religion,, is it really needed? Options

[OriskybusinessO]

Lets say that no one ever knew about God, or how we got here (im not trying to offend anyone here, or saying this is true etc.) but do you think that we could go on w/o something to tell us how we got here. Which brings me to another point, what if someone just made all this religion stuff up? So, if from everyones brain, religion was erased, do you think we could go on w/o making something up, or discovering something new. Hey, i thought of something else, do you think that if there were more people focused on finding out how we got here (without God) would we find out?

Im trying not offend anyone by saying their religion is false, which i am doing, but nevermind this has no point...

[sammi rules you]

religion doesn't really have a point in my life, but to others, it's a source for comfort and answers other things can't provide. i'm not religious myself, cause i just believe other things to be more logically true to me, but different people need different things to keep their minds stable.

[fameONE]

I met someone yesterday who is an aetheist. Not because he doesn't believe in God, but because religion hasn't been forcefed to him throughout his life. All he cares about is beign a good person, and from what I gathered, he seemed like a good guy.

Religion, to me, is just a form of conditioning (Brave New World reference). Everyone is conditioned differently at different levels. If from an early age, your parents pounded Catholicism into your head, you're probably going to turn out a devout Catholic. Religion shouldn't determine your character and I don't think you need it to be a good person. But for me, I just need to believe in a being bigger than myself.

[Teesa]

I have always wondered that myself..I'm an atheist, or at the least I'm agnostic, so I think that religion is just a source for comfort for people who need something to depend on, so it's not necessary at least in my point of view. I can still believe in things and not be religious.

[Kriegsgefangene]

I believe that sitting and pondering hinders what you can actually do for yourself now. Spending your life/time looking for something that is just a belief is quite absurd, especially when there are things you could be doing for other people or yourself.

That is all?

So, I suggest you don't think about life too hard, and just find a way to make it better, like working on a project or hanging out with friends. Make yourself happy, and not sad because you cannot find the answer to life itself.


>>
That was my post from another topic.. I believe it fits here pretty well.

[Saeglopur]

Religion is actually hope for some people. They think it's all that they've got... it actually depends on your influence and the people around you.... for that matter.

[Levy2k6]

i think we couldn't live without religion. we probaly would find something else to live for. cuz we cant live just to live... its like an ant.. i think ants have religion too.. lol. they probaly pray and stay still before u step on them.. lol.

[OriskybusinessO]

yes, but not all of us 'live for god' if that is what your implying. And some of us have other things to live for such as ourselves.

[CreateBlob]

Religion includes what we believe in. We believe in keeping faith. We believe in falling in love. And we believe in life. If we didn't, then there would be no religion, but also, no life.

In the sect/cult/category type of interpretation, ..IMO, there has to be a religion, or at least a creator. If there isn't, how did we end up from being amino acids? The beginning of the galaxy? Of space? Of emptiness?

[ohh_so_elektrikk...]

im not sure of all the religions that actually believe different things, but im sure everyone has an explanation for everything... hell, science teachers f**kin believe we are evolved from monkeys and shit... i dont believe that, but who knows how we got here, or how the earth was made or anything like that. most religions believe god created us, and other religions believe we were like, plants or some shit like that lol. im not sure if people would find out, since it happened so long ago. im sure people can go on if they found out that we got here some other way... but i know people will still believe in what they want to believe since its what gets them by everyday. sorry if im not making sense, that was kind of a hard question you asked

[gigiopolis]

I think that it doesn't matter if religion is "real" or "made up". Who cares if God exists or not? Who cares if God didn't create the earth, or the whole book of Genesis is incorrect? Because it doesn't matter. Religion is there to help people, an emotional crutch. Its main purpose is to give some moral value to people who need guidance.

I'm quite sure we would be able to live on without religion, because there are plenty of people in the world who are not religious and are the most loving and charitable. Religion helps those to become better people, but doesn't necessarily make them better people from the start. It only guides us and strengthens us, and doesn't actually create any moral goodness from us.

