I have heard numerous arguments against religion. A friend of mine once dismissed religion on the grounds that ‘it divides people’. I’ve heard that argument before and after that conversation I was compelled to put some thought into it. Following are some thoughts on that argument.
Religion does divide people. That is true. However, I prefer the word separate rather than divide and you will see later why. Religion does group people into different sects. Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus. These differences sometimes can cause disagreements and hostility between people of different religious backgrounds. Wars have been waged in the past and present in the name of religion and often times the resentment follows through generations to come.
But here’s the thing people tend to overlook. Religion divides people; but so does race, ethnicity, nationality, political philosophies (democracy vs communism), language (Quebec vs English Canada) etc. Look at the wars that have been waged in the past century. At least 60 million people have died in armed conflicts in the past 100 years. How many of these wars were ‘religious’? Did the Americans bomb Hiroshima for religious reasons? Did Stalin massacre thousands for religious reasons? Did the genocide in Rwanda happen for religious reasons?
The number of people that been killed in so called ‘religious wars’ is miniscule compared to those in secular wars. So the point is, why insult religion and put down its beauty by making it responsible for our disunity? Look at all the hate that has resulted because of democracy. I’ve never heard any one ridicule democracy or blame wars on it. Why the double standard?
Here is what people need to understand. Humans are inherently different from one another. No matter what you do, people will disagree over one matter or another and will always have different opinions. As humans we all have an identity, a set of values or a philosophy which suits our rational faculties. We cling onto people who share this identity and pledge allegiance to them. No matter what one tries to do, this cannot be changed and is in fact something that God has programmed into us and is there for a reason. God says in the Quran,
“If thy Lord had so willed, He could have made mankind one people: but they will not cease to dispute” (Quran 11:118)
“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you nations and tribes, that you may know one another” (Quran 49:13)
I gather three things from the above verses. One the confirmation that we have been purposely made different and have been split into nations and tribes. Second that disputation is also a part of our nature and even if we were one nation we’d continue to dispute over religious matters. Lastly, the purpose behind our divisions: to learn from each other and not to despise one another. Living in peace and learning to co-exist is a divine trial and we as humans ought to live up to it.
If anything, religion unites people that are divided. Look at the history of the Arabian Peninsula before and after Islam for example. The Arabs had a strong sense of tribalism and maintaining the honour of their particular tribe was of utmost importance to them. This resulted in never ending wars where one tribe was always trying to take revenge and shedding blood in order to remain ‘honourable’. After the advent of Islam, not only was the Arabian Peninsula united but along with it were Eastern Europe, North Africa, India and Western China.
‘Okay fine, religion isn’t the only thing that divides people and maybe it can unite people sometimes too. But what about hostility, hate and resentment between people of different faiths? Wouldn’t our world be more peaceful without all this religious bigotry? One less reason to hate’
What people don’t understand when they ask the above question is the following: Religion isn’t the cause of hate amongst people; religion is the justification for hate. No religion inherently preaches hate. No religion inherently teaches one to be hateful to others; they preach the opposite in fact. Yes, religious people differ but differences don’t equal hate. Theological disagreements don’t usually amount to hate and deep rooted resentment.
Hate is a human problem. It is a manifestation of anger, pride, greed, struggle for power and other human flaws. The Palestinians don’t hate Israelis because they are Jewish; they hate them because they are oppressed by them. Even in that case, religion is used as a justification for hatred.
Some people argue that a world without religion might not be perfect, but at least better than what it is today. I argue that we’d be in a position that is far worse as the good that religious values bring far out weight the divisions attributed to religion. The divisions would remain the same even if you remove religion. People would find other excuses to justify hate and oppression. Removing religion would just rid the world of the good that it brings about.
BloomingPeaches - Sit. Think. Imagine 
February 14, 2010 at 7:13 am
thanks for the insightful essay.
I guess politics has caused more battues than religion.
all the religions share common points , the differences are minor.In the Koran , The Almighy said that we were created different to know each other.alas , religion has been used as a tool , an ideological tool by politicians.the problem is not religion itself , it’s in the people who misuse it for certain objectives.and this misuse has formed negative stereotypes on Islam from jews and christians or vice versa.
another point , sport s’ competitions also tend to seperate peoples and citizens of a same country which is worse.
February 14, 2010 at 5:31 pm
The fact of the question concerning religions is that they are by practice ,dogma and docrine (this is well supported by present and historical evidence) is religions are the organizational “use” of a belief and not solely about the belief its self.
This is self evident in its selective choices of condenmations as well has it attempts to dictate and influence educational systems.
The outrage felt on a world wide scale against such actions center upon that encougemental actions of discrimination.
For a religion to claim a God created it all then in the next breathe say parts of it are an abomination is not only discriminating it has equally placed itself in judgment of the very things this being created.
This is highly evident of well known well examined examples of a selective bigotry found in many parts of human nature. Which is excusing and justifying it behind the use of a belief.
This selective bigotry is in direct conflict with the nature of existance and the nature of nature.
History both the past and the present is littered with such excused use of a belief.
