Do you think Religion creates more love in the world or?

Question

through promoting segregation and fear, e.g. adding yet more labels, 'I'm a: Christian, Baptist, Jew, Mormon, Muslim etc. etc. etc.
Overall do you think there is more love in the world because religion exists or more hatred?

Answer 1

People do the creating, religion is just a vessel. I think I agree with Macrodrops in some sense. Can't agree that love doesn't exist though, I feel sorry for people who believe it doesn't.



Also isn't that double standards? How can religion not be responsible for the segregation it causes, since that would have happened anyway. But be responsible for the altruism because it wouldn't have?



If we're going to make assumptions about things we can't know(how the world would be if...). Then surely they must at least be made on both sides of the argument, and in equal measure.



I say history would look very similar regardless of religion. Religion is just a model to contain other slightly smaller models so they become easy to talk about. I don't think it has the power to change history. If religion didn't exist, there would be some other equally barbaric group of models that maintained power for a certain amount of time during the evolution of our species.

Answer 2

Religion gives people the opportunity to come together under a common belief that helps to create an atmosphere where people feel safe enough to be able to show and share love, and in return receive a feeling of safety, happiness, fulfillment through that love. But that does not mean that religious people are not susceptible to the influence of people with a worldly agenda (which religions warn about). Those people will do all sorts of things in the name of religion in hopes of gaining power. Religion is not the problem. Man is and always has been the problem.

Answer 3

I don't think there is more fear, hatred or segregation because of religion.

In my opinion those things would be around with or without it's existence.

Now before you thumbs down please hear me out.

I am trying to introduce a positive theistic point of view that isn't solely based on my beliefs.



If we didn't separate each other with religious labels we would just use labels based on ethnicity, monetary status, political status, or some other system or categorization.

Without religion I don't think there would be more or less, I feel it would be equal in amount but different in method.

From a evolutionary stance we are prone to exhibiting prejudiced behavior as that is our default from the nature.

An organism in nature does what it can to protect it's own genes.

That includes isolating themselves to their own groupings.

No one has to tell a lion to stay with his pride, or the goose to his flock.

An organisim in the wild will stick with its own species naturally.

Anything that is foreign and isn't food is usually seen as a threat until proven other wise.

Fear and segregation stem from prejudice, and in humans those things breed hatred.

Religion isn't needed to create hatred, segregation or fear.



As for love in the world that is a hard concept to argue as some believe there is no such thing as love, only different degrees of altruism.

Now I believe in love but for the sake of this argument I will use altruism as it is a more accurate term for what I would like to express.



I think there is more altruism in the world because of religion.

If there were no religion there is a chance we would be in the same state as we were before advanced civilizations.

Like nomadic tribes, now I am not saying we would be Neanderthals but I don't think there would be much non-kinship altruism going on.

Humans would only be concerned with helping those we know, and those who are related to us.

We would have no obligation or desire to try to relieve the suffering of another person we didn't know, we would exhibit kinship altruism.

Because this type of altruism is only exhibited between organism protecting their own genes and not their entire species, it is seen as a selfish action.



Ultimately if there were no religion there wouldn't been a need for humans to reach out and help those we didn't know, trust, or were related to in some way.

Charity is one thing that is seen in almost every religion.

It enforces non-kinship altruism which intern helps the entire species and not just one group.



With out religion I don't know if charity would be as widespread as it is assuming it would exist at all.

Imagine all of those charity campaigns for people in other countries, many people don't donate to them as it is.

Do you think they would get more donations without non-kinship altruism? Would they even exist?

I can't say they would get more donations and I am not even sure they would be around.

Everyone would be taking care of their own and wouldn't be concerned with people suffering in other places.



So if nothing else religion has contributed to the spread of altruistic practices among all people.

And thus has introduced a positive element into human behavior that help procure the species.



I don't think you have to believe or agree with my point of view.

I would hope you could try to understand and respect it.



Peace and Blessings = )

Answer 4

I think that the purpose of a religion Should be to create more love in the world through dialogue and understanding.



From our SGI (Soka Gakkai International) Charter : The 7th line Item.



