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Why do you reject the idea of religion?

Admin 9 June 19
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200 comments (126 - 150)

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I dont. I wouldnt presume on other peoples sensitivities it exists for some people - where I live is the tenth most god-less country in the world France is first. I rather think there was more religion before the first and second world wars and I wouldn twant anyone to tread heavily on my sensitivities about being godless either - Live and Let Live!

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My parents and extended family were all atheists I think it might have had something to do with them living in the most bombed part of the world the east india docks. My father was in the theatre of war as communications officer and my mother was a welder in the docks - I grew up without a god but without the word 'atheist' until I was about 9 y.o. and was drummed out of the brownies for not attending church parade. when I realised I had never had a god and also realised I never wanted one. I just find religion much to 'throughother' and the stories I could read for myself like Alice in wonderland - What katy did , Count of Monte Christo etc. were real stories with hooks and story lines that made sense - why do your head in over biblical stuff when real books are so much more complete

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I got tired of the restrictions, the closed minds, people telling what to believe,etc. I know there is no such thing as god and religion is bs. I wish I would seen the light earlier in life and had the courage to do something about it. I've been an Atheist for 6 weeks or so and it's quite liberating not to follow bs. I consider myself open minded person and religious people are closed minded.

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Mainly, because religious faith (belief without a requirement of substantiation) is a totally failed epistemology that nether explains nor predicts reality as it is acutally experienced.

I don't like surprises. Surprises tell me that my mental model of reality needs work. Religion invariably worsens the accuracy of that model, if not completely dismantles it in favor of an incredibly shitty model. Reason, critical thinking, skepticism, and the things they lead to -- including atheism -- tend to improve that mental model.

An example of a faulty religious mental model: "God blesses the righteous and confounds the wicked".

For any remotely meaningful definition of "righteous" and "wicked" and "bless" and "confound" that we might agree to ... this immediately runs into the minor problem that in fact tons of nice people suffer and tons of asshats propser. This is undeniable, therefore the proposition (really, the baseless assertion) is clearly wrong.

I have replaced this with "stuff happens" combined with a belief that I have some meaningful although limited amount of freedom of choice to influence that "stuff", and lo and behold -- no more cognitive dissonance, no more surprises, no more "what did I do to deserve this, why is god punishing me", and on and on. Just stuff happening and me doing my best to make better stuff happen.

Another problem with this one faulty proposition (never mind the countless others!) is that it leads to other faulty propositions, some of them unconscious. One that crops up as a result of the notion that if I'm righteous god will be in my corner, is the specious notion that life owes me something. I'm entitled to be blessed, and if I'm not, then I'm cheated out of it.

But if life is just stuff happening then I have no special privileges, and none of the associated expectations to be violated when things occasionally go off the rails -- as they inevitably will.

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Religion is not an idea. It is a social structure based around the belief in a deity. The purpose(s) of religion and its impact upon any given society depends upon who you talk to. Many people say they benefit from the practice of religion, others say religion is detremental to the society at large, fragmenting people based upon the tenets of those religions. I am not religious myself, but who am I to tell another person who prays to a deity for comfot what it takes to get them
"through the night."

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Why do you accept it? I bet it's exactly the same reasons but I see them as negatives.

Ruzho Level 3 Feb 25, 2018
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Wow, there are so many reasons... I think for me the most glaring one is how much most religions pushed the idea of choosing this one way to greatness and glory with a place at the foot of some all powerful being, the all knowing one, or any other way which is a fast track to a firey and painful afterlife and a lot of face time with the primary punisher. Pushing such a terror on people seems horribly shady and disturbing to me. Forcing one way and blocking out anything else is a brainwashing technique as well and most people, especially children, have a hard time dealing with that sort of fear. Somehow the idea of a cult is a scary thing to the people in these religions but this cultish, often bordering on terrorist behavior goes over the heads of those same people.

I grew up having friends in families who lived with those ideas and they honestly scared me far more than any threat of hell. You could be knocked over sometimes with the fear they have if you mention following something their church and family deemed evil.

I'm one of the last people who would ever tell someone what to believe or not to believe or to try to push my own on another. But I honestly feel sometimes my head would implode with the idea that learning about other paths and about the world around us, learning how religions get developed and the history of them, and how science really works are all bad things... Really??

