[rez]

Quote by: stevemckay It seems to me religion exists to give hope.

Anybody can give anybody hope at no cost whatsoever.

False hope maybe but hope nonetheless. Hope that there is a reason to things. Hope that deceased loved ones live on. Hope that we will live on, Hope that the universe is not some thoughtless reality.

And yet personal hope and wishes have nothing to do with how reality actually operates. It is unhealthy to not be able to distinguish personal hope and wishes with reality.

To be sure people in power or people who want to have power will exploit that hope… but that is true with many systems that appeal to the masses such as Communism or Nazism.

And yet nobody approves of exploiting hope, so why should people be ok with religion?

I do agree that coming to the conclusion that God is not completely controlling every aspect of the universe and our lives makes “giving humans power” through religion harder… but not impossible. Scientology is a great example of that.

It is a great example of how "beliefs" are a problem.