7. SGI shall, based on the Buddhist spirit of tolerance, respect other religions, engage in dialogue and work together with them toward the resolution of fundamental issues concerning humanity.



http://www.sgi-usa.org/aboutsgi/sgicharter.php SGI Charter

Answer 5

i think there is more hate, but not because of the bible or god but because people are mostly just hateful and try and use religion as a way to control the masses over the centuries there have been millions of wars because of one religion or another. more innocent people have died because they didn't believe or live the way others believed they should have. then people wonder why gods so ticked off

Answer 6

There is definitely more hatred, especially in regards to the Abrahamic religions who all say theirs is the only path to god when, ironically, they all follow the same god. This "my way is the only right way" mentality has caused so much terror and bloodshed, it's a wonder anyone takes them seriously.



Why would a loving god allow such a thing to continue?



The answer is simple. God is not real. Evil men throughout the centuries have created god to gain power over people and push their unjust agendas.

Answer 7

Religions only seek to control.Love and harmony are just faces of religion which are shown to the public.While there is religion,there can never be peace.

Answer 8

I believe that religion causes and influences most world conflicts. It's not always obvious but we all know that most people in the power to make big decisions are religious. I also believe that in order to achieve peace on earth, religion must be gone for good.



The love thing... that really depends on the person answering the question and their definition of love. Love to me is one of those things where you don't know what it is until its gone. My theory is if religion is gone, we will rely on ourselves (humans) and in turn, create more love.

Answer 9

what i think may be its an "itch" for you that is



"ONLY RELIGION CAN CREATE MORE LOVE"

how many of us are happy without having religion.

but i know extremly well that an ISLAMIC person is completely saitisfied with life and in this situation he also lives happily and can give more love to the people which they deserve

i love you also because i wanna promote the truth and that is ISLAM.and remember PEACE is the essence of ISLAM.however some bad muslim creates problem in the way of ISLAM its their fault not ISLAM'S.

Answer 10

I agree with Davey. He opened his response extremely well with that first sentence. He gets my vote, for now. :)



My two cents:

It creates diversity. An important element for the equation of an interesting life.

Answer 11

I live in Provo, Utah which is 90% LDS/Christian.



The people here do seem to hate liberals (like myself) and people on welfare.



Oh well, at least the crime rate is low! So religion does seem to have that positive affect.

Answer 12

Yes my dear child, religion creates more love, especially when the person from the other religion respect one another without pointing the finger of guilt on the other group of religion members, remember my dear child. when you point one finger on someone 4 fingers are pointing back at you.

Answer 13

I truly applaud those who do not understand a religion yet would try to judge it. I applaud their effort to discredit what they do not know or understand. Christianity teaches love. I do not judge other religions particularly because I do not practice them and I have not studied them. I do not feel segregated from those in other religion truthfully because I have friends in several different religions. Thankfully we are all mature, and I emphasize mature, adults. We do not judge each other or try to berate each other solely because we have a difference of opinion. My beliefs tell me not to try to force Jesus on anyone. If someone does not want to hear about my God, I do not try to make them listen or believe. However if they want hear what I have to say or they have questions I am willing to talk to them about it. However I feel that it is silly and immature to sit around arguing and name calling simply because you have a difference of opinion.

Answer 14

Sadly I do not. I do not agree with much the Hierarchy of my faith is currently involved in.

Answer 15

'Love' is an alien word to religion, it set out to segregate humanity and that is all it has achieved.

Answer 16

creates division and boundaries most of the time but at the same time creates unity between different ethnic groups.



but mostly the bad out ways the good

Answer 17

Hatred, definitely.



I 'love' people, and I don't have to use a lying book to prove it.

Answer 18

More people have been killed in the name of religion than anything else in history.

Does that answer your question?

Answer 19

How many atheists do you see, walking inside buildings and blowing themselves up?

Answer 20

more division at best murder and suffering at worst.

Answer 21

More love definitely.

Answer 22

Faith in Jesus is not meant to create love, but HATE... Jesus said so!



Never mind that the Bible God said, “Thou shalt honour thy father and thy mother!”… Jesus came up with his own set of rules, if you wish to follow him…



Matthew 10:34-37 (NIV) "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn

" 'a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

your enemies will be the members of your own household.' "ANYONE WHO LOVES THEIR FATHER OR MOTHER MORE THAN ME IS NOT WORTHY OF ME; ANYONE WHO LOVES A SON OR DAUGHTER* (*OR EVEN A FETUS, OR A STEM CELL!) MORE THAN ME IS NOT WORTHY OF ME.