The whole above explanation may be contrary to what I say in debate a lot, that God doesn't exist and whatnot. But that doesn't mean I don't believe that religion helps many people around the world, because it does. I'm only against the fact that people are silly enough to believe everything in the Bible and take all of the text literally. I'm against the fact that people believe in Creationism, because I'm more on the theistic evolution side.

Hey, i thought of something else, do you think that if there were more people focused on finding out how we got here (without God) would we find out?

There are plenty of scientists that would like nothing more than to prove that the universe was created without the assistance of God or any higher power. What, are you saying that if everyone was non-religious, we'd find the origins of the earth and the universe? Hardly. Now, if everyone was non-religious and were well-educated scientists, maybe that would happen.

[OriskybusinessO]

well if everyone was non religious, maybe they'd be more educated on the topic of evolution, thats what im trying to say.

[onenonly101]

I don't have "religion" I have faith. God is my everything and the only thing i need. Humans are failures and will fail you, no need to rely on them.

Religion is not the problem. Civilization is the problem

[heyyfrankie]

religion doesn't really have a point in my life, but to others

some people at my school say that it gives them something to believe in and that helps them to keep living life...or something like that.

[Spirited Away]

Religion is not the problem. Civilization is the problem

The most civilized nations, and even those that are not, are rather religious. If civilization is the problem, then isn't religion part of the problem?

[aznxdreamer]

religon gives people faith and hope and something to believe in. without religon, the word will become a major catastrophe. religon is what influences people to not do drugs, murder, lie, etc. people want a reward in the good things they do, heaven is the reward in most religons. religon makes people do good things wether its to not go to hell, or the love to your god. if religon were obsolete, society would become chaos. it would be the bad sides of society right now times 10. religon is important. sometimes people turn to god when they are in trouble or need help. praying and stuff. if there was no god, no one to turn to when you were having trouble in life, chances are things will build up and soon lead to suicide.

[Spirited Away]

religon gives people faith and hope and something to believe in. without religon, the word will become a major catastrophe. religon is what influences people to not do drugs, murder, lie, etc. people want a reward in the good things they do, heaven is the reward in most religons. religon makes people do good things wether its to not go to hell, or the love to your god. if religon were obsolete, society would become chaos. it would be the bad sides of society right now times 10. religon is important. sometimes people turn to god when they are in trouble or need help. praying and stuff. if there was no god, no one to turn to when you were having trouble in life, chances are things will build up and soon lead to suicide.

... I do not have a religion, but I do not use drugs nor do I want to kill myself or do bad things.

If mankind must depend on something other itself and what nature offers to survive, then that means we already lack the will to live since our inception. Man made religion (note: religion doesn't represent the Creator), not vice versa.

[OriskybusinessO]

religon gives people faith and hope and something to believe in. without religon, the word will become a major catastrophe. religon is what influences people to not do drugs, murder, lie, etc. people want a reward in the good things they do, heaven is the reward in most religons. religon makes people do good things wether its to not go to hell, or the love to your god. if religon were obsolete, society would become chaos. it would be the bad sides of society right now times 10. religon is important. sometimes people turn to god when they are in trouble or need help. praying and stuff. if there was no god, no one to turn to when you were having trouble in life, chances are things will build up and soon lead to suicide.

Ha! religion is NOT what influnces people to not do drugs. that is the biggest peice of crap ive ever heard. do you know how many people out in the streets in gangs killing people wear crosses around thier necks and believe in god?!?! Some are even killing IN THE NAME OF god, ex. a certain group of mormans... most (i'd like to say all, but its probably false) religious people live the most perfect moral following lives. Look at warren buffet, the richest man in the world...

[EddieV]

Religion in my opinion (if it's not real that is) is used to teach people to be good. They always say which religion is better than the other, but in fact, the basic rules of every religion is the same, no killing, no lying, no stealing etc. So if Religion was never made, these rules would apply by common sense.

Aside from that we would have other theories of how we existed...

I think I just made no sense...

[aznxdreamer]

Ha! religion is NOT what influnces people to not do drugs. that is the biggest peice of crap ive ever heard. do you know how many people out in the streets in gangs killing people wear crosses around thier necks and believe in god?!?! Some are even killing IN THE NAME OF god, ex. a certain group of mormans... most (i'd like to say all, but its probably false) religious people live the most perfect moral following lives. Look at warren buffet, the richest man in the world...

those are sinners.