What is not understood is the difference between a belief and the use of it.
August 19, 2010 at 7:13 am
“Religion divides people; but so does race, ethnicity, nationality, political philosophies (democracy vs communism), level of incomes, lineage etc.”
Yes, and all those things can cause hatred and hostility. However, saying that all these other things have the same negative consequences hardly justifies religion. It merely aligns religion with all these other issues. It makes it no less true that the more we all have in common, the better. Moreover, religion is actively preached. Religions are actively splitting populations along man-made divides. Politics does the same, but race, ethnicity, and nationality are all natural.
“Here is what people need to understand. Humans are inherently different from one another. No matter what you do, people will disagree over one matter or another and will always have different opinions.”
Yes, and religion panders to that. We need to progress. We need to be looking for new ways to make our race work together.
“Lastly, the purpose behind our divisions: to learn from each other and not to despise one another. Living in peace and learning to co-exist is a divine trial and we as humans ought to live up to it.”
Very idealogical. The issue is that while most religions claim to support concepts along the lines of “love thy neighbour”, they each apply their own conditions and exceptions. It’s that very contradiction that means religion will never aid peace.
“If anything, religion unites people that are divided”
In years gone by when communication was difficult, religion could unite local peoples. We now live in a truly global world. There isn’t just one religion in most areas. There’s a myriad. All fighting for airtime. On the global scale, religion cannot unite.
No-matter how hard anyone argues for religion, I think there will always be a more reasoned defence for the secular society.
January 5, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Very well said. I couldn’t agree more.
September 18, 2013 at 11:20 am
Well said ! I would like to add some points.
1. Isn’t it true that religion is what created racism, sexism, and ethenticity.
2.the war between muslim and christians killed innocents for centuries.
3. What about terrorism which killed millions of people and will kill for no good reason.
4.isn’t that true in most of world woman are/were treated like slave/animal.
5.isn’t it true that “bible” support slavery,sexism,racism .
6.isn’t it true that “quran” tells to not to be friend with jews,christians and others. Also it support all lthing that bible supprt.
7.isn’t it true that “manu smruti” (law book for hindu) tells us that it is ok for brahmin (hindu p
riest) to kill a person of lower class/ caste and it will not be count as sin. He can forgiven.
8. All three holy books I told you about in are claimed as written by god .
what i write above was just example if you open your eyes and look around you , you’ll find out that every religion tells us to hate each other ( some exception like budha). Religion hardly teach us a good thing . And if observe with your open eyes you will find out that most of the crime happening are directly/indirectly because of religion.
September 21, 2013 at 9:01 pm
no vicas..the Quran doesn’t say you shouldn’t befriend jews and christians. In fact, its probably the only text to actually recognize other religions and even allow for a degree of inter-religious marriage
July 4, 2016 at 7:18 pm
all your adding points are all wrong vicas
March 20, 2018 at 9:09 pm
Vikas I would like to share with you the Bible that I know. First of all, all religions aren’t responsible for racism, sexism, and ethnicity. Actually, ethnicity isn’t a bad thing, it is a part of your culture and even though I don’t always agree with people of my ethnicity I am still proud of it. Deuteronomy 10:17-19 says “The Lord your God is God of all gods… He is strong and wonderful. He does not take sides…18 He loves foreigners. He gives them food and clothes. 19 You also must love foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.” I can’t speak for other religions, but obviously, Christianity did not create racism. Also, Christianity did not create sexism. God has chosen many women to do things for the kingdom. I’ll give you an example. In the Bible, God chose Mary to have His only son. He did not choose her in spite of her gender, but because of her gender and the physical attributes of her gender. So Christianity cannot have created sexism when our God chose a woman to have our Savior. As for your second point, all Muslims aren’t mean terrorists with a mission to kill people. In Elementary school, I had a Muslim friend who was one of the nicest friends that I ever had. On the other hand, people have twisted the Bible and taken it out of context, like The Crusades. But you can’t take just a small group of people and assume all Christians are killers, nor can you assume that all Muslims are killers from some terrorist group. Christians have made all types of humanitarian companies, like The Salvation Army and the YMCA. For your fifth point, I don’t know if you’ve ever read the story of Moses, but basically what happens is there is a guy named Moses whose an adopted prince, but he runs away because he kills another guy. One day, while he’s still hiding God talked to him. He tells him to go back and deliver his people from SLAVERY. So the Bible can’t support slavery if God goes to tell a guy to risk his life to free his people from slavery. If you want to read the end of the story, it’s in the Bible. So Vikas, I hope that you take into consideration the points that I have given you.
August 21, 2010 at 8:24 am
The very point of its dividing and at the same time uniting rests entirely upon just what it does divid and unite and the reasons and motives of such.
Early law creation long before the concept of a police force was the use of beliefs as a means of civil comformity.I.E the use of the public to enforce a set of conduct along the lines of a belief concept for a tribe or village.
Law is in its base form a punishment for something a group considers an intolerable action.
The problem arises when the “intolerable” action is a bigotry of a life or lifestyle that in its reality harms no one yet is to some a thing of personal intolerence.
