[Ben Overmyer]

Humans at one point, will all be properly educated. Universal educational system. Where humans are allowed to think freely, without worry of being indoctrinated by their parents, teachers or peers into some religion. It will be a universal, intelligent acknolwedgement that no higher power exists.

The problem is not religion, which is in itself harmless. The problem, rather, is dogmatic belief in something, and that applies to more than just religion.

For example, take politics. There are more than a few people who believe ardently in a specific political system to the point where they believe any other political system is Evil and Bad. They may even attempt to justify it with lofty ideals and overarching statements, but absent from their arguments is concrete, empirical evidence...much like religion.

It's all dogma, and dogma is counterproductive to society.

Also, it's foolish to believe that someday in the future every single human being on the planet will be omniscient and free from bias, which is essentially what you're suggesting will happen.

[Lone Gunman]

You want to get rid of world religion huh? But do you also want to take away some basic civil liberties with it?

I am an atheist. I believe religion has caused some, but not all of the world's problems. So what's my solution? If you GENUINELY want to convert people to atheism you educate them. If they don't want to be atheist, you leave them alone. I believe if religion is going to be phased out it has to be done through education and discussion, through the realization of the religious people themselves. I'm not about to take away someone's right to believe in something as harmless as a god or gods simply because I don't.

Lone Gunman

[sportspadawan]

I don't see one bit how religion is bad. Yeah, some people go over-the-top and kill due to them not believing the same thing, but it also gives hope and morals to many people. I have seen many, many people in my life give up religion and begin to do bad things, and vice versa. Religion does do bad things, but it also does many good things. I really don't see why we have to judge either side of it. If we were all good citizens in the end, what would it matter what we believed it? Leave atheists alone, leave believers alone. Just be good American citizens.


In a way, I'm agreeing with Lone Gunman. You can't take away someone's right to believe just because you don't believe in it. For all we know, there is a God or not. Half of the things we believe in every day we don't even know if they exist.

[canchin]

What can we do to rid the world of religion?

1. Remove their tax free status and demand quarterly accounting statements while taxing them at the usual corporate tax rate in all countries.

2. Remove all tax free status from all members of the pyramid scheme from the upper level managers all through their various downlines and force them to provide quarterly business accounting statements as well.

3. Remove all provisions to donors that give them - the donors - tax breaks if they donate to a cult.

4. Clarify that religions are human-created cons that have nothing to do with the Transcendental world or God whatsoever.

5. Enforce anti-Pyramid scheme laws.

6. Outlaw all religious cult advertising on TV, radio, movies, and in newspapers and magazines.

7. Outlaw any and all mention of religious cults to children and enforce the advertising ban in all children's books and educational material.

8. Enforce total separation of government from cult influence.

Actually, applying 1, 2 and 3 might do it, but 4 to 8 are necessary as well so that the evil of religious cults does not somehow slither back into public.

Since religious cults have nothing to do with God anyway but are only used to create war and hate and fear to the greater profit of the conmen involved, there is no need for them.

[sportspadawan]

If your that brainwashed to believe religion is the cause of MOST problems in the world, I pity you. Religion is not the problem--it's the radicals who believe in them. Many-if not all religions that I have studied state nothing but good, to accept others for what they are, regardless if they believe in it. The radical nutjobs who ruin religion for everyone else have nothing to do with their God (because they are committing their religion's "sin") or their religion (they obviously don't know their religion's commands if they press them upon others). I don't believe in anything particularly, but all the true Christian/Muslim people that I know, that truly follow otheir religion's laws, wouldn't hurt a fly. They accept anyone and everyonen for what they believe. THOSE people are the true "children of God" as they say. Not the ridiculous people who don't let anyone else believe in what they do not. I'm really sure that their God would want them to kill....the idea and thought of a "supervising being" above us is far more likely to deter people from bad action then a silly Justice System, cause obviously that barely works. No one is scared to do anything these days, cause their punishments are so bleak and miniscule since our prisons are packed full. But the idea that you will have an afterlife of complete misery, rather than either being reincarnated or seeing your loved ones, works far better in deterring bad things.