[swe3ttemptasian]

it's a guide through life to help you think of your wrong doings and not to do them. thats just my opinion.

[Spirited Away]

those are sinners.

yes well the point of it was that even those who have religion can be bad. religion cannot prevent people from doing bad things, wanting to kill themseves and others... etc as said in your previous comment.

[aznxdreamer]

yes well the point of it was that even those who have religion can be bad. religion cannot prevent people from doing bad things, wanting to kill themseves and others... etc as said in your previous comment.

i never said trhat every single person thats religous doesnt do bad things. if there werent, then thered be no such things as sinners, right?

[Spirited Away]

i never said trhat every single person thats religous doesnt do bad things. if there werent, then thered be no such things as sinners, right?

no you didn't say everyone, but you didn't imply otherwise so it is natural that we assume you spoke in general terms. in fact, the word "people" is used to generalize everyone.

thanks for clearing that up.

if religion doesn't prevent sinners, then i guess that rules out your comment about religion makes people do good things.

[aznxdreamer]

no you didn't say everyone, but you didn't imply otherwise so it is natural that we assume you spoke in general terms. in fact, the word "people" is used to generalize everyone.

thanks for clearing that up.

if religion doesn't prevent sinners, then i guess that rules out your comment about religion makes people do good things.

again with the not everyone thing.

you really dont like me, dont you?

[Spirited Away]

again with the not everyone thing.

you really dont like me, dont you?

why do you think that?

i said the word 'people' is generalizing and i thanked you after you cleared up what you meant.

all of a sudden that means i don't like you?

this is a debate forum and you said that religion makes people do good things. however, you contradicted yourself by saying that even religious people will be bad...

i only wanted to point that out for the sake of debate.

i did not mean to make a personal offense. if so, i apologize.

[aznxdreamer]

why do you think that?

i said the word 'people' is generalizing and i thanked you after you cleared up what you meant.

all of a sudden that means i don't like you?

this is a debate forum and you said that religion makes people do good things. however, you contradicted yourself by saying that even religious people will be bad...

i only wanted to point that out for the sake of debate.

i did not mean to make a personal offense. if so, i apologize.

im not offended. i said it in a you know..cutesy way. dont worry about it

[Spirited Away]

im not offended. i said it in a you know..cutesy way. dont worry about it

now that i think about it... it is cutesy. thanks.

[ItzOnlySydney]

i am athiest. therefore i don't rly have a religion. but for some people it is something to fall back on.

[smile4me]

if the world didn't have religion, i think that we'd invent it anyway. or some form of it.
some things can't be explained (yet), and when people can't explain these things, they think of something and explain these phenomenons through that reasoning.

its liek the ancient greeks. a big storm? a god is mad.
infatuation between a man and a woman? a god is playing matchmaker.

[fameONE]

Reiligion can be abolished altogether but then some form of religion will be invented for the "good of mankind." Haven't any of you ever read Brave New World? Aldous Huxley was a muthaf--kin' genius.

[*xcaitlinx*]

i actually think it would be a lot better. For one, people wouldn't view other people as "sinful" or "evil" because they believe in a certain god/thing or even nothing at all. Like touch my monkey said, people find comfort when they believe in a god...so i think that people would be a lot less dependant on others if there were no religions. They'd probably have their own beliefs that developed in THEIR minds, not the minds of others meant to be followed.

[skateforfree]

religion doesn't really have a point in my life, but to others, it's a source for comfort and answers other things can't provide. i'm not religious myself, cause i just believe other things to be more logically true to me, but different people need different things to keep their minds stable.

[kandeep9]

I think that society needs religion...because if we didn't have it, then we'd fall apart. Religion is something that keeps large groups of people together, striving for the same belief. Yes, the religions are sometimes separated from each other, but the belief that there's a higher being brings us just a little bit closer. =]

[*Weird addiction*]

Seriously, i find religion useless (no offense) i mean, what good does it do? It does more bad than good IMO.

