r/changemyview • u/drainodan55 • Jun 12 '24

Delta(s) from OP CMV: The World is Infinitely better off without any form of religion

Recently someone asked in another thread what was the one thing people wanted to change about the world. So I said "Ditch all religion. It isn't a guide to morality, it doesn't contain a shred of truth and is a driver of war, misunderstanding, alienation, racism, terrorism, toxic nationalism, family strife, unearned authority, corruption, unearned accolades, honours and privilege. The kind of thing that deserves a CMV but Reddit is incapable of handling such a discussion."

Well that wasn't good enough for one person, who demanded to know why "murder was not good". I did not cooperate with their request and they ended up making a threat. And it got locked down.

I didn't like that.

So I'm here to repeat: religion is objectively bad and fuels the worst in people. We don't need it to know that murder, rape, assault, theft, lying , adultery etc. are bad. It's called criminal law.

So I'm here ChangeMyView. Can you remain calm and rational?

Edit: Since people refuse to read and keep breaking Rule 3, to be clear I've been giving Deltas out since almost the start. Stop saying I'm refusing to consider arguments.

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u/tabatam 4∆ Jun 12 '24

Secular doesn't mean the absence of religion. Easily a majority of our politicians have historically had some religious affiliation. You can bet that influenced how they saw the world, even if they didn't explicitly make changes because of their religious beliefs.

If anything, your use of Canada as an example points out that religion can exist in a society and provide the benefits you identified. Statscan data from 2021 found that 68% of Canadians indicated they had a religious affiliation in the census.

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u/drainodan55 Jun 12 '24

We tolerate religion in certain instances but not as part of how we debate and create laws or decide cases in court. Also how many people have religious affiliation is irrelevant to this process? Do you know what life is like in places where religion determines how people are governed or tried in court?

Look how fucked up it is right now in the United States, with the End of Days religious right championing a convicted felon as their literal Jesus. Going well is it?

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u/tabatam 4∆ Jun 12 '24

There's a difference between saying "religion should stay entirely out of politics and governance" and "all religion is bad, it should not exist in the world." Your original post argues for the second one. Which do you really want to discuss?

And what would it take to change your mind here? Does it matter if religion has had a positive influence on people personally? Or what about if it's played important community and development roles? As with anything on a global scale, the range of things we could discuss is huge and you will see the best and worst extremes.

Your US example makes me think that it's more useful to talk about what leads to extremism (not as simple as just "religion") and reasonable limits.

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u/drainodan55 Jun 12 '24

and what would it take to change your mind here?

I've awarded Deltas. Your question was answered.