[Lone Gunman]

I think people have already asked this before. The answer is simple: we can't morally force people to abandon their private beliefs because even science has its flaws. What science does have, however, that religion doesn't is the ability to grow and expand and to correct its previous mistakes. Religion is stagnant and this is perhaps why, in the last century, there has probably been more criticism of religion as a whole than at any time in human history. This has of course lead to people abandoning religion in droves.

But to MAKE religion go away isn't the right thing to do. It's like telling someone not to like cheeseburgers because you don't like cheeseburgers. See I can tolerate religion because I think tolerance is fundamental to a productive society and unless a religion is responsible for some kind of unlawful act then you can't really punish people for following it. You can't even punish those who were duped by a cult or something but weren't directly responsible for any misdeeds the cult might have done.

See cults, organized religions etc - it's all the same. People believe in it without much fuss, some people are conned into it, some people are brainwashed etc. There's a mixture of problems that stem from religious adherence. What we can do as a society is present OPEN debate and let people decide for themselves. Will religion exist in 10,000 years? I'd say unlikely...or at least not in the way we perceive it now. Remember 10,000 years ago religion was incredibly primitive and was restricted mainly to ancestor worship or the belief in unseen spiritual forces that took the place of unknown scientific explanations at the time. Since then religion, like any other concept, has evolved into being more and more complex as humans learned to write etc. The general backbone of religion, however, is of course stagnant and has remained relatively unchanged despite the mediums in which it is presented. The backbone being unrelenting faith in something which may not have any logical explanation.

But how long can we suspend disbelief? I'd say short of 10,000 years, mankind will become vastly agnostic or atheist in the next few centuries. Maybe even in 200 years. One thing is for sure though, dumbass atheists and dumbass religious people will most definitely have some kind of confrontation on a large scale within that time period as the world shifts.

Lone Gunman

[Sniperwolfe]

What's with all this argument that education defeats religion?

All the science in the world can not disprove religion at this point in time. I think there's also a connection going on here between church and religion, the elimination of churches wouldn't do much to defeat religion at all other then to be huge ads that you drive by.

Religion is here to stay, and whether you consider it stupid or not is up to you but don't go around saying it's stupid until you can disprove it. Remember the 'Big Bang' theory that a lot atheists jacked off to at night?

I mean logically, let's look at it like this using the Christian faith:

Christian:

Pros if Christianity is correct:
-Goes to heaven for eternity

Cons if Christianity is correct:
-

Pros if Christianity is false:
-Feels good about themselves being highly moral, side effects of moral being can be easily recognized

Cons if Christianity is false:
-None, will never regret anything

Atheist:

Pros if Christianity is correct:
-

Cons if Christianity is correct:
-Goes to hell for eternity

Pros if Christianity is false:
-Lives a life of what-would-be-considered sin which probably would lead to more indulgence in things that provide satisfaction.

Cons if Christianity is false:
-

[McGentrix]

I see no difference between the religious people wanting to convert atheists and atheists wanting to convert the religious folk. Different cuts of the same cloth.

Why would we want to get rid of religion? Because some people have abused it? Everything gets abused by one group or another yet religion seems to get the brunt of the attacks from both sides.

If people want religion, let them have it. If you don't want religion, avoid it. It's not that hard of a concept. I've never understood why people were afraid of someone else's religion.

[MB.]

1. Remove their tax free status and demand quarterly accounting statements while taxing them at the usual corporate tax rate in all countries.

2. Remove all tax free status from all members of the pyramid scheme from the upper level managers all through their various downlines and force them to provide quarterly business accounting statements as well.

3. Remove all provisions to donors that give them - the donors - tax breaks if they donate to a cult.

4. Clarify that religions are human-created cons that have nothing to do with the Transcendental world or God whatsoever.

I like cachin's ideas.