[OriskybusinessO]

exactly, it does cause more good than bad, war, etc.

[*mona lisa*]

religion, to some people, gives them a reason to live. it tells them how to behave, what to do, what not to do. there are also other reasons, but religion contributes to it. without it, some people have no reason to go on with their lives, because they have no way to keep society stable.

[antix10_kos]

Ancient people made up stories about magic and magical creatures to explain the world around them. The world was confusing and strange to them and they had no scientific way of explaining the things around them. Their stories varied from simple tales about morals...i.e. fables and rhymes, to complex plays, epic poems and songs...which is how the Bible came to be.

It was easier to believe that if you do a dance or if your pray to the invisible man above the clouds, rain will come pouring down, than it was to believe that nothing controlled it or that nature was uncontrollable. Religion was a source of solace to anicent peoples.

Ancients had a god or a goddess for everything. Some religions around today do the same. Some religions only have one God. In the end, most religions have the same messages...acceptance for all, love for all, and heaven/the next life awaits the good person. Even if you don't follow any one religion or any religion at all, those are still good rules to follow.

In conclusion, some people just need re-enforement and explination of the rules. That's why some people believe as they do and attend church every Sunday and do the "right things", whatever those are to them. Even if God/religion had never been capitalized or formalized, religion would still be around. Every ancient society had some form of religion, every civiliization has their fables, creation tales, and legends. There's no way religion could NOT have ever existed.

Could we find more possibilities of creation if we tried harder? yes. Will we ever? yes. Will people ever accept them within our lifetimes?? probably not. Thousands of years of beliefs and explination and re-enforcement against the announcements of a few scientiests and academics will not stop the power of religion.

[lolthissiteisfun...]

Lets say that no one ever knew about God, or how we got here (im not trying to offend anyone here, or saying this is true etc.) but do you think that we could go on w/o something to tell us how we got here. Which brings me to another point, what if someone just made all this religion stuff up? So, if from everyones brain, religion was erased, do you think we could go on w/o making something up, or discovering something new. Hey, i thought of something else, do you think that if there were more people focused on finding out how we got here (without God) would we find out?

Im trying not offend anyone by saying their religion is false, which i am doing, but nevermind this has no point...

I think people need something, no matter what religion, to put their faith in, and not to feel like something is missing. They need something to help explain why things are happening, and science does not fill that void for some people. Also I think religion and the morals that go along with some religions keep our world from getting crazy

[demolished]

Religon helps potect people and has restriction for bad things such as killing.

W/ out religion, i think most people will do more of a bad things. i'm just guessing.

[OriskybusinessO]

umm, what about the U.S. Constitution and Laws?

[Spirited Away]

I'm going step away from normalcy and argue for religion. Just for fun this time because I've read a funny article about "moral free-riders". Trust me when I say I have already formulated a response against this way of thinking that has to do with perception, but I would like to see how everyone else feels about this.




Religion is important to society no matter what any one may think. Atheists and Agnostics reap the benifits of religion by free-riding societies whose morality is derived from religious worship.





There.

[sadolakced acid]

no;
religion took these morals from society first.


religion with morality came after religion without morality.

human sacrafices; then the greeks made thier religion require morality.
however; religion was used to propogate morality, not create it.

a society without religion would have morality none-the less.

[Spirited Away]

Haha, I didn't expect you first Mr. Acid... but hey, I'm not good at arguing for the other side... so, instead, i'll just let you read this excerp from the text I read from.

In economics and political theory, free riders are people who benefit from actions of others, without doing anything to merit it. I asserted in The Moral Free Rider Problem that liberal-socialists are free riders on the social order of Western civilization, which they did not create and do not support.

Western civilization is founded upon the moral rules of conduct deriving from our Greek philosophical and Judeo-Christian religious traditions. Atheistic and agnostic liberal-socialists are moral free riders who benefit from living in a society ordered by the morality of spiritual religion, while sneering at spiritual religion and moral codes as simple-minded ignorance. At best, they do nothing to contribute to social order. Too many of them do everything in their power to discredit or to destroy the very source of social order. Without Judeo-Christian morality, they would be in the position of scientists and scholars in Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia: working under orders for the collectivized National State.