Religions spend a great deal of time telling people how they should be living and ignoring or excusing even justifying a hidden bigotry.
There is no set way for way of life.
The only common reality is we are all human, we all feel pain and we all have felt joy.
Bigotry is intolerence, no one can be expected to like all things , and no one should hate all things. tolerence means to tolerent, it does not mean to not tolerent.
It means the acceptance of that which is human and to learn the difference.
The things that make us different are the same things that make us the same.
Religions failing is its refusal to understand and its intolerence for understanding the humanity of humanity.
Its unity lays in it unity of the intolerence and its ablity unite against it.
October 4, 2010 at 12:21 am
I was blown away by this article, because I agree completely. As I read this, it felt as if it were coming directly from my own head. I have said some of the exact same things to other people numerous times in discussions or debates and its chilling to see them here in the same context and format. If more people in the world were a little more open-minded about religion, taking what you’ve written here as a push in the right direction, the world would be a lot less shitty.
April 26, 2012 at 8:15 am
“Religion divides people; but so does race, ethnicity, nationality, political philosophies (democracy vs communism), level of incomes, lineage etc.”
Yes, and all those things can cause hatred and hostility. However, saying that all these other things have the same negative consequences hardly justifies religion. It merely aligns religion with all these other issues. It makes it no less true that the more we all have in common, the better. Moreover, religion is actively preached. Religions are actively splitting populations along man-made divides. Politics does the same, but race, ethnicity, and nationality are all natural.
“Here is what people need to understand. Humans are inherently different from one another. No matter what you do, people will disagree over one matter or another and will always have different opinions.”
Yes, and religion panders to that. We need to progress. We need to be looking for new ways to make our race work together.
“Lastly, the purpose behind our divisions: to learn from each other and not to despise one another. Living in peace and learning to co-exist is a divine trial and we as humans ought to live up to it.”
Very idealogical. The issue is that while most religions claim to support concepts along the lines of “love thy neighbour”, they each apply their own conditions and exceptions. It’s that very contradiction that means religion will never aid peace.
“If anything, religion unites people that are divided”
In years gone by when communication was difficult, religion could unite local peoples. We now live in a truly global world. There isn’t just one religion in most areas. There’s a myriad. All fighting for airtime. On the global scale, religion cannot unite.
No-matter how hard anyone argues for religion, I think there will always be a more reasoned defence for the secular society.
I Stole this from the comment above us.
October 4, 2010 at 4:30 pm
There is always it seems those whom ask for more open minded tolerance of religion.
They well remind the faithful of the words of judge not les yea be judged or none believe until he wishes for his bother what he wishes for himself. or perhaps the quote of A state that is not delightful to me i would not wish upon another.
It is somehow asummed that such words are holy in some way and they never notice that each of those saying have absolutely nothing to do with a God or no God belief or a religious view.
Nor is it noticed that words of such nature have been in constant sayings by those whom care not for a religion and everything to do with humanity,
The faithful are so care to ignore the overly documented and way too often discriminating judgmentalism and sexist patterns of the use of a belief concept to excuse and even justify a bigotry of motive and intent.
A religion can not be half correct otherwise it is completely wrong.
Would the world be better off without religions? of course it would but to be better it can not follow the patterns of selective discimination or excused bigotry.
It can only be better when it admits its wrongs and learns to correct.
To do this it only requires and understanding of humanine humanity and that has never required a religion only a heart.
The only absolute un-denialable reality is that we are not islamic or christian,or jews or buddist, we are all human.
December 8, 2011 at 11:08 pm
Thanks so much for this article, I posted it on my FB’s wall, and get many positive respond 🙂
December 12, 2011 at 7:17 am
What makes a belief is in how one “uses” it.
Something becomes what it is when it as a purpose for use.
Someone can sit around and say they believe in something, yet until this belief is put to a purpose it is nothing more then a thought or an object.
A person has some sort of need and then they pray for it, until the need was there and there was no other way seen for it to happen they might then pray or hope by a praying it might happen.
Before this time or some other need the belief was nothing more then a thought or a submission to a cultural influenced concept, conformity to it.
Some people use a God idea as a means to justify and or excuse an opinion of someone else. Rather then come to terms with it they prefer to excuse it or justify it in a god idea.
We have all perhaps seen this sort of thing before.
I don’t like this persons way of living so they may use this belief concept to justify it rather then consider the real motive of why they think this way about someone else.
There is a ton of little out of context quotes and even in context religious quotes we have all read or heard from people justifying a position which if not for the religious reasoning would be thought of as something entirely different.
The motive explains the belief or the “use” which is the motive of intent, both being the same.
Seeing the motive, the excuse, the justifications behind such reasoning when compared to the reality of the human race reveals the character of the person and why the belief is there.
January 6, 2012 at 7:05 am
I personally do not care if a person wishes to believe in a god or not, it is how one uses a belief that betrays what it is to them.
