious people's marriages are all fine and merry. Because most people break up because of religion instead of adultery, abuse, financial issues, family problems, lack of interest, etc. Damn you, religion it's your fault my isn't working!

Are there religious people who are mentally ill? Yes. Does being religious make you mentally ill? Absolutely not; are you fucking daft?

Religion has played a huge part in human history, and as such, it is going to reflect a lot of human nature. This includes insane people, it includes aggression and war and corruption, and it includes hope and love and faith. None of these things are exclusive to religion. Religion is a conduit--hate and terrorism and murder would happen no matter what we believed in.
The hivemind is dangerous, but again, this is not exclusive to religion. Any time we have a crowd mentality, be it nationalism, racial pride, or religious beliefs, we will have the potential for a pitchfork-equipped mob. This isn't a religious thing.

Bad people can harness the hope and faith people have in religion and use it to do bad things. These people are mentally ill. Their victims, among them those who are convinced or pulled along, are not. Religious people, who maintain belief in a god in order to have a source of hope and sense of community, are not.

Religion is not a mental illness.

>the war: not exclusive to religion. - no shit, but in this context it is. don't just dismiss Hitler's chirade in 4 words.
>the Inquisition: okay. There are non-religious movements too. - why bring up other non-religious stuff? i'm talking about what religion has done here.
>the escapism: what? How on earth do you think this is a sign of mental illness? People are not burying themselves in worship or devoting every minute of their lives to chasing a religious delusion. Everyone uses escapism. Video games, books, movies, sports, etc.--all of these are used as refuges from reality. There is nothing wrong with using escapism once in awhile. I would say it is a necessity. - religion actively targets the mentally weak to convert them and spread the word. yes everyone uses escapism but to use imaginary angels and making wine from blood to keep the mentally weak at bay.
>the homophobia: not exclusive to religion. There are other forms of bigotry, e.g. racism, sexism, transphobia, xenophobia, which may have roots in religion but are just as prominent among nonbelievers. - entirely exclusive to religion, mother nature wouldn't have developed it in such a way.
>the us-and-them mentality: not exclusive to religion at all. Nationalism, cultural and ethnic pride, even members of competitive hobbies and clubs have this mentality. - another reason why it needs to go, just another club to shun humanity and their
>the hadephobia: hardly different from fear of death, something that is mutual to believers and nonbelievers alike.hardly different from fear of death, something that is mutual to believers and nonbelievers alike. -  it's a religious concept otherwise it would be just a plain fear of death.
>the xenophobia: just as common among nonreligious people. This is a nationalism thing. - but to have it written down in a holy document to shove in their believers face, to make them act out on it
>the ostracism: not exclusive to religion whatsoever. - no but they practice it. stop moving the religious debate to a debate about how bad humanity is as a whole.
>the corruption: what a joke. Anything that has a system of authority or any rules will have corruption. - you're a joke, if we remove religion it will be one less authoritarian on the battlefield.
>the thievery: what? How are you connecting this to religion? - stealing our time, stealing our resources away from real human issues. like increasing knowledge about condoms to those in africa instead of telling them it's against god.
>the con jobs: see corruption. This isn't associated with religion and would happen regardless. - obviously, the whole damn religious structure is a con.
>misogyny: not exclusive to religion. - but extremely prevelant.
>busted marriages: yeah, because nonreligious people's marriages are all fine and merry. Because most people break up because of religion instead of adultery, abuse, financial issues, family problems, lack of interest, etc. Damn you, religion it's your fault my isn't working! - but they do, they get frustrated and blame their god for not giving them a happier life or whatever they want to do.

Are there religious people who are mentally ill? Yes. Does being religious make you mentally ill? Absolutely not; are you fucking daft? - it does make you mentally ill, believing in nonsense.

Religion has played a huge part in human history, and as such, it is going to reflect a lot of human nature. This includes insane people, it includes aggression and war and corruption, and it includes hope and love and faith. None of these things are exclusive to religion. Religion is a conduit--hate and terrorism and murder would happen no matter what we believed in.
The hivemind is dangerous, but again, this is not exclusive to religion. Any time we have a crowd mentality, be it nationalism, racial pride, or religious beliefs, we will have the potential for a pitchfork-equipped mob. This isn't a religious thing. - so it's about time to remove it, considering the **** it has given the world.

