Religion vs. Superstition

[Agent007]

Some close-minded people have labeled religion as superstition. Their statements are inherently false since their is a difference between the two. What exactly is this difference?

[Mr.Vicchio]

The difference is not something they will ever admit, it's just a "goad" bait comment.

[Agent007]

You are exactly correct, Mr. Vicchio. I have made the point that religions and denominations such as that of Roman Catholicism condemn superstitious beliefs, but these people blatantly ignore me.

[The Analog Kid]

What these nuts don't realize is that their religion, liberalism, humanism, whatever they want to call it requires just as much of a leap of faith as any other belief system.

In fact, if I say there is a God, I can't prove it, nor can they disprove it BUT their orthodoxy is based on a whole set of beliefs that can easily proven to be false.

For example, it's a liberal belief/superstition/part of their religion that Corporations are Republican. That is easily proven false.

It is also their belief that poverty is the cause of crime. Again, this is easily proven false.

They attack religion because religion is one of the few institutions left that still has a traditional view of culture, the roles of the sexes, morality, etc, etc. In order to create their perfect society they first need to undo these currently held beleifs and they believe the best way to do that is to attack and discredit religion.

[caspian88]

Quote by: Agent007 Some close-minded people have labeled religion as superstition. Their statements are inherently false since their is a difference between the two. What exactly is this difference?

Superstition (n) - any belief, based on fear or ignorance, that is inconsistent with the known facts of science or with what is generally considered in the particular society as true ad rational.

Religion (n) - belief in a divine or superhuman power or powers to be obeyed and worshipped as the creator(s) and ruler(s) of the universe.
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I'd argue with this point.

Both Webster's Dictionary, 1998.

Religion qualifies as superstition because it is a belief without sceintific basis. You cannot prove that there is a god(s). You also cannot prove that there isn't. The only thing that would prove the existence of a god(s) would be them coming down here and doing weird stuff.

Superstition does not require that the belief be false, it simply requires that there be no proof. So, religion qualifies.

Secular humanism (and athiesm) don't quite qualify as a religion, as they don't actually believe in anything. Athesm is the absense of religion; secular humanism the belief that we should focus on man and not the divine in our decisions.

I attack and discredit religion because I don't think people should believe in stuff for which there is no proof.

[castille]

I think the legal definition of religion is something that has over 10,000 believers.

That's why there was the whole "jedi religion" thing.

[Agent007]

According to caspian and castille, there is a sort of religion based on superstition. I think that over 10,000 people in America have some type of belief, no matter how subtle it may be, in the unluckiness of black cats and broken mirrors. Although I do not believe in such hokey-pokey and unproven beliefs, it is ultimately true that many do. However, I do not actually believe that this superstitious belief would essentially qualify as a worthwhile and substantial religion in at least American culture.

[caspian88]

Quote by: Agent007 According to caspian and castille, there is a sort of religion based on superstition.

That's not what I said. I said that all religion is superstition.

[Agent007]

Perhaps I skewed something you wrote. Sorry, Caspian.

[castille]

The problem is, "black cats" and "broken mirrors" are simply little things which people would not willingly admit. There is also no name for these little superstitious issues, making it hard to write down on the census form.

In contrast, a religion like Jedi could be legal if there is enough believers. Wasn't there an attempt previously to do this?

[mr.perfecto]

Religion isn't just about chanting funny words, and reading big, old books, its also comes strapped to an ethical belief system. Superstitions on the other hand, don't offer any guidance choosing between right and wrong.

[Agent007]

Mr. Perfecto, you are very correct in my opinion.

[Agent007]

Who is ready for unintrusive religious discussions? Join the "Theologists" private group today!

[castille]

Many superstitions offer ethical belief systems. Perhaps they are not structed like the Catholic Church with a Pope and all, but they still offer ethical advice. There was one belief in an old Chinese village near my home town, where the villagers believed if you committed a bad thing, you would experience four times the pain (in Chinese, 4 has a similar sound to death). The ethical lesson was simple: Don't do bad things to others, what you don't want done to yourself 4 times over.