Use it to excuse a bigotry, use it to hide a prejudice, use to discriminate, or cause a hate or encourage a disliking, or to conceal something about yourself you wish to hide then it is not a belief in a god or even a no belief in a god, it is what it is a bigotry of differences an intolerance of others and a denial of who you really are.
We are not Christians or Jewish or Islamic or Buddhists or any other name that divides us into discriminating intolerant parts.
The absolute reality is we are all human, we all are a part of it all, those discriminating labels, those intolerant separations that do and have divided us must with all possible speed be forever removed and the real reality of us must be learned or we will surely destroy each while claiming we were right in doing so.
January 17, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Your right! His unwritten words says “Religion is man-made, it separates My people. It causes war and death. What matters is the relationship you and I have, one-on-one, heart to heart. I’m your Father and your Best Friend. Don’t worry you’ll find where you will grow the most.”
March 14, 2012 at 12:43 pm
Oh ok just because it has causeed LESS Blood
Shed it’s all better now 🙂 … -__- wow ok well we aren’t in the holocaust anymore more so that was ok too. Why do we need religion? Why do religion preach certain things which are not really there? Why do Christians have to give money? I’m almost sure but if God was here he would do exactly what he did in the marketplace when he knocked over everything. Christians believe that Haven is much better? Then just shoot yourselfs? No? Why? Oh that’s right cause your born into control and you have to live a life of control in order to go to a place that has even more control? Is that what I’m understanding? Because science came after te scriptures and it debunked all of the stories which could not be explained yet science is bad right? And horoscopes are evil because they are made up? Kinda like the bible? Keep living God Like lives even though you will never because YOU ARE NOT GOD!
June 5, 2012 at 3:17 am
the issue is, that religion is just a weapon of our leaders. They wield it as a sword to keep people under control. People divided are much easier to control. You do not seem to understand that religion is totally not needed for anything. Its a drug for people in distress. They feel safer with a god behind them. But in reality this is a false safety, just look at all the jews that got slaughterd in WW2. Can you say this had nothing to do with religion? It had everything to do with religion. You can better all be together, we are all human. And you should never let religion come between you and other people. Its just evil
June 5, 2012 at 3:20 am
If you need religion to be good your a wortheless person in my view. I know many atheist that are far better then all those pedofiles in the church.
June 9, 2012 at 9:02 am
A book said to be about a god who is said in this book to of created all of life.
This book could have stopped with just this line in it about a god creating all of life.
This book does not stop here it continues with later statements said to be from this god about how all of this life it created must behave.
Here is where it becomes no longer just a god idea of a creator; it becomes an idea that is using a belief to conform all of human life.
How can someone claim it is using a god idea, when it also claims this god created all of life?
That line might look strange created all of life using a belief?
Would this god not be using people to tell all others how all those others should be living?
If this god created all of life and it needs a select few to tell all others how it wants everyone to live then this would mean this god must have made a few mistakes otherwise this being would have created it all to be the same in the first place.
This would also mean this god is unable to openly speak to everyone since it is clearly using just a few to convey its messages to everyone else.
Now a believer might come back and say, this god is speaking to everyone it’s all those others not listening that are wrong.
This also brings in yet another question about it creating all of life, why allow a lifestyle such as homosexuality to be in existence since so many of these god beliefs have condemned it?
Why the need to have other religions claiming this same god belief and having this conflict over which one is the true one?
Why is the woman viewed differently then the male, why the male allow doing something and the female not allowed doing the same thing?
This brings in certain realities that perhaps we all may have noticed in our life times about the human race.
If a god created all of life then of course these things about the human race it must have also created.
Human emotions, we all have them, love, hate, greed, lust, envy, jealousy.
We also have reasoning, motives.
We all have this and it is all a part of human reality.
We have perhaps noticed the jealousy seen in relationships, those insecurities, the envy perhaps the fear of discovery.
If a woman has an affair with more then one male she is looked upon by some as bring, do I really need to put the word in here of what she might be called?
If a male has many affairs with many women he is a stud.
Ever wonder why this opinion came about, anything in this about any possible male sexual insecurity?
Ever happen to notice how some males in relationships don’t want their female partner to go out or dress a certain way or have too many friends but the male can have many friends?
In our known history of the past we do know that the female was sometimes used as a trading agreement between tribes and families like property.
Even later as a means of uniting one kingdom to another.
Homosexuality this as been in existence thought all of recorded time, lesbian writing go back as far as the ancient creeks and is even found in ancient Egyptian times.
Why these fears, this bigotry about it? Why would a god created the emotions of the need for others in our life’s and then be so against an expression of love to others?
Those human realties of those emotions explain it very clearly; we have the fear, the lust, the greed the intolerances of differences, the envy that these emotions can express.
We also have the emotions of learning how it may feel to be on the receiving end of bigotry and the emotional ability to overcome this fear of differences and a mind able to reason.
We also have our motives for not wanting to learn, to remain in fear in ignorance.
We have self denial, envy, fears that can also cause a person to hide and only conform to those peer pressures a sociality can place upon a person who may wish to question or maybe different then what a given sociality is peer pressuring its people to all be like.
