Discussion What do u think is the biggest problem with religion? (and if you are religious why do u think it might not be so?)

[Mirelight]

non-religious here:

For me it's the books, the rules and how unchanging they are. Personal god sounds pretty good, someone imaginary to rely on at the hardest of time... even I do that sometimes. But how can you expect the law that worked for the people in 2 thousand years ago to govern today's society? Sure some fundamentals remains unchanged, but there are so many people who literally wants their constitution to be replaced by biblical or shariah law!

And I get that they were revolutionary and progressive for their time, but today it's ultra conservative. That's why constitution is vastly superior imo. It's DESIGNED to adapt to societal change while preserving few core principles so it always remains relatively progressive.

 

[mysticatedwine]

if i were to point out what bugs me the most, it'd be the fact that religion tends to involve a lot of self-righteousness and lack of hindsight. it might sound cheesy, but i don't think there is a "good" or "bad" essence in people, but rather that people act in response to the environment they have, the structures they grow in... religion tends to erase that in favour of an individualistic take on morals.

that's just my feelings, no generality. if you, who is reading this, is religious and don't go after people who are simply doing their best, good for you

 

[Manaaja]

I hate most the illogicalness of it all. If someone today made Christianity 2. Made a book that said "Don't eat pigs, eat chicken!" that would be logical and clear. Really stupid maybe, but logical. But when I write in year 0000. "Your mother's hand is like an oak. Your father's like a chimney." and people will think that's a religious text and spend centuries trying to understand what that text means, including it in their religious books, I hate it. Cmon, what's so divine to write a nonsensical poem? And when a religious book says both "Humans were created before animals" and "animals were created before humans", that's crazy. No one should believe it. And the cherrypicking "Yeah this book bans all meat, but it actually only means deer meet because I say so".

There was a video game, where there was a prophet. That prophet taught people spells like healing and light, and said it was taught to her by angels, and that anyone who follows the religion can learn it. And you join the religion, and what is this uwu what a bulge you learn to heal your wounds with magic, yeah, it makes sense people will take the religion seriously and believe the religion's teachings are real, when you can get divine magical abilities you couldn't get without it.

 

[Carrot]

It's abused by people in power who don't follow what they preach. It's a tool for power, one of many examples of divide and conquer.

Could we as humans agree not to make up stuff if we don't know something? I think most people would agree that if there is a flood somewhere, claiming that we must have angered Poseidon is ridiculous. But the same is not true for religions, which contradict each other, which one is the correct one? And I'm the crazy one for not believing?

 

[Cosmophobic]

Most religions, Chrisitanity and Islam in particular, expect too much of the human animal and then they threaten punishment for not living up to those lofty expectations. It just doesn't work with how naturally fucked up we all are. In the worst cases it aligns with someone's fucked-upness and they become a zealot.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I suppose the biggest issue is the entire premise really- they rely on faith. If ultimately, fact checking doesn't get us anywhere but they still insist they are right then- that's terribly dangerous. You can insist anything is right and, insist people believe it.

That's where it ties in to your original problem OP- that many of the original texts were written by men. Not God. What's to stop them sneaking in a few things that benefitted them? Again though- like you say- how do texts written 1000's of years ago relate to this world?

Via interpretation. But- that's also manmade and, also potentially dangerous. For example, extremists can use those same texts to justify killing.

Not knowing who is actually the correct God has caused so many upsets in this world. Religion might do more good if it wasn't based so heavily on faith.

 

[Hvergelmir]

To me it's not just how religion is based on faith - lots of things are, including scientific pursuits.
The issue is more about how they claim perfect certainty, and portray doubt as sinful. Being able to adapt is humanities greatest strength, and religion discourages that, in favor of following one rigid path.
...at least in theory. In practice, adaption and thinking is often present, but delegated to the leaders, in which case the religion becomes little more that a tool to control people.

I see the same issue in many secular ideologies.

 

[TheShadowQueen]

It breeds hate and is used to justify horrible actions & beliefs

 

[fallingbehind]

Created to control and oppress women.

 

[itsgone2]

I must say, I think it depends almost entirely on your particular church leader. I've never had a bad experience and maybe I'm lucky but the leaders I've known truly believe in God and just want to help everyone live better lives.
I wish I had listened better as I've made too many mistakes in life to count.