RicOlie_2 said:
Ryan McAvoy said:
In all seriousness, I'd like to ask...
What is the point of Religion?
I've never understood what the practical benefit is of believing in something that by default has no proof behind it (That's what faith is). I'd be genuinely interested in how and what it adds to life that many consider it worth spending time, effort and money on?
Alright, let's assume there is no evidence either for or against religion (I think this is slightly unfair because I believe that there is evidence for my beliefs, but there is so much room for debate in that area that I will ignore that for now). So, what could possibly be good about it? I'll list some reasons in point form (the numbers have nothing to do with importance):
Thanks for the response :-)
RicOlie_2 said:
1. Hope: religion often provides hope in an afterlife.
As I said above, I can totally see that hope is a postive factor. But it's always struck me as arrogant that almost all religous people imagine that they will probably go to heaven and that their loved one will definately go to heaven (I'm sure there are many exceptions, but this is the norm). It's more realistic to suppose that an eternity of hellfire awaits 99.9% of people because the chances of going through 50-100 years of life without sining in some way is unlikely. So for those prepared to flatter themselves without sin, I can see heaven must look a very appealing reward at the end.
RicOlie_2 said:
2. Happiness: religion and prayer have been shown to increase happiness in multiple studies.
Again I can see that praying to a diety to not kill your family every night must give comfort to those who delude themselves into thinking that God cares. If a massive natural disaster happens and you are the only survivor it wasn't prayer that saved you, it was just random chance. The giant incomprehensible randomness of such events must be scary to some who lack the inner strength to face them alone, so they prefer to see the hand of a guiding force. Much the same as blowing on a pair of dice might make you feel that it helps your luck.
RicOlie_2 said:
3. Explanation of the supernatural. This is a reason people adhere to religion, though it may not really belong in this answer.
There is no such thing as the supernatural and as such I do not require a God to explain it. But if one is the sort of gullible person to believe in ghosts, spirits and fairies... I can see how beliveing in a greater force isn't such a leap beyond that.
RicOlie_2 said:
4. Unification: this is debatable, but in theory, if everyone followed one religion there would be a lot fewer problems in the world, depending on the religion.
Not really, since everybody would just start bickering about wearing the wrong colour hats instead. Sadly it's human nature to fear that which we see as different.
RicOlie_2 said:
5. Community: by sharing beliefs and meeting every so often, communities of people are formed and people have a chance to meet with people who share their beliefs.
Again I can totally see that benefit. But beyond the same thing you'd get joining a book club or sewing circle, I don't know. This very wonderful online forum that we are all using to discuss SW and the like is a great community but I can't see how praying to the http://originaltrilogy.com domain name every night would make my life any better ;-)
RicOlie_2 said:
6. It explains the origins of the universe (science does this, but it doesn't give a very satisfactory answer).
It doesn't though. An athiest believes that before the universe their was void, a thiest belives that before God there was void. I fail to see the difference, neither explains the transition between nothing and something any more than the other.
RicOlie_2 said:
7. Religion gives life meaning and purpose in a way that cannot be without religion.
If you don't think there is meaning enough in the smile of a loved one, the roar of an Electric Guitar, the sunlight through a leafy canopy, the smell of a strawberry or the sound of a church choir etc etc then that's a shame. This planet is plenty enough wonderful for me without having to wish for anything greater. To use a couple of clichés, I'm too busy 'taking time to smell the roses' and 'waking up and smelling the coffee' to have precious time to waste on praying to a being that may or may not be there, about a second life that may or may not exist.
RicOlie_2 said:
I could continue were I allowed to take things as they are and not ignoring evidence for and against religion.
Feel free, but for the original question I was only interested in understanding how it improves people's lives. The whys and wherefores weren't relevant.