Today, most Fundamentalist Christians and Catholics LOVE THE FETUSES, and stem cells MORE THAN JESUS!



Luke 14:26 (NIV) Jesus Christ said, "If anyone comes to me and does not HATE* (*Greek=”miseo”=to abhor!) his father and mother, his wife and children* (*including fetuses and stem cells!), his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple."



Some American Christians are willing to murder abortionist doctors and bomb their clinics so they can get a big reward in Heaven. They ignore that in conservative Christian Theology NOBODY, BUT NOBODY BEATS THE ABORTION CLINICS IN SENDING MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF SOULS OF THE UNBORN NOT TO HELL BUT TO HEAVEN!



According to the Bible writers all the heart bleeding Christians will be very happy in Heaven rubbing shoulders for ever with the many fetuses of children whose mothers maybe in HELL! The fetuses were lucky enough to have been aborted at the right time to go to Heaven, but their mothers are now in HELL for never hearing about Jesus Christ! BTW, most of the fetuses in Heaven will come from Red China where abortion is mandatory by law under certain conditions… Can you imagine American Christians in Heaven surrounded by the souls of billions of aborted non-American Chinese fetuses? Jesus loves the little children of the world, including fetuses and stem cells, but Christians are denying him that pleasure! That is probably the reason that Jesus NEVER DAMNED ABORTIONS!!!



If you have the patience of reading Numbers 5:11-31 with all the foot notes you will discover that Jesus’ Dad in the sky is in the BUSINESS of making life miserable for the ladies, especially any pregnant lady. The Jewish Bible writers developed the idea of using their God TO MAKE MONEY PERFORMING FORCED ABORTIONS!!! Christians reject the fact that God is decisively pro-abortion only because they were trained since childhood that “God is love!” This portion of Holy Scripture is so sickening that it is totally ignored and even rejected by fundamentalist Bible believing Christians! In essence, the wife of a jealous husband is FORCED BY LAW OF GOD “to appear before the LORD” and drink a full dose of a sickening concoction brewed by the priest, made of dirt taken from the soil around the altar of the LORD that is covered with all the blood, fat drippings and ashes of the thousands of animals that are being burned up in a “sweet smell pleasant to God” that will cause the “womb to swell and the thigh* (*fetus) to fall away”…



Numbers 5:22 (NIV) May this water that brings a curse enter your BODY SO THAT YOUR ABDOMEN SWELLS AND YOUR THIGH WASTES AWAY.

[fn5] Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.”* (*Yes! You better say it loud and clear so we can all hear ya!!!)

[fn5] or… BODY AND CAUSE YOU TO BE BARREN AND HAVE A MISCARRYING WOMB.



Either one of the 2 translations is OK, it means TO ABORT! This sadistic Bible God is in the hurting of pregnant women! Christians today don’t believe anything in the Bible that is detrimental to their faith, but they still want everybody in the world to be as gullible as they are obeying their preachers!



If the woman is lucky to survive the toxic test without anything “falling away from her womb*” (*aborting) then she is innocent of “suspicion of adultery.” There is a good chance that the child may be born sick because of the toxic concoction, but the Priestly Bible writers didn’t take that into any consideration, they were only concerned about the money that they can get for this service! If the pregnant woman aborts the fetus, the pregnant woman is stoned to death for adultery! This is 100 % God approved way of getting rid of any adulterous or UNLUCKY wife! BTW… notice that you had to bring MONEY to the PRIEST every time that YOU WANTED to perform this test on your wife! The Priestly Bible writers were promoting this test on your wife ANYTIME YOU FEEL JEALOUS! There is no limitation of any sort! NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE MEN ARE SUBJECT TO ANY ADULTERY “TEST!” (Lucky we! In Judaism, one is a JEW by birth ONLY if the mother is Jewish! You never know who the father can be!) In the Bible, JEALOUSY is a VALID REASON for a FORCED ABORTION! The first thing that Christians did was to trash this crap in the Bible! They won’t admit that it is in there! Saint Joseph should have taken his young “virgin” wife-to-be the Blessed Virgin Mary to have the JEALOUSY test done on her! The sucker didn’t do it, and now the world is stuck with Christianity! No other Heathen God ever known is as sadistically oriented as the Bible God! Christians ought to be shocked to learn that God answers prayers requesting any forced abortion, IMMEDIATELY! But since Christians hardly read the Bible, they flush down the toilet anything that they read in the Bible that is detrimental to their faith, or their current political platform. They are brainwashed to preserve their gullibility, aka faith “like a virgin unto Christ!” Spiritually speaking, of course!



