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Without reading any of the other 50 responses, I would say it's impossible. Most turn to religion for peace of mind/happines/spiritual guidance. Humans aorn are evolved enough that any type of belief is inevitable.
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Worse.
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Worse.
Okay, religions have brought a lot of pain and sorrow into this world, but mainly because their leaders and mighty people were human beings and human beings are fallible. Just being religios doesnt mean, you are automatically a good person and let you act so. Some people got blinded by their religion and lost the right focus.
But for billions of people religion is a way of finding their peace with themselfs and this world and (monotheist) religion also teaches them a peaceful way of treating each other, and the majority of these people stick to this teaching, which makes this world a better place.
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It could only work in a world without people which, from our perspective at least, probably wouldn't be a better one.
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I define "religion" as an organized following or belief in a higher power. (I mean that's a pretty stripped down definition but...) If the world was full of happy, confident, people with plenty of curiosity with a drive to reach out to others, I would say better. However, this is not the world we live in. People need something to believe in when times get tough. We need a reason to live on in a world we don't understand. Religion is a social structure that fills our sense of longing for something "more".
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Without religion, a majority of people would become suicidal with know that there is nothing after death. Nothing to look forward to in this existence, to they would just end it now, to get it over with. There is a belief that there is nothing after death, where the believers often become suicidal, and commit suicide. I can't remember what it's called at the moment however.
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Worse. Religion gives people a reason to live. Without that, the meaning of life wouldn't seem so purposeful
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Worse. Religion is a guide to how to live your life. The violence that ensues in the name of religion is simply from intolerance and fear. The only clash is a clash of the uncivilized.
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If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed. Albert Einstein Religion on it's purest level has a guiding positive purpose. But stands muddled and manipulated by the hand of man and no longer divine. It has become a tool of control, set in absolute righteousness . It affords no argument, no discussion and often cloaks the wicked in the veil of righteousness. There would be little difference. We would only be forced to judge people individually rather than in title alone.
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Religions are perfect. The only deficiency about religions is their FOLLOWERS! I believe it would be a worse world without religions. I can't imagine God sending us messengers and holy books to make our lives more miserable. However, it's guiding us for the right path.
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I would like to believe that it would be better.. but I think that some type of religion would still emerge sooner or later. Even if it was different from the religions today, it would pop up in some form. I think that a majority of people simply cannot face a reality where there is no life after death or higher power.
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As an atheist, I would say profoundly better. Religion causes so much war and strife in the world and without it, we wouldn't have these problems. Although it has helped in some areas, it hasn't greatly.
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As an atheist, I profoundly believe that it would be worse. Sometimes society needs something to believe in. Hope needs to come in many forms.
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I don't think you can - Religion whether organised or not is part of humanity and in each of us. You just can't get rid of it.
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I was thinking of this idea earlier. I consider myself spiritual, but have given up traditional organized religion ( s ) for the most part. Blind obedience to rigid, dusty dogma can stifle spiriuality.
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Without religions like Christianity and Islam? Much better. Without spirituality? Much worse.
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SO MUCH BETTER! Religion clouds the mind its annoying, as soon as the christians became Romes main religion they started to persecute others because they were different
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I'm not sure we'd have advanced to where we are, religions throughout history provided some social benefits, there's a health reason to eat kosher when you don't have proper refrigeration. I also look to the Soviet Union they tried to do away with religion and created their own set of beliefs, which when all was said and done benefited the party, those in the party, more than the rest of society. I often wondered what the majority of the Soviets felt about the stores just for the members of the party where you could buy caviar and vodka, while the majority of the population waited in line for their beets?
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I'm not sure we'd have advanced to where we are, religions throughout history provided some social benefits, there's a health reason to eat kosher when you don't have proper refrigeration. I also look to the Soviet Union they tried to do away with religion and created their own set of beliefs, which when all was said and done benefited the party, those in the party, more than the rest of society. I often wondered what the majority of the Soviets felt about the stores just for the members of the party where you could buy caviar and vodka, while the majority of the population waited in line for their beets?
I was talking with a man who works for the EPA, he was saying how the right was trying to dismantle them, I said well, they'd have us get as close to the edge as possible because they're the same group of investors that own the companies that will benefit financially in the clean-up, he said, you're right! The religion of money is domminating the planet these days, led by as I call them, the media, the modern day messiah! So maybe the question isn't to imagine the world without religion, but to imagine, the world as one!
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More people would also think for themselves instead of letting some higher being do the thinking for them? Who doesn't question, doesn't learn.
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Imagine a human without beliefs, better or worse?
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Imagine a human without beliefs, better or worse?
Alot of people seem to think of religion as a box to tick, an idea for people to argue or a variety of set structures which people are bent on bringing the rest of the world into.. but I don't believe that's what it means.
I view the world in a certain way. From the way I complete an assignment at university to the way I smile at people on the street, everything I do stems from my beliefs. My motivation to live is based in my beliefs. My contribution to society is based in my beliefs.. everything. Yes, they grow and change, as do I. But my religion and belief system forms the foundation of my identity, and it is completely inseparable from the way I live my life. To imagine me without my beliefs would be like imagining me without my culture, without my past, with no skin on my body or meaning to my life.. and as every human views the world differently, if mankind were to be drained of all religion... well I think there would be a lot of flesh and bone walking around.
To answer your question, I can't say whether the world would be better or worse... because I don't think it would be the world anymore. It would be a planet, and a home for the empty. Unrecognizable, and certainly not somewhere I would want to live.
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Religions is just a word, stuff like 'nationalism' would, and has had, have almost the same effects.
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I think that is a matter of "time" as far as the answer to that question is concerned. Let's look at it on an individual level. Say you were going along in your life with a habit, or an idea about something and just accepted it as real. And suppose after awhile you just stop living that habit or stopped accepting said idea as real and it just stopped being relative. Was your life better or worse when it went away? I would probably say neither because it seemed to be of use (in whatever way you can think of) while it was around. And then when it wasn't around, it didn't matter anymore. Perhaps humankind will eventually just stop behaving habitually and thinking in terms of religion the way it does right now and it won't be really noticed. Like when we exhale air from our bodies and don't necessarily notice it leaving. Not a big deal. Just something that happens. Joseph Campbell had a great approach to all this in that he seemed to think about how the symbols of these religions are relative to the human condition. In his discussions, he talked about the razor's edge and that one has to walk on the edge because of they step off on one side or the other they get cut in half. Maybe the two sides he was talking about were fact on one side and blind faith on the other. Perhaps there is more of a middle way that is somewhere between belief and fact where we can live with creativity without falling off the bridge at the same time. :)
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I think in any context man will find a way to substantiate existence, to offer an explanation for the unknown.
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If there wasn't religion, humans would probably think up some other mass delusion to distract them and/or give them some solace when it comes to their inevitable demise. So I guess it wouldn't change much for the better or worse.
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Way better, religion is self therapy for people who need it but don't know. We do have therapists that you can talk to. There is no other FUNCTOoNAL purpose for religion, charity is not a function but a means to an end.
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I think it would be the same. Even if religion didn't exist, I think there would be some people that would develop some sort of moral decorum to live by and others would choose to be savage killing machines.
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Both. But overall it is religious people who do amazing things more than agnostic and atheist
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Better without a doubt. All of the good things that people think come from religion can be had without it.
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Worse. People fight over religions for sure.
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Worse. People fight over religions for sure.
But I think it's also entirely reasonable to say religions have been responsible for keeping people from fighting as well.
Where religion turns dangerous in when it becomes compulsionary. (is that a word??)
I'd however place all the money I own on a bet that the overwhelming majority of religious people are simply people trying to live in peace with their fellow man. And unfortunately, it's those few that try and make others follow by force that stain the whole movement.
However, if religions were completely abandoned. I have no doubt, man would find another thing to fight over. The problem isn't religion, it's pride.
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Better with and sometimes ,especially at this juncture of civilization , without...
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Better with and sometimes ,especially at this juncture of civilization , without...
Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart. If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act.-
Abdu'l-Bahá
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Religions having never existed? probably worse. Religions continueing to exist? I don't know.
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Humanism can eat the best social aspects of organized religion for lunch. Better, but the transition needs to evolve slowly, just as it is doing.
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Worse.
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Worse.
Why would you want to remove that which fulfills individuals all over the world, and that which provides aid to those in need? Sad idea, indeed.
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Religions are a scourge.
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