It's funny, but the first thing I thought when I read that was... if religion=morality, then what was the Crusades! Haha.

[Domonic]

Um. Although I dont agree with it, it IS needed now that it has been introduced.

Society needs it. They need to feel safe. They need comfort. I think the majority (notice I said "majority") of people practice religion either because of the environment they were raised in, or because they hate thinking that when they die, they are dead, and that's where it ends. They don't want to say goodbye...

Religion will always be a part of society. Most humans will always need it. Now that people's moral decisions are based off of religous claims, religion will always be here. Although I find it absurd and contradictory, the majority of people dont and majority rules.

Religion has caused death and suffering, amongst other things..but take away the concept of religion after it's been introduced, and you will see society crumble.

The only way we could expel religion (which would never happen) is if new born children were kept isolated from society and raised by atheist parents. But even if that occured, it would not be definate, being that Christianity was introduced to the parents. Yes, they are atheists, but people can change...and over time, it would happen. The concept of God would slip into someones mind, then another, and another. It is an infectious disease. Heh heh

So: Civilization would have to completely start over. And eventually, the new generation, like us, would invent the concept of a higher being.

Hmmm. That would make an interesting film...o_0

Religion came and it will forever stay.

"It is an interesting and demonstrable fact, that all children are athiests and were religion not incalculated into their minds, they would remain so."
-Ernestine Rose

[sammi rules you]

^ and that's the coolest kid everrrrr. :p

you should make that movie.

[winterzflamez88]

I've questioned God a lot also. I always wondered those things. For Christianity, they always say that if u dont believe in God, then you're going to hell, but wut if sumbody was never exposed to the religion? It wouldn't be fair for them. And when God put down evrything in the bible, wouldn't that be unfair to illiterates? wut if mary was a liar, then christmas wuld b all a lie.

I think religions are good to make you a better person, but they're not absolutely necessary. ppl can believe in god, but that duznt giv them a rite 2 say evry1 that duznt is doomed. n i dont think it's rite 4 ppl 2 revolve their life around God. It's just wrong

but no matter how much i doubt christianity, there r so many ppl out there who believe in it, so it must mean sumthing. i'v red parts of the bible and bn 2 church a cuple times. those ppl try so hard to "save me." i can't understand them, no matter how hard i try. i want 2 no, but it duznt seem like i can

[Domonic]

but no matter how much i doubt christianity, there r so many ppl out there who believe in it, so it must mean sumthing.  i'v red parts of the bible and bn 2 church a cuple times.  those ppl try so hard to "save me."  i can't understand them, no matter how hard i try.  i want 2 no, but it duznt seem like i can

I hate when people try to convert others. It's sickening. I can relate. I've dated someone who broke up with me because I refused to go to church with her family and take part in religous activities. Like worship group, etc. They wanted to "save" me, but they actually made me feel awful by shutting me down because I was different from them.

It's one thing to have a firm belief in something, but to force it upon others is disgusting. It's like a slap it the face. Overtime, though, I just found it amusing.

Oh, the amusing/offensive/hilarious thing's I've said to people on my doorstep asking me: "Have you found Jesus?"

[xXYouMeBedNowXx]

There are quite a few points on this that I'd like to reiterate. First of all, I do not believe in a God, or in this case, what people say is God. I find myself in my own context of a supreme force or process rather than a being. In other words, a manifestation. I am a Fatist. I believe in Fate and its process simply because it makes logical sense to me and the other religions of the world don't have much back.

Religion, I feel, was created because we needed an explanation for things we could not understand. When we did not understand how the Sun worked, religion provided an answer. When we wanted to know how we began, religion gave us an explanation. Very simply, what we do not understand, is provided. And, what we do not understand instills fear into us, providing the comfort of religion. Simply put.

The abolition of religion could do better without. Or at least, what we know as religion today.

I'll come back on this later.