We have discovered in our history of what can happen to someone living different then a sociality wishing all to be.
Murdering a homosexual, killings of those not submitting to a certain way of life or belief, out casting of a person from a group or a family because they appear different.
A child entering school, those other kids teasing him or her, those peer pressures we all may have gone though in our life times.
None of the human race is so immune, so separated from all others to of not witnessed this somewhere in their life.
A group of friends wanting to do something they should not be doing, but you might go along with it out of a fear of not fitting in.
A belief that a god created everything can not also believe we have no emotional needs, that is a contradiction since this belief thinks a god created it all then this is also a part of its creation.
There is also another part involved in those same emotions, otherwise the emotions do not exist, the motives of those emotions and the reasoning to learn.
Otherwise this mind expressing those emotions that is belief of a god thinks it created would have no purpose.(why create it all, those emotions?)
Why have difference races, different lifestyles; or curiosity.
A book that uses an idea of a god demanding we all live a certain way is also saying this god must of made a few mistakes since clearly there are people in existence this god does not like and it needs this belief to tell everyone how they must be and this god it is not able to do so on its own.
This god also is not that sure of which one of its followers are correct with its massages and needs all these other beliefs to help explain it all?
This brings in the realties about the human race that some just either do not understand or simply can not tolerate about those realities.
Those emotions we all have and the reality of those needs, the motives of them and the ability or inability of reasoning.
Certainly if this god created everything this must therefore be a part of it otherwise why does this forum exist after all we are expressing those emotions and reasoning in here.
Schools do exist, relationships do exist, different races do exist, and different lifestyles do exist.
Any possibility that this god just might desire an end to bigotry, and maybe just maybe wants everyone to learn we all belong and perhaps this might be why those other lifestyles and races exist?
Perhaps an end of fear of differences and maybe that is why those emotions exist or perhaps there just might be a possibility we all evolved and this god idea if an early ancient form of law creation that perhaps might have been using a god idea to enforce a social conformity?
Is there anything in our history or present day that might show this is a possibility?
A storm that happens in one place is a god punishment for their wrongful lifestyle, but the same storm where they are is just a natural event?
All those in that other belief are wrong but the one you might have is correct?
there are many things between many lines in many beliefs
July 7, 2012 at 1:44 pm
It isn’t any God that divides people. It’s men’s own flawed idea of what God is and what God wants. All religions are a man made abstraction and they all claim not to be. The idea of God is an invention of man. It obviously is biologically based. Like music you find religion in every age, every culture. Religion is universal, therefore, man is biologically hard wired for religion when they are born. All men have their own religion, a sect with only one member. They take what they find in the culture around them, internalize it, and shine its light through the prvieism of their mind. What comes out isn’t always pretty. You can say what you want about the Soviet Union not being a religious country, but it was. Even if it was in self-denial about it. Russia always was and is today a country united in religion even while claiming to be anti-religious Communists. That is why Stalin allow the Church a rebirth during WW2, to further united the Russian people as the Third Reich was invading. It was Christianity that united the Russian people even during the Communist purgatory. The same religion as their penultimate foe, the United States. Was their ever any religion based more on peace and love and turning the other cheek than Christianity? Yet, the wars of Christian nations in the twentithh century shed oceans of blood. And eventually, Christianity was the religion of the two countries that held a nuclear sword to humanity’s throat threatening a gamma radiation end to the mammalian age and threaten it still to this very day. No more horses, no more higher mammals, never another song, ever. If religion didn’t bring us to this place that humanity finds themselves, it offers no solutions to extinction. It won’t stop us from exterminating ourselves as history has proven. It’s out nature that has brought us to this precipice despite religion. Or maybe, religion is just one of the many parts of out natures that contribute to our existential dilemma. Look at it this way: all tribal religions are false. God has left real evidence of His laws, His intentions, in the universe all around us. Some of these laws and proofs we call science. I think the first step out of our conundrum is to recognize, finally, what kind of creature we truly are and go from there. They claim God is unknowable, then tell you what he wants, desires in us and what he punishes and how many lashes the offender should get. Let’s all agree God actually is unknowable and since he is, leave him out of it! We have evolved and progressed as a species that it is becoming possible that follow the trail he has left all around that will lead us to him. Perhaps all the religions are wrong and God is knowable all we have to do, now that we can, is follow the yellow brick road He as paved for us. A road that may lead man to self-understanding as well. I think it will end up that way no matter what. We just live in a brutal primitive place in which man is still hashing this out. And a brutal, bloody hashing it is, too.
July 7, 2012 at 4:13 pm
That is a very broad assumption containing a lot of bias in its conclusion to auotmatically assume that because religion exists in cultures it is therefore a biological part of the human race.
Atheism exists in cultures around the world as well and as also always existed assuming the one is biological is missing the biological reality of the human race.
We are biologically able to question our own existence because of the evolved ablity of the minds biological proporties.
Curiousity is a part of the make up of human kind and of many species, the need to belong is a part of this same make up, peer pressures, submission and questioning is also a part of this culture of influences.