AmyLF Level 7 Feb 15, 2018
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Any "god" or religion that will allow a child of 5 or 6 to be sexually assaulted (male on male), physically abused by his father and older siblings, emotionally abused by parents and siblings, ground down to be made to feel worthless and fighting back was useless, live in fear of his family and others and be molested by deacon at age 11 is full of shit.
Children are to be nurtured and protected, not left to luck-of-the-draw circumstances to get "good" parents.
If I was omnipotent I would never allow children to be treated that way.
If jesus loves the little children and by virtue his father does as well, then where the hell were they when I needed help? Answer: gods are not real, religion is false and a leftover of the superstitious age.
And yes, I am still angry about what happened and I hope I do remember who assaulted me so I can confront them.

0

Because once I put my johnson in my skivvies there was no room for nothing else. Plain and simple I am a Man of the 20th Century. But to quote Marlon Brando in "The Wild One"... What you have?

0

I never made any sense to me but not until I read "Illusions" was I able to formulate my thoughts. For me it boiled down to, religion is something man created. It is about control and power in todays world. I Think hundreds of years ago it was a way to explain the un-explainable. Keep the uneducated in awe of you and you can talk 'em into ANYthing.

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I don't reject the idea of religion; I just don't see any reason to believe any of the claims of the religions I've encountered. The way the question is posed is similar to asking, "Why do you reject the idea of Big Foot?" Well, I mean, we know that large, hairy primates to live in some forested areas, so the idea of Big Foot isn't something I reject - I just need to see some evidence that any of them live in North America.

Religions make all sorts of claims that either cannot be tested/verified, or that have actually been demonstrated to be false. So while I don't reject the idea of religion, I refuse to believe things for which I have seen no good evidence.

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What do you have? (Marlon Brando in the wild one)
Simply didn't worked for me. Just disappeared while in catholic elementary school. No event regardless the painful or dangerous to my life made me look back and return to something that never been there for me, or even simply doubt my non belief. Will something happen in the future? Can't say, I don't see me requesting for "Last Rites". Good Question but I like my last 55 plus years of sanity.

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It isnt so defined for me as rejection, just 'not an embracing'.I have never ever felt in any way religously inclined, it doesn't cut the mustard for me - As a young teen I really tried but it wasnt working - I think maybe I am just resistant to religion as some people are to the flu.

0

My Father, Mother, 2 Brother and Sister are religious knitted. They Go to their church about thrice a week. I can't tell them their blind with their socalled faith and beliefs. But, they didn't force me at all to join them. Meaning, they also respect me if I am not religious and praying for even sometimes as I turned 18 with the help of my friend whos agnostic that time I was enlightened..I am proud member of PHILIPPINE ATHIEST AND AGNOSTIC SOCIETY also known as "PATAS" and
Humanist Alliance Philippines Intl. "HAPI" . Now I'm turning 30 and figuring out whats comes next.Will my family be as me and how can they be?...

#Respect #Pitty #TruthIgnorance #PATAS #HAPI

0

Being a person of reasonable intelligence, it is not difficult to reject the airy fairy teachings of such childish nonsense. Christ created the heavens and the earth ? Whatever !!

0

Morally, logically and in general I just don't have faith.

0

it chips away at your logic and common sense.
it sends you to war in the name of that god it divides people against each other ...should i go on?

0

To quote my then 7yo son "It's silly". By which he meant that there was no evidence for its "truths" and most of its teachings were contradicted by other teachings.

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Because it doesn't make sense.

I see no reason to worship anything, let alone a made up mythological being. Almost all religions are based on fear and having to pay lip service to vengeful and self centred thugs.

No thanks. I have more respect from those I share this planet with to waste time with made up rules that are not relevant to the world in which I live.

0

Overall religions have been the most destructive influences on Earth as people declare war on others based on their view of themselves as God's chosen ones. Cults spring up in Gods name and prey on the gullible to take advantage of them for sexual and monetary gratification and lets face it, leasers of these cults and tele-evangelists must have greedy and narcissistic tendencies to do so much damage for their own selfish benefit.

0

After my several years of research in church i DO believe it is just an idea for a kind if twisted control that very few questions!! Rejected idea for sure!

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I reject it because I think it is an invention of man to control other people through fear. I think it has been the source of too much pain and suffering through out history. Too much has been done in the name of some God that I fundamentally disagree with. I see very little good in organized religion. People need a sense of community etc, that religion can offer, but it can be achieved in other ways by mankind that doesn't require the people to buy the rules of the church.

0

The idea that a man made concept that has so many variations yet they all claim to be the "word of god" is ridiculous.

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If serves no purpose, other than to enrich the church. The candy coated ideology is based on hatred and tribalism. Religions are the root of most wars and domestic violence. More deaths can be attributed to religion than any disease, violence or natural disaster.

0

The damage it's done to so many people both physically and mentally.

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