Would society fall apart without religion?

[Taggart]

One of the roles that religion has played historically is maintaining standards of 'decency' and right and wrong. Be good and you go to heaven. Be bad and go to hell. Do you think society would go into a dark age without this incentive?

I am not religious btw, I just think a lot of otherwise degenerate people have an incentive to be 'good' because of religion.

 

[amdforever2]

Society will not fall apart without religion.

Religion is rule through fear. People no longer, and arguably never did, need to be ruled that way.

 

[nboy22]

I don't think it would because logic can tell us when something is wrong, like murders, obviously it's taking someone else's life.

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: Taggart
Would society fall apart without religion?

No, but this would.

 

[Cooler]

People need somthing to belive in other wise people would feel life had no meaning.

 

[Brainonska511]

Some people cannot be internally motivated to be good so they need external motivation. Some people may fall apart without religion, but I don't think society as a whole would.

 

[Appledrop]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
Society will not fall apart without religion.

Religion is rule through fear. People no longer, and arguably never did, need to be ruled that way.

qft. Seeing as all the religions were imposed by leaders in order to maintain control to exercise their corruption, the world would be a lot more free and happy no doubt. We would have had no Hitler, Saddam, and George Bush without religion thats for sure.

 

[mercanucaribe]

China is doing fine without religion.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Cooler
People need somthing to belive in other wise people would feel life had no meaning.

Hmmm...you word that statement into a very broad spectrum saying just 'people'.

IMO, some people are like that, but most aren't. I think most people will naturally accept life, with or without "meaning". I didn't really have true a concept of religion until I was in my teens...I wasn't ever depressed and "lost" over the meaning of life.

 

[BurnItDwn]

If there was no religion then people would find something else to do whatever it is that religion does for them.

 

[imported_goku]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2

Originally posted by: Cooler
People need somthing to belive in other wise people would feel life had no meaning.

Hmmm...you word that statement into a very broad spectrum saying just 'people'.

IMO, some people are like that, but most aren't. I think most people will naturally accept life, with or without "meaning". I didn't really have true a concept of religion until I was in my teens...I wasn't ever depressed and "lost" over the meaning of life.

Ah but you would 'realize you were' had you encountered a 'spiritual guide' like a cult leader or a priest etc...

 

[WHAMPOM]

Originally posted by: Taggart
One of the roles that religion has played historically is maintaining standards of 'decency' and right and wrong. Be good and you go to heaven. Be bad and go to hell. Do you think society would go into a dark age without this incentive?

I am not religious btw, I just think a lot of otherwise degenerate people have an incentive to be 'good' because of religion.

Please look up,"EUROPE","DARK AGE". Nearly a thousand years of Christian rule and repression.

 

[ViviTheMage]

no

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I think we'd be better off. The irony is that many religious people consider athiests amoral at best - to me religion is largely a shorthand way of forcing weak-minded people to behave themselves out of fear. The older I get, the less I can even respect it.

 

[GeneValgene]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
Society will not fall apart without religion.

Religion is rule through fear. People no longer, and arguably never did, need to be ruled that way.

look at communist china. you don't need religion to rule with fear.

 

[Engineer]

While I agree with what the OP states, there are also "radical" versions of religion that can have (and do) the opposite extreme in which they seem to cause more trouble than they curtail (footnote: Not everyone of a particular religion, just large pockets).

 

[Kadarin]

Religion as a social force is a means to unite very large groups of people, transcending even national and ethnic boundaries. This can be for good or bad.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: goku

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2

Originally posted by: Cooler
People need somthing to belive in other wise people would feel life had no meaning.

Hmmm...you word that statement into a very broad spectrum saying just 'people'.

IMO, some people are like that, but most aren't. I think most people will naturally accept life, with or without "meaning". I didn't really have true a concept of religion until I was in my teens...I wasn't ever depressed and "lost" over the meaning of life.

Ah but you would 'realize you were' had you encountered a 'spiritual guide' like a cult leader or a priest etc...

lol! They'd convince me it was a "disease".

 

[91TTZ]

No, it wouldn't.

I think society would do better without religion, because it would give them one less thing to fight about.

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
No, it wouldn't.

I think society would do better without religion, because it would give them one less thing to fight about.

They'll make up new reasons.

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
China is doing fine without brain washing cults.

Fixed.

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: Baked

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
China is doing fine without brain washing cults.

Fixed.

Yeah, instead they execute you when you say "please don't kick me out of my house for a new Wallyworld factory."

 

[destrekor]

i think that this point in time the cultures on this planet are not capable of living the same way we do now without religion.
give it some time and all religion will be ditched as we grow smarter and come to realize more on our own. that or we will all die in mass extinction at the hands of nature

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
China is doing fine without religion.

China still has religions. Text

During the short 3 year period when religions were actively suppressed, the so-called "Cultural Revolution" led by Mao, millions were murdered amongst widespread violence, and the only actual religious result was to create a "cult of personality" religion with Mao as a kind of god.

The suppression of freedom of belief has always led to oppression and tyranny, and it has never succeeded (both for obvious reasons).

 

[lrad50]

society would be better w/o religion.