Is religion a good thing?

The answer of course depends on one's definition of "good", however assuming we're going for the common sense definition of "good", I'd say religion is an overall bad thing for society.<br><br>Pros: <br><br>-Having a community, feeling of belonging and cooperation.<br><br>- religion often offers a moral guideline on how people should conduct themselves.<br><br>- religion often provides a support and aid system for the poor, the sick, children, the elderly, people who have suffered from a natural disaster, etc etc.<br><br>- religion often helps people cope with death and loss.<br><br>Cons:<br><br>- religion divides people. God (the ultimate authority figure) loves Catholics but hates Protestants. Islam and Christianity are like oil and water. Even within the same religion there can be a large amount of division, for example Sunnis vs Shias in Islam, or the multi denominations of Christianity.<br><br>- Religion has caused countless wars, murders, human sacrifices, terrorist attacks, and various other forms of violence throughout history. Of course most of the violence in history is state sponsored, but one would hope that religion would help to reduce this state sponsored violence, if anything religion seems to have made it worse, and there is no evidence that religion reduces state sponsored violence.<br><br>- Religion often leads to irrational thinking in regards to other issues. Just think of all the religious right wingers in the US who deny climate change, think that evolution is false, etc.<br><br>-Religion often causes people to make irrational decisions that are detrimental to their own health and well-being. Examples include Jehovah witnesses not receiving blood transfusions and Christian Scientists not receiving any medical care at all.<br><br>- Religion leads many to believe that this life is only temporary, and that they will be rewarded in the afterlife for their good deeds here on Earth. This could potentially cause one to care less about improving this life, and to put too much stock in the idea of a good afterlife.<br><br>-Science has basically proven that we don't need religion in order to be happy or fulfilled or to cooperate with each other. A moral guideline can also be provided by science and state institutions.<br><br>- If there's one thing religion is good at, its at resisting criticism and scientific disproof. Of course religious people know this, and therefore religion is not something we can rely on to improve with time. Science continually improves and updates itself with new information, religion does not.