The Real Problem With Religion

atheistforhumanity:

Religion is not reasonable. By definition to be reasonable is to show justification or to have powers to distinguish. Religions of all types show no justification or evidence for supernatural claims and otherworldly authority. Religion does not objectively distinguish between fact and baseless assertion.

This means that believers cannot be reasonable about the topic of religion and this often spreads to other areas of their life. This is why people in America talk about their choice to believe. Belief should never be based on choice, it should be based on evidence and logical conclusion. If that is not your foundation then you rely on faith.

Faith is defined as belief without evidence. This is, by all accounts, the worst method or principle to employ because it cares nothing for truth. The reality of matters are either true or false and there is no choice involved. Something should never be accepted as a fact if there is no evidence.

IF you are someone who acknowledges the lack of justification or evidence for religion and still presents these ideas as facts or persuades others to believe with certainty then this is a completely dishonest act. There is nothing more dishonest than to tell another person you hold a book that contains all the answers to life’s questions and the word of a supreme being while you know you cannot prove any of it. It is horribly deceptive and damaging.

Furthermore, religious people have destroyed the word KNOW. It is constantly used incorrectly to makes claims, such as, “I know God exists.” Knowing is not the result of feeling something strongly, but that is exactly their justification. To know something is have solid understanding of a topic or to have irrefutable evidence of a fact. Only then can you know something. This word is now regularly used incorrectly, especially in reference to matters of belief.

Example: If I assert that I KNOW Santa Clause is real that changes nothing. It does not matter how deeply I feel, how heartfelt my plea, or how desperately I wish. I would be wrong. Truth cannot be created by feeling. It can only be discovered through investigation.

There are two major problems that arise from all of this. One is that people are making decisions based on religious belief because they believe false tales to be true and they belief certain moral positions to hold the weight of a supernatural entity. They are not working within the confines of reality and what has been proven as a result of truth, reason and science. The second problem is the inability to use critical thinking, analysis, and differentiation to inform themselves about the world.

All of these features are poisonous in a democracy. We need everyone to be able to comprehend and interact on an intellectually honest level to make decisions about our well being together. That is not happening whenever religious beliefs overshadow a topic, and everyone suffers for it. This is why atheists in western countries are so outspoken right now. We can no longer tolerate ignorance to be protected in our democracies.

Going forward, reason and science will be the leaders of both information and moral philosophy. We cannot rely on baseless ideas that rest on unproven authority. That is the problem with religion that we are trying to fix.