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thedoctor said:
I like it when BSAMS uses people's own logic against them. It's funny.

But, back on the topic of this thread, I do think religion does help society. Religious beliefs established morales and ethics for all cultures (whether they were Jewsish, Christian, Islam, or not). Many religions also focus on the betterment of man himself. While maybe not pushing all followers to become stinkin' rich, most do promote a way to interact with one another to the betterment of the whole and not the individual (how can Marx argue against that?). Religon can be corrupted and used to oppress and subjegate, but so can any other system that man gets his hands on (hello communism!).



Religion or faith are not without benefits. They have been a positive influence to many people. But do these benefits outweigh the costs that their institutional structures impose on society? I think not. It teaches people passivity, rather than taking an active role in pursuing their own best interests. You don't have to be a Communist to believe that.

"Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives." John Stuart Mill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. Oscar Wilde He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.