It is a mistake to assume the word religion is only related to some sort of god belief, religion by defination is a belief someone holds could be no god or a god.
In its organized view some might then call it a god belief (religion)and there are many types of god beliefs and many types of religions.
The defining difference could be agued a tolerence or intolerence of those beliefs.
The old my religion is the true one and all others are false, dispite both claiming a single god idea.
What is really being said is one can not stand the existence of some other belief not being like your own. (Intolerence being falsely justified)
A god created all life but look at all these sins.( an hypocrisy a prejudice perhaps even a bigotry a fear an ignorance being falsely excused a desire to conform all in denial of this desire)
It does not take a god belief or no god belief to know how it might feel if you were robbed, or someone is killed, you might use a god idea to excuse an intolerance of the factual existence of human kind’s differences in ways of life that are harmful to no one but are intolerable to others.
We have all perhaps noticed this and our history does example this sort of behavoir.
We have also noticed that the more we do learn of others the more a barrier can fall.
It used to be divorce was not allowed in religion, we learned better then to hold a person in bondage in an abusive and unloving relationship and the male if not the owner of the female.
A reality check on the given realities of human natures of jealous issues and sexaul fears.
There is a revealing bais towards christainity in your post which is a betrayal of its intent.
It is revealing of its intent in this quote” It was Christianity that united the Russian people even during the Communist purgatory. The same religion as their penultimate foe, the United States. Was their ever any religion based more on peace and love and turning the other cheek than Christianity? Yet, the wars of Christian nations in the twentithh century shed oceans of blood. And eventually, Christianity was the religion of the two countries that held a nuclear sword to humanity’s throat threatening a gamma radiation end to the mammalian age and threaten it still to this very day. No more horses, no more higher mammals, never another song, ever. If religion didn’t bring us to this place that humanity finds themselves,”
Self interest over the state interest of control, others had so many things we do not had a great deal to do with the fall of the USSR more so then a religion which works for its self interest.
This is seen in its embrace of capitalism over social control restricting capital interests.
If it were solely religious based and was solely about love and sharing it would contain a huge more amount of socailism and the total needs of all its people which was one of the issues behind the concept of a socialist state.
Atheism in the USSR was a desire to remove religious control over a state.
Those same self interests for power control lead it into becoming something more like a dictatorship.
Capitalism itself if left completely unrestricted can become a social form of dicatorship.
Just as religion once was in the middle ages, it used a form of social intolerences so called sins, and it contains a lot of evidence of this in its known history of not being tolerant of any questions about its dogma and writings.
What is knowable is what we desire to know, what we are tolerate of and what we are not tolerate of, how we excuse is the fault we do.
What the biggest problem is, is the same problem that has always been a part of the make up of the human race.
Bigotry, greed, jealous, sexaul intimacy issues, intolerence and willful ignorence is the issue that needs to be seen for what it really is and not excused and falsely justified behind any belief.
The excuses must end and the reality of us seen for what it has done.
July 16, 2012 at 3:52 pm
My conclusion that religion is a biological artifact is based on the fact that religion is universal, not in “cultures” or in some cultures, but in ALL cultures in All ages. My conclusion, is that because of this universality, in all ages, in all times, in all cultures, that there is a biological basis to religion. That if left to completely alone or even raised by wolves, man would have religion. Man is a religious animal. Like birds fly, bees sting: man makes up gods to worship in his own image that in some ways, usually, somehow reflect local environment they and/or their society is in. Atheism has nothing to do with what I’m saying. What I am saying is that even if you’re an atheist or a communist, whatever; it doesn’t matter, you’re human and you come into this world hard wired and ready to adopt whatever religious belief system you find yourself immersed in. There has never, ever, at any time, in any place been a culture or society on this planet in which religion didn’t exist. If that’s not biological, how do you figure that happened? I say the first step out of our situation to finally understand what and who we are as a species. We have huge, probably insurmountable blind spots as a species. Willful ignorance is key, I agree. But we don’t even understand what it is that we don’t understand. I can only hope for some shred of hope in that regard. Doesn’t look too promising.
July 17, 2012 at 5:56 am
Do you really think there is some devil like being out there sneaking into the hearts and minds of people to entice them into doing things?
Or is it more likely that there are people who like to do things that other people can not tolerate them doing?
I “m not talking about those offenses that affect us all like murder or thief those affect everyone and have nothing to do with a god belief or not because clearly we know how those kinds of events can harm each of us.
Or is there any possibility that there are people who will try to excuse something they did?
How often may we seen or heard of a minister caught doing some sort of sexual thing with their opposite or same sex and claiming they were enticed to commit this sinful deed?
Do you really think they were enticed by some evil demon or is it possible they really wanted to do this but during their life time they were fearful and submitted to peer social pressures and now wish to be excused be forgiven?
Now many times is it later learned they end up doing the same thing again?
Now many times has it been when another person beats up a gay person and later in life ends up later becoming gay.
Do you really need a god to tell you what you can not tolerate or is it possible you need the god idea to justify a position?