[tmauze]

this is actually related to something i've thought about alot. the way i take what this, you're asking what would happen if no one had a religion, right?! well, if so, i think that religion is something that gives comfort to all those who believe, and a reason to live. plus, by human nature people are curious and without religion, we WOULD find some other way to describe the beginning of time. go as far back as you want, and there was always an explanation for unknown things, whether myth or truth. so basically what i'm saying is that people find comfort and day-to-day strength from religion and if we had no religion in our world today, we would just find another way to explain evolution.

[Domonic]

Yeah, it isn't surprising that we humans are sometimes afraid to say "I dont know." Especailly on the subject of why we're even alive and breathing.

I just think it's ignorant that we (many of us) cannot admit we will never know exactly where we came from...

It's like that one kid in everyone's math class who has absolutley no idea what the hell he's talking about when the teacher calls on him, yet he'll b.s his way as far as he possibly can and try to make sense out of something he dosen't even understand... Don't you have more respect for the quiet kid out of focus who isn't afraid to say "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

???

[XoJennaoX]

I agree with you Domonic, for some reason it is in our human nature to want to know everything. We don't like saying we simply don't know or suffer the fact we will never understand.

The thing is WE created religion. If it wasn't here, someone somewhere would most-likely create it. A very common misconception is that God, Jesus, etc. created religion. No. Whoever wrote the bible was a philosopher, seeking the "truth", WE are the ones that decided to worship and preach and yada yada yada. This is how religion began, because of us and OUR beliefs.

We will always ask how did we get here?, where did we come from? it is in our nature and has been historically proven. But i firmly agree we just will never know...but i think it makes things a lot more interesting...lol

[Domonic]

Exactly. Created by people.

The thing is, I dont have a problem with the core of any religion. I've read into alot of things...and I can see why people would find peace believing what they do. I just choose to believe (or disbelieve?) what feels comfortable to me. It's what people have done to it and how they put others, who don't do EXACTLY what they do, on a lower level..

One of my pet peeves is when Christians think that you must hold moral christian values to hold values at all...

I am not a Christian; but I know what feels right to me.

They want you to feel as great as they do, yet every single person on this earth has a seperate set of desires. No one is going to agree. I don't have problems with what anyone believes or feels. I don't like debating because it makes me feel great to prove others wrong. That's not the point. The point is to notice new things, and advance your knowledge on where you stand.

I'm friends with many Christians, and some of them understand where I'm coming from. I openly talk about issues like this on a regular basis with them, but I never try to force my beliefs upon them.

...But I can't say that my Christian friends haven't tried to force their beliefs upon me.

And that's the problems that I focus on the most.

Am I absolutely 100% possitive that I'm right? Of course not.

But neither are they...And why would you force others to believe something that you don't fully understand and can't prove?

[tmauze]

I am not a Christian; but I know what feels right to me. 

Coming from a Christian perspective, I have to admire what you are saying. Not many people are able to be in such tune with themselves that they know what is right for them. In my life, this is where God comes into play; when I don't know what is right for me, I have God to lean on. However, the fact that you have your own beliefs and are still able to respect different persepectives is awesome and a rarity at that. Having been said, I'm brought to this:

But neither are they...And why would you force others to believe something that you don't fully understand and can't prove?

Obviously being a Christian I am demanded to spread the word of God. But often times I wonder that if I can doubt myself and my faith, then how in the world should I be able to contradict what others said? What makes me right? I could give scientific proof and the whole Bible, but that doesn't always make me believe. It's different.

Don't get me wrong, I fully believe in God. But I simply cannot stand those Christians who think they are better than anyone else in the world because they do believe in Jesus. Talk about hypocritical.

[darklync]

i mean if u can live ur life and do something positive with it, such as volunteering and ect....then i dont think its that important. however, some people need structure in their lives, they have to have answers and therefore need religion.

i personally think religions r nothing but people fighting over whose right (i think ur all wrong), but thats just my opinion.

[Domonic]

i mean if u can live ur life and do something positive with it, such as volunteering and ect....then i dont think its that important. however, some people need structure in their lives, they have to have answers and therefore need religion.

Volnteering/community sevice/ect is a much better way of showing your appreciation for being alive in my opinion.

