Would The World Be better Without Religion

Gregg Easterbrook

[RightWhale]

A concept that doesn't play well with (L)ibertarians

I was a Libertarian until the day I realized that driving a truckload of chicken manure to the market to barter groceries was simply not the best system.

[another cricket]

religion has been the leading cause of death among humans.

False. Look at the slaughter committed by the communists. That far excedes anything done in the name of religion.

a.cricket

[x]

Non-religious ideologies were stronger and more destructive in the 20th century. Religion was seen as a bulwark against destructive materialism -- whether totalitarian and utopian, technological or economic.

The question now is where we are going. Will the future be an age of new atheistic ideologies? Or of materialistic trade and technology, with the potential for radical transformation of human nature? Or will it be a new religious age with the potential for renewed persecution and compelled conformity?

No path looks ideal. Perhaps the best we can hope for is a creative tension between the religious and the secular, which allows each some freedom, but keeps check on the extremes of both.

[f.Christian]

"against such(love)---there is no law"...true libertarianism!

Free will---liberty only begins with God(Jesus Saves)!

[colorado tanker]

Right you are. All the world wars of the 18th Century were fought over nationalist issues. The Napoleonic Wars were caused by French nationalism seeking world domination. There was no world war from 1815 to 1914, a time of great religious revival in the Christian world. WWI was caused by nationalism and authoritarianism. WWII was caused by fascist regimes for nationalist goals. Germany was hostile to all Judeo-Christian religions. The Black Book of Communism estimates 80-100 million dead due to efforts to establish communist states.

Tribalism and nationalism are often mistaken for religion because different ethnicisities often have different religions. Example: during the "troubles" in Northern Ireland the flags flown by the two sides were not the banners of the Catholic Church and the protestant churches, but were the secular flags of Ireland and the U.K. It was a fight between the Irish and Scotch-Irish for domination and wealth in the north - nobody tried to convert anybody.

The main exception to my argument is Islam. Many muslims believe the Sharia requires that any "apostate," i.e. any muslim converting to another religion, be executed. Many madrassas teach that the meaning of "jihad" is the killing of non-muslims. I think nationalistic and economic reasons underly much of this, but the way many muslims speak of "jihad" and "martyrdom" is frightening.

[gaspar]

Belief has been, is, and will always be as crucial to mankind as the air we breathe.

[copwife]

And just how many abortions have been performed in the name of God?

[Argus]

Religion doesn't kill people.

People kill people.

[Aliska]

but keeps check on the extremes of both.

The extremes will be checked by violence when treaties break down.

[A Navy Vet]

I was a Libertarian until the day I realized that driving a truckload of chicken manure to the market to barter groceries was simply not the best system.

HAHAHAHAAAAAA!

[No Left Turn]

Count again. Take the 20th Century alone. World I, World II, various Communist regimes (Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao, Castro, Kim Jong IL). Religion had nothing to do with the hundreds of millions who died last Century in various wars and progroms, and those numbers stupendously surpass all those killed in the name of religion in the history of man kind. States, not churches, are the most efficient mass murderers, by a long shot.

[MarkM]

Religion combined with an oppressive government is harmful. But a just government will stop violence against the innocent regardless of the "justification".

We have luckily been free of religous violence in this country because special rights are not granted based on religion or lack of religion.

Also probably the worst killing has been done by governments that are anti-religous: for example, the various communist regimes or even the French revolution.

So if you seek peace, fight oppressive government not religion.

[constitutiongirl]

You are soooooooo correct in what you said. There's nothing I can add, you've summed it up wonderfully.

[delphine]

States, not churches, are the most efficient mass murderers, by a long shot.

Very true, which is why it is imperative to keep these entities separate. Religion has only been dangerous when it has wielded state power (e.g. Saudi Wahhabism).

[sayfer bullets]

It is an intellectually lazy argument.

People want cookie-cutter answers to complex problems. Assigning man's sin, crime, and destruction to specific groups makes it easier to digest, especially in the body of an article or a "soundbite".

By the way, how would this author go about ridding the world of this infection?

[colorado tanker]

Thank you. I am constantly amazed by people today who smugly think that 20th-21st century-style secularism leads to peace while 19th century values, including religion, lead to war. The facts demonstrate the opposite - the secular 20th century was by far the bloodiest century in human history, while in contrast there was no world war from 1815 to 1914. I'm not saying turn the clock back, but our society could learn a lot from the Victorians who did many things right that we did wrong.

[Digger]

We were told that the Civil War which killed more Americans than any war was fought over black slavery. So would the world have been better w/o blacks? Gregg Easterbrook is a nutcase.

[Irish Queen]

Yes- religion is an invention of human beings. Mankind creates their own gods in their own vain images. Mankind designs their gods to serve best themselves.Religion is a hopeless madmade institution.

As a young adult I was religious. When I was 25 years old I stopped being religious and became merely a follower of Jesus. I am a Christian. I do not call myself an Evangelical, Catholic or Baptist or any other such name. Through the grace of God I am simply a Christian.

[KC_Conspirator]

I have listened to these ignorant article. A world where nihilsm and paganism dominates (Nazism) and atheism domiantes (communsim) has killed more people in the 20th century than all of human history combined. That includes the crusades, for this effing idiot.

Now you tell me which would be better.

[chilepepper]

It is not religion which causes strife in the world, it is the INTOLERANCE that comes with it.

If people would just feel comfortable enough with their religion instead of so damn insecure there wouldn't be attempts to jam it down everyone else's throat, as happens with fundamental christianity, islam, to a lesser extent with catholicism, most of the protestant sects, and a lesser extent still with the oriental religions such as buddhism (hare krisna to you too).

Being concerned with the non-material side of existence a vital component to our humanity, unfortunately this spirituality gets corrupted by ego, venality, the lust for power and all the sins which our species manifests.