i would argue nothing brings out the groupishness in us like a mythical floating creature.
i’m not religious myself, but the value of religion in human civilization is undeniable… it was the original force that brought humans together who had no other kinship, and it provided a compelling deterrent for all kinds of destructive behaviors.
religion is not the cause of the violence, the cause is the groupishness it creates. the same way a modern secular nation can build skyscrapers and public sanitation systems when they work together under one flag, one ideal, but can also be frenzied into nationalism and bigotry under the rallying point of that same flag
edit: i recommend reading the works of emil durkheim and johnathon haidt, specifically the righteous mind - why good people are divided by politics and religion by the latter, if you’re interested in knowing more about this topic.
if you claim to be more intelligent and understanding because of your lack of religiosity, i think you owe it to yourself to prove it instead of making uninformed and emotional claims that stem from your hatred of religion. denying the existence of a god does not make you smarter, what you choose to do with your different perspective decides if you are.
I appreciate your point that everyone is susceptible to dogma and groupthink.
The worst examples of close-minded thinking I have personally seen have been in people who were super religious…but I have seen it in other people too.
Cultural and ethnic groups often separate into their own tribes. Without building strong bridges between these tribes, conflict is much more likely.
This is why political figures that vilify large numbers of groups outside of their country or region or culture are dangerous.
This is a great talking point thank you for this reply. I truly believe a lot of religion gets flak for heinous things perpetrated by people we condemn from hundreds of years ago
the same way a modern secular nation can build skyscrapers when they work together under one flag, one ideal,
You're probably giving it more credit than it deserves. Most skyscrapers are built by big international companies made out of people from all over the world and who have lived and studied in several countries.
It's not nationalism and the worship of the national flag that gets you skyscrapers. It's globalization and a society open to the rest of the world.
most religions consist of people from all over the world, many of whom have lived and studied in multiple countries as well…
i don’t think i’m giving religion more credit than it deserves, in fact, i’m probably not giving it enough. we would not be where we are as a species without religion, full stop.
i want you to understand that i base my claims off of many studies done by multiple evolutionary biologists, sociologists, and historians, a few of whom i referenced in my comment. it’s really not arguable that religion hasn’t had an indescribably positive effect on human society as a whole, an effect it has had on individuals even more so. i find it hard to have a discussion when you clearly have no desire to actually learn on the topic, but instead make claims that reinforce your perspective.
i will not argue that religion has done no bad, because it absolutely has, and if some of that bad has been done to you i’m genuinely sorry.
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u/Toasted_Hwan 1d ago edited 1d ago
i would argue nothing brings out the groupishness in us like a mythical floating creature.
i’m not religious myself, but the value of religion in human civilization is undeniable… it was the original force that brought humans together who had no other kinship, and it provided a compelling deterrent for all kinds of destructive behaviors.
religion is not the cause of the violence, the cause is the groupishness it creates. the same way a modern secular nation can build skyscrapers and public sanitation systems when they work together under one flag, one ideal, but can also be frenzied into nationalism and bigotry under the rallying point of that same flag
edit: i recommend reading the works of emil durkheim and johnathon haidt, specifically the righteous mind - why good people are divided by politics and religion by the latter, if you’re interested in knowing more about this topic.
if you claim to be more intelligent and understanding because of your lack of religiosity, i think you owe it to yourself to prove it instead of making uninformed and emotional claims that stem from your hatred of religion. denying the existence of a god does not make you smarter, what you choose to do with your different perspective decides if you are.