We know there are people in the same religions that have no problem with a person being of some other lifestyle, we know there are people in religion who understand the science behind evolution, we know there is others who take the opposite view and do not want things in their religion questioned, we know others will question.
Now both those positions of questioning something and not questioning something can be found in people in the same religion.
This brings in the next observation since both these positions can be found in people in the same religion what is the motive?
Why did the person beat up the gay person and later in life become gay?
Why did the minister have an affair with their opposite or same sex and later tried to be forgiven and then later perhaps does it again?
Because they were moved anyway from this god religion or is it possible they were unable to admit or come to terms with how they really are?
Why does one person in the same religion become so enraged against any questionings that might show something in a book such as a bible as being wrong and the other person in the same religion not become enraged?
Any possibility they may have conformed so deeply they might think anything that could in the least way show it as maybe being wrong that they simply will not tolerant it?
Any possibility the one is willing the other unwilling?
What would any god have to do with a desire for knowledge and the desire for no questionings?
The answer lies not in the god but in the person, how could this be? Consider those positions in relationship to how we treat each other.
How our history as moved away from our ignorance of each other and how in this history we have changed once those barriers of ignorance come down.
Evolving also means social evolution.
When asked can one give an example of something they can not tolerant about others that does not include any religious references one is asking also the motive of why one is using the god belief as a means to justify.
This question of motive is asked because there are those in the same religion that are not using a god idea in the same manner.
Some in a religion use the god idea as a means to justify a conformity that is intolerant of differences in people the other is using the same god idea as a means to justify a tolerance of those differences.
The question then becomes what is the motive attempting to be justified and is unwilling to admit the motive without the use of a religion.
Both the positions are attempting to invoke a higher force as a means of compliance to their position.
In other words see I am right because if you do not do as I believe this higher force will place in a hell after you died.
What is not being admitted and is the factual reality, we created the hell in life because others were not living the way only we can tolerant.
Both those positions to not judge others yet is judging others are attempting a conformity to their view and attempting to justify it by invoking so higher force as a punishment for not living in the ways they in really can not tolerant.
One could believe in this god and still allow a questioning and learning and believe this because they also believe a god gave a human a mind to learn and to better him or her self by learning and learning means removal of ignorance’s.
The learning means to understand and process, it allows the questions and understands that learning never ends it only learns more.
It is not attempting a forced compliance it is willing to believe that perhaps it may be wrong and is willing to question, it might later not believe in this god or still believe it but is at least willing to understand and not force any compliance.
The other could believe in this god and say it is right and all others are wrong and has closed its mind and wishes to force compliance upon all others who are not agreeing with them.
Others do not believe in this god and understand people do what they do and people will justify many things for doing what they do. One sees the results and admits those results were of there own making the other continues to do the same thing over and over and only justifies and does not admit the motive.
The motive reveals the use of the belief the admittance admits the motive.
What is in human nature is not the religion or god belief what is in the nature of human beings is it has bigotry, prejudice, sexual fears and ignorance it will try to justify.
October 10, 2012 at 11:59 pm
I have learned for myself that atheism is not true.
October 22, 2012 at 6:29 am
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November 11, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Fantastic piece of writing – came here to research for a debate on how religion divides people and left very much convinced of the opposite. God bless. Salaam alaikum.
February 16, 2014 at 4:01 pm
Religion do not divide people these are actually ppl who divide religion. when ever i sit alone on my roof i always think who created me? why i am here in this world? what is the purpose of my life?… these are very common question which every individual ask from himself. Well, my heart says there is someone who created me and He is my actual God. There is no one beside Him. The one true Lord. Who created every thing for me to eat. Who created this sun and moon. who created water and all the stuff and I should only worship Him alone. but ppl start worshiping other god/s beside Him. This is the division in religion. You know when ever i think to do something wrong. A voice arise in my brain that you are thinking something wrong just stop it here. Well this is the true religion which is in my nature. My nature represent my actual religion. I don’t need any book to understand religion. The moral law within me.
According to me God do not want from us to be divided but ppl actually divide their self. Why there are boundaries in every country? why christens fighting with Muslims. why people try to kill each other. God dont want all this. in fact God want from us to be unite under the umbrella of one true God and do not divide yourself. but those who divide these are actually not religions ppl but they are making money from religion.
I heard so many christen and Muslim and Jews and Hindus scholars those who talk about one true Lord. They always try to educate ppl that forget about all the fights and follow the religion of your own nature. You already know what is good and what is bad. Just follow it. God created us in this way so that we can understand Good and bad and I also heard so many religious scholars who claim that their religion is true religion and all other are false.
