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Quote by: Technosoul  They did ban religion for the most part in the USSR and in China it is not strongly advocated by the government.
I do not see where banning religion did much to improve those countries. |
I see your point here but we must consider a few things first. People of the USSR were "forced" to give up their "hope" and "faith" and like with any society, when people are forced to do something they don't like, they will find ways to do it anyway. While it was unlawful to practice religion, they were still able to worship in secret. Think of it like this.... Pot has been illegal in the US since the early 20's It's banned in almost every state. Yet, millions of otherwise law abiding citizens still find ways of getting it and smoking it.
If you want to get rid of something like religion, I think the only effective way of doing this is to lead by example and educate people. afterall, isn't this how it all got started to begin with? I realize that over the centuries, religion forced its way through the lands by shear violence or threat of violence as well. But this only lead to varying sects of religion and new religions to sprout as well.
As far as the world being a better place without religion? Thats a tough debate. Some say that homosexuallity would be safe and not frowned upon, but I wonder how true that is considering many people are just plain homophobic. I would argue that there wouldn't be any theological objection to it, so I guess that's a plus. I do beleive women would have had more say in the way the world was run had they been given equal treatment through out the ages, this may or may not have lead to less wars over land and resources. My biggest fear would be the masses thinking that since there is no afterlife to contend with, they could do what they want. On the other hand, without that back up, they may realize there is only this life and they might try to make the best of it. Afterall, most people do have a conscience and we still have societal laws to keep people in THIS life in check. What we wouldn't see is people dying for their faith or killing others in the names of their god(s). We may still see people blowing up abortion clinics just because they disagree with the practice itself, not because of religion. However there wouldn't be any theological justification to deny women the rights to their own body.
John Lennon said it well...... IMAGINE..
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Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
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The only part of this song I disagree with is trying to imagine no possessions..... excuse me, but I like my toys