Bad people can harness the hope and faith people have in religion and use it to do bad things. These people are mentally ill. Their victims, among them those who are convinced or pulled along, are not. Religious people, who maintain belief in a god in order to have a source of hope and sense of community, are not. - so why do they have to believe in a religion to have hope, why not just crack on and stop wasting time praying and get jobs done.

Religion is not a mental illness. - yes it is.

We need to strive to remove religion from having any say in our world, it only slows humanity down. It's fogged your vision, it's made you question yourself. Hurry up and move on.

[Gooze]

>the war: not exclusive to religion. - no shit, but in this context it is. don't just dismiss Hitler's chirade in 4 words.

What context are you referring to? The "war is a religious thing" context? I don't follow.

>the Inquisition: okay. There are non-religious movements too. - why bring up other non-religious stuff? i'm talking about what religion has done here.

Because you're acting as if religion is the leading factor in the chaos of the world, when it isn't. Nonreligious movements are important in considering how destructive any one factor is, because it's all relative.

religion actively targets the mentally weak to convert them and spread the word. yes everyone uses escapism but to use imaginary angels and making wine from blood to keep the mentally weak at bay.

It really doesn't.
Believing in something greater than yourself does not speak to your intelligence or willpower. Religious people are not predators waiting to pounce on their next weak-willed, gullible victim.

>the homophobia: ... - entirely exclusive to religion, mother nature wouldn't have developed it in such a way.

"Mother nature wouldn't have developed it"? Explain.

just another club to shun humanity and their

Little weird to cut it off there, but okay.

>the hadephobia: ... -  it's a religious concept otherwise it would be just a plain fear of death.

If religion didn't exist, the hadephobes would just become necrophobes. It's the same people. It wouldn't make a difference.

>the xenophobia: just as common among nonreligious people. This is a nationalism thing. - but to have it written down in a holy document to shove in their believers face, to make them act out on it

We do the same thing with the Constitution. Writing things down is essential to humanity: it serves as proof that things were agreed upon and decided. The practice of shoving things in others' faces is shared among atheists who feel the need to chant "religion is a mental illness" against anyone who dares to practice it.

>the ostracism: not exclusive to religion whatsoever. - no but they practice it. stop moving the religious debate to a debate about how bad humanity is as a whole.

You don't understand--that's my argument. Humanity would be just as bad as a whole without religion. "No but they practice it." Yeah, so does everyone else. Therefore, it's not a valid point against religion.

>the corruption: ... if we remove religion it will be one less authoritarian on the battlefield.

It would be replaced by something else. It's human nature.

>the thievery: what? How are you connecting this to religion? - stealing our time, stealing our resources away from real human issues. like increasing knowledge about condoms to those in africa instead of telling them it's against god.

Sure, that one example applies to your point, thanks. Religion has built societies. Religion has given people a reason to get up in the morning. Religion has been productive.

obviously, the whole damn religious structure is a con.

Not to the people who believe in it, rely on it, use it to structure and build entire communities, create charities inspired by it, etc. Does it matter if it's real if it gives people hope?

>busted marriages: ... - but they do, they get frustrated and blame their god for not giving them a happier life or whatever they want to do.

Yeah no. That happens to everyone. That isn't a religious thing. Everyone is told from birth that they deserve to be special and happy and content, that they deserve to get the girl. This is a cultural, not religious. It applies to humanity as a whole, thus, it is not a valid argument against religion.

it does make you mentally ill, believing in nonsense.

You have no way of proving it's nonsense. Even if you could, it is not mentally ill to believe in something that doesn't exist. Gullible? Sure, I guess. Mentally ill? No, don't compare being religious to being anorexic or bipolar.

so it's about time to remove it, considering the **** it has given the world.

It's human nature. It would be replaced. What, do you think things would just magically get better if we took away all religion?

so why do they have to believe in a religion to have hope, why not just crack on and stop wasting time praying and get jobs done.

People aren't machines. Pain and suffering exist. Some people demand an explanation for it, and if they can find one that gives them hope and the will to continue living, I say they should pursue it.

We need to strive to remove religion from having any say in our world, it only slows humanity down. It's fogged your vision, it's made you question yourself. Hurry up and move on.

I'm not questioning myself on this. Do I sound uncertain to you?
If you're so efficient and hardworking without religion, why not just leave us all behind? Hurry up and move on.

[Resize]

which god is the right one to believe in?

[Gooze]

We have no way of knowing for sure. Whichever system has the better values, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Resize]

We have no way of knowing for sure. Whichever system has the better values, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

True true