Like Muslim says that we are the best ppl and if other nations will not accept Muhammad as a final prophet they are non believer. Like christen says that if you will not accept Jesus as a son of God you will not enter in heaven. Like Jews says that prophet Moses was the greatest prophet. When Hindu worship an idol we all know that the idol cannot give us anything. it is just a man made God but when hindu claim that their hand made idol is the true god and all other are false then the fight began. When qadyani says that their mirza was the prophet and if someone not accept mirza as a prophet he is kafir then the fight began. when Muslim says that prophet Muhammad was the largest prophet and final prophet those who do not accept Muhammad as a final prophet they have no right to live then the fight began.
brother and sisters what i understand is we should leave every thing every book and just try to understand what is inside you. Just ask yourself and your lord questions. Why He created you. what is the right path? You already know so many things. You know by nature that killing, bribing, robing, raping, etc are bad actions. and feeding a poor, respecting your parents and elder relatives, helping someone when he is in trouble etc are good deeds. All this in your nature. Just follow the religion of your nature. this is as simple as we talk.
What ever you think is wrong do not do this and what ever you think is write just do it. This is the true religion according to me and I follow that religion and I know this is also the religion of God because this religion is in my nature and he created me in this way to follow the religion of my nature. It is simple.
February 10, 2015 at 12:42 pm
Khuram your words have affected me, its as if i heard your voice in my head as i read them. I wish i couldve said what you did, what wise words… Another reason why i never leave the house because it breaks my heart to know that, well it seems that anyways, why the world does not know or get this??? It is so simple that i become angry! Why so hard for others??? Bless you
May 19, 2014 at 12:06 pm
what is the best age to separate children on the playground via one of the 4000 gods? see N ireland Peace wall-
Across Northern Ireland there are 99 peace walls separating communities in flashpoint areas. Many of these have been built since the Good Friday peace accord, reflecting the threat posed by lingering sectarian tensions
July 29, 2014 at 7:27 am
Religion does divide people. That is true. However, I prefer the word separate rather than divide and you will see later why. Religion does group people into different sects. Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus. These differences sometimes can cause disagreements and hostility between people of different religious backgrounds.
February 10, 2015 at 12:33 pm
More ways to complicate things. Why is it so hard for people to leave god or politics (or whatever pathetic excuse they use for inflicting emotional and or physical trauma on their fellow humans) out of it, and deal with the real situation, which is just EACH OTHER. If another human’s suffering is the only “solution” to a problem, then it no longer is a solution- it is simply just a crime against humanity. TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WISH TO BE TREATED. I will never understand why most of the world does not get this. (wait a minute, why do i always forget about that silly root of all evil $$$MONEY$$$ thing ;-P) OR- if u cant stand someone or something, just agree to disagree and leave each other the heck alone! Why are people so caught up in the way others live their lives when it really has no real effect on them? Like, oh that guy is obsv gay and seeing him be gay is hurting me!! Is he FORCING YOU to look at him or coming after you with a huge u know what with the intent to assault you? When did everyone turn into such huge wussies? I cant stand anybody, and in today’s world, with the ability to work and shop from home, theres no need or reason to purposefully place myself among people or situations that i dont want to be around! Its as if people are acting like theyre alcoholics trying to stay sober but then willingly sit in a bar and then have a hissyfit about it. Until people can tolerate each others differences and or just leave each other the heck alone, i will sit in my little dungeon of pathetic existence (that i was purposefully brought into this mess for so that two people could hop on the “durrr we is human we must make family or life as my small brain knows it will be meaningless duuuurrr” bandwagon) until my human creators shuffle off this mortal coil and i can off myself without guilt. Maybe if Im lucky someone else will take care of me for me. The way this world works and the direction its quickly headed towards, the latter seems like the more likely outcome…
February 22, 2016 at 6:48 am
hi this is a great site that you have, thank you 4 sharing it with us.
July 4, 2016 at 7:51 pm
thank you for your great article. I completely agree with what you said. what if all human just love one another with no hatred. it would be better place to live in. I live among families, friends, neighbours with all sect of religion. we respect each others. when we pray on sunday and don’t have space for packing cars, the muslim brotherhood open their gate and let the christian to use the packing space. and same to goes to muslim who don’t have enough space to pack the cars on friday prayer, christian let them use too. we build our church side by side with muslim.. etc.. we had intermarriages with muslim too, but its ok to us. you cannot judge others by saying that other religion is bad.. all religion bring us to the same one God. blessings to all with love & peace.
August 15, 2016 at 2:37 pm
If any religion ever wants to claim the title of a true religion, it would unite people. No ifs, and, or buts. If it is supposed to come from God, do not attribute human qualities to it. At least on this aspect, it should be one or the other. One additional division is one too many. We have way too many as it is.
April 3, 2017 at 9:56 pm
Thanx for very usefull essay
I m very pleasent for this idea
February 27, 2018 at 11:17 am
First of all, religion as we know by science makes the false explanation of our world and life, and thus aggravates our problems. Religions address to our emotional sphere,that fails our understanding of ourselves, and at last ,religion devides people into fidels and infidels. The well-known advantages of religion morals and education belongs to the devided world of the past. The science unites peoples on the base of true understanding not delusions.
March 1, 2018 at 11:03 am
Trial of beliefs , book religion is a form of civil control over a population this should be self evident in its historical use, a population self policing itself via the use of intolerance of certain life styles control of women enforcement of ignorance also witnessed in history by its desire to limit education that might in anyway question its uses of a belief system.