You're definately helping more people. How is listening to stories about miracles and singing songs you have no interest in helping the world, and bringing humans closer to "God"? It's helping you "think" you have nothing to worry about. That's all. It makes everything okay in your mind...which dosen't understand.

Wouldnt you rather help a child whose parents passed away? Or help a man who has a disability? I would. I know if my parents died, I would want comfort from my friends. I wouldnt want them praying for me in a church while I sit at home being miserable..

"One single act out of love is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer."
-Gandhi

[*StanleyThePanda*]

Religion is needed.
the end

[Spirited Away]

Religion is needed.
the end

It doesn't really work like that in debate...

Come one, grace us with an explanation. I implore you.

[*StanleyThePanda*]

Religion is needed
Because it is a part of diversity needed
And because if we didnt have it then we'd be walking around doing nothing
With nothing to believe in
and no hope for anything.

[Spirited Away]

Religion is needed
Because it is a part of diversity needed
And because if we didnt have it then we'd be walking around doing nothing
With nothing to believe in
and no hope for anything.

I don't have a religion, yet I do things, and I do have hope. I'm not sure what you mean.

[sammi rules you]

err yea. i'm not really religious whatsoever. i don't need religion to guide me; i could really care less..i live my life and it's pretty darned good at the moment without the presence (that looks like it's spelled wrong..?) of God. i don't need to follow someone and be happy. i'm not hoping to be saved or anything. i'm perfectly fine without religion, and i bet if you looked around and saw how many others are fine without it as well, you'd realize it's not needed. sure, it gives people hope, a reason to live, yadda yadda, but OBVIOUSLY you can find other things to give you hope and a reason to live. i don't live to serve some guy up in the sky, i live just to live. i live to make me and others around me happy, not to make something that i can't logically believe in happy.

and look at me. i'm just fine.

[Domonic]

Yeah. What alot of people tend to not realize is that even without the belief in God, you still experience emotion. Everyone feels, whether they believe in God or not.

"...with nothing to believe in, and no hope for anything..."

Nothing to live for? What about love? I would definately say that's something to look forward to (if you've already experienced it, why should it end there?). Loving someone, and being loved, I would imagine, is the greatest feeling imaginable.

Believe in yourself, and your fellow humans. There's something to believe in. But thanks to religion, that's hard to do, seeing as how most people must disagree and force what they believe is right on others, not thinking about their perception of living.

(Again, not everyone.)

[XoJennaoX]

Religion is needed
Because it is a part of diversity needed
And because if we didnt have it then we'd be walking around doing nothing
With nothing to believe in
and no hope for anything.

don't take this as offensive...i don't mean it to be

Religion to me is selfish.
Instead of investing in prayers for ourselves, we should be offering our kindest and warmest affections to those around us. We should not build churches, but build homes for the homeless -- we should not ask God for forgiveness for our actions, but those we have harmed -- we should not pray for things to happen, but make them happen. We should not rely on an entity that does not help our humanity, or something that has only guided so many to bigotry, or rely on the unseen to do what we must do for ourselves, or praise anything that became nothing more than an “idol” that brings misguided violence.

If a person reserves their love for God, they simultaneously deprive love from those around them. By giving our kindness and affection, our sincerest hopes and dreams, desires and aspirations - to this "being without evidence"- we are losing focus of the ONE THING that we do know: our lives. And by losing focus on our lives, and those around us, we are ignoring the one thing that we know for sure: that we, as material beings, do exist, and that we are capable of feeling joy and suffering and we have the capability inside us do what is right, regardless of what we are told to believe is right. Whether a person desires to be a Christian or an Atheist, a Buddhist or a Hindu, it is their own decision. But it is our actions, and not our beliefs in a religion, that ought to be monitored. For a religion to ignore this is the greatest of ignorances, and is better left out of the world.

[Domonic]

*tear*

Beautiful.

[loljuliana]

i think people follow a religion so that they have someone to turn to when they are feeling bad about things. it probably helps them feel better, and help keep their hopes up.

[jue]

i guess many would say yes you do need religion; but in my point of view i think yu could maybee not live without religion because your religion is somethign you believe in and thats what keeps yu motivated(=