Hosea 9:14-16 (NIV) Give them, O LORD— what will you give them? Give them wombs that miscarry* (*this is THE CLEAREST EXAMPLE OF FORCED ABORTION/MISCARRIAGE IMPOSED by the Clergy/Priests in the Bible stories, but today Christians ignore for political reasons! Their agenda is to sadistically hurt pregnant women in real need of an abortionThe Prophet Hosea is talking the Bible God into KILLING CHILDREN, AND GETTING UNSUSPECTING PREGNANT WOMEN TO ABORT! Christians and even the Pope totally ignore and don’t give a hoot about all the FORCED UNWANTED ABORTIONS on unsuspecting pregnant women that “God” does all the time in the Bible stories! The “GOD IS LOVE” bit is sheer religious hogwash of the most primitive sadistic sort that Christians still deep throat today like a charm!) and breasts that are dry. (…HOW EVIL MINDED CAN A PROPHET OF THE LOVING GOD BE? Yet, God rushes immediately to answer his prayer!!!) "Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, I HATED them there* (*the Prophet Hosea and God go to the same bar, and they found out that they both HATE the same tribe in Israel, ESPECIALLY their babies and pregnant women! It is all throughout the Bible that Christians hate to read!). Because of their sinful deeds, I will drive them out of my house. I will no longer love them* (*GOD won’t love them anymore for all of the most ridiculous reasons in the world!); all their leaders are rebellious. Ephraim is blighted, their root is withered. They yield no fruit. EVEN IF THEY BEAR CHILDREN* (*GOD ALWAYS TAKES IT ON THE INNOCENT CHILDREN AND THE PREGNANT WOMEN! The Bible writers knew how to “touch the heart” of religious people!) I WILL SLAY THEIR CHERISHED OFFSPRING."



The Christian ANTI-ABORTION politics is based on some oddball verses in the Bible, because they believe that with “MUCH SUFFERING” they must go to Heaven, regardless of any adverse effect on the health of any pregnant woman (I Tim 2:14-15)! The Bible and Church dogmas are so full of Holy crap that it is no joke! Christians are imposing their misguided and in some cases sadistic “pro-life” views on the rest of the non-religious population just to fulfill a religious satisfaction imposed on them by the preachers who know how to handle the Bible, like a “2-edged sword,” spiritually speaking, of course!



Under God’s Law the parents of the bride must ALWAYS keep at hand the last period tampon (or "cloth") especially on the wedding day, otherwise the wedding party might turn into a PREGNANT BRIDE stoning party! The Blessed Virgin Mary was VERY LUCKY that Saint Joseph was such a good sucker to her!



Deuteronomy 22:20-21 (NIV) If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found* (*It was obvious that the “Virgin” Mary was pregnant!), she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you* (*In so many areas Christianity turned out to be quite a noxious evil in our society! Some Christian fanatics are determined to make life miserable for the rest of us in spite of what it is written in the Bible!).



Preachers won’t tell you this much because they know what to skim off the Bible for you so your faithful giving to The LORD won’t waiver! Regardless of what the Bible says, most Christians are brainwashed to blindly obey “them that have the rule” over them!



Deuteronomy 17:12-13 (NIV) The man who shows contempt for the judge or for the PRIEST who stands ministering there to the Lord your God MUST BE PUT TO DEATH! You must purge the evil from Israel* (*it is an EVIL worthy of death in the eyes of this Bible God to question the priest/preacher authority!). ALL THE PEOPLE WILL HEAR AND BE AFRAID, AND WILL NOT BE CONTEMPTUOUS AGAIN* (*a bit of Holy Mafia talk ought to teach any Christian moron a lesson -Rom 15:4 !).



Luke 16:17 (NIV) (Jesus said) It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke