Religion is the cause of all things evil in the world: True or false?

Question

Thanks :)

Answer 1

I'd say s*x and politics would have a comfortable place in the abode of sin.  

Answer 2

Not all things, but it's definitely an evil.

Answer 3

Since according to religious belief, our ability to even know the difference between good and evil is due to religion, the answer has to be yes.

Answer 4

TRUE :

1) Believing everyone else is wrong.

2) Believing others don't have a right to their beliefs without harassment of why they should change.

3) Believing people should not come first.

4) Believing people should make allowances for them because of their faith.

5) Not letting their children pick their own religious path.

6) Forcing their beliefs on others, including in the form of politics and trying to enact laws based on religion.

The Crusades.

The Inquisition.

Witch trials in Europe and America.

The Divine right of Kings (valid until killed by another Divinely-appointed King).

Missionaries destroying/converting smaller, "heathen" religions and cultures.

Missionaries such as Mother Teresa.

The demonization of other religions, e.g. Christianity demonizing Pagans ("They're devil-worshippers!"), the Romans demonizing Christians ("They're atheists and cannibals!").

Persecution of Heretics - e.g. Galileo for daring to suggest that the Earth orbits the Sun.

Children dying because their parents refused them medical treatment on religious grounds; relying instead on faith-healers and prayer.

Slavery, supposedly supported by scripture ("Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, just as you would obey Christ.", St.Paul, Ephesians 6:5)

Holy wars - followers of different faiths (or even the same faith) killing each other in the name of their (benevolent, loving and merciful) gods.

The destruction of great works of art considered to be pornographic/blasphemous, and the persecution of the artists.

Censorship (often destructive) of speech, art, books, music, films, poetry, songs and, if possible, thought.

Persecution/punishment of blasphemers (Salman Rushdie still has a death sentence on him), and blasphemy laws in general.

The requirement of theism in order to stand for public office or to testify in court.

Serial killers believing they are doing the work of Satan (or sometimes Jesus).

Often-fatal exorcisms by priests believing they are destroying the work of Satan.

People suffering dreadful injury or death in the belief that their faith has made them invulnerable (e.g. people climbing into lion enclosures at zoos, with a Bible as protection).

Whole societies divided by minor differences in belief or doctrine, often resulting in violence.

Mass suicides of cult-members following a charismatic leader who believes the world is about to End

The attempted genocide of followers of a particular faith (e.g. the Jewish Holocaust, "ethnic cleansing" in former Yugoslavia).

Blood sacrifices to appease the Gods, or to ensure a good harvest. (The Aztecs made daily human sacrifices to ensure that the Sun would rise. Or did they? )

The practice of "female circumcision" (more accurately termed genital mutilation).

The discouragement of rational, critical thought (resulting in young-earth creationists, for example).

Uncontrolled population growth caused (or at least helped) by churches prohibiting birth-control and abortion. (You can also add : unwanted pregnancies, ill-fated forced marriages, and pregnant teenagers condemned to a life in mental institutions to avoid embarrassing their families.)

The spread of sexually transmitted diseases (e.g. AIDS) due to churches prohibiting the use of condoms.

Believers whipping, impaling, poisoning or crucifying themselves during religious festivals as a demonstration of their faith and piety.

Suicide bombers taught to believe that martyrs go straight to Paradise.

The indoctrination of children into the religion of their parents, giving them an arbitrary, life-long belief that is almost entirely dependent on their place of birth.

Women treated as second-class citizens or even slaves

Pentecostal snake-handlers

Persecution of homosexuals

Abuse of power, authority and trust by religious leaders (for financial gain or sexual abuse of followers and even children).

Of course, some people hold the Traditional View simply because it is the traditional view.  I've heard people say, "Two thousand years of church tradition can't be wrong."  But this approach ignores just how often church tradition has been wrong:  when astronomers challenged the traditional interpretations of 1 Chronicles 16:30 and Psalm 104:5; when abolitionists questioned the Biblical support for slavery; when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses in defiance of the Catholic Church; when liberal Christians began suggesting that interracial marriage was not a sin in God's eyes - in these and many other cases, social pressures were the catalyst for reforming the church's traditions.  We are the body of Christ, to be sure, but we are an all-too-human body, and we're still growing to spiritual maturity.

Answer 5

Except Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Attila, etc, etc, etc, etc,

The assertion is so palpably ludicrous that I am surprised it could even be asked!

Answer 6

False...religion is the cause of some evil things in the world, the devil has other tactics besides religion! Racism for one.

Answer 7

False. Sin is the cause of evil. Religion is a man made attempt to placate God with good deeds despite our sin. That is why religion doesn't work. The only thing that works is a personal relationship with God Himself through Jesus Christ. Having such a relationship doesn't eradicate sin/evil, but it will save you from h**l (John 3:1-17)

Answer 8

False, its causes a great many bad things, but not all.

Answer 9

False. Religion is just a convenient excuse and conduit for man's depravity.

Answer 10

Hi, DABA:

False, Satan is the cause of this whole fiasco, but God has made plans to restore it to Edenic perfection.

There  is only one part of the Bible that tells you that it can not be understood until the "end of the days."  You can break that code and understand why millions were killed in the name of God: http://abiblecode.com

Shalom, peace in Jesus, Ben Yesua

Answer 11

completely TRUE!

Answer 12

True, False Religion is used by Satan to cause evil in this world

Answer 13

False. However religion that has become diverted and perverted by misunderstandings and misinterpretations and religion when it is used as a tool by the unscrupulous has been a great source of evil. To say your question/assertion is true would be to deny the evil done by the unbelievers in God. Neither is religion, even in its purest form, the cause of all things good in the world. Morality runs rampant in the believer and nonbeliever alike. (Yes, that was intentional.) I would argue that even the staunchest atheist is not immune to the positive and beneficial effects of the inspiration of God, even though that influence is unrecognized and denied. On the other hand, while a plant can grow even in the shade, it is when it is exposed to the direct rays of the sun that its growth is optimal.

Looking into the past, and I think in particular examining religion as it was in its very beginning is much like watching a football game entirely through a monocular with a cloudy, dirty and scratched lens. The more ancient the religion, the dirtier, more clouded and scratched the lens. It is my personal belief that the ancient religions such as the Greek, Roman and Norse religions were once vibrant, inspirational and in many ways was very similar to how Christianity was in its early years. But as religion gathers the dust of years, it becomes less and less able to address societies needs both because of the misinterpretations and misapplications of its principles, but also because religion many times is designed for a particular set of circumstances, people, time and area. As those change, the need for religion to change becomes more pressing. That is called Progressive Revelation.

While the updates may not come every year, or even every century, they do come. The most recent "update" if you will is the Baha'i Faith. It is time for world peace. There is only one religion that has even a moderately complete package to address that issue. The Baha'i Faith has a very complete and comprehensive package designed just for that. There is not anywhere a group or a program addressing any of the myriad problems the world faces today, personally, within families, locally, nationally or across the globe that has not consciously copied or accidentally adopted principles and many times even the goals that were first enunciated by the Baha'i Faith and its founder, Baha'u'llah (1817-1892). Even many of our catch-phrases have been unknowingly adopted by many around the world. Ever hear or read the words "Unity in Diversity?" Just one example of many I could cite. One I like in particular states, "The Baha'i Faith, uniting the world one heart at a time." For a Baha'i, that is not only slogan and a goal, it is becoming reality. The Baha'i Faith has for some decades been the world's second-most wide spread religion and is listed as the thirteenth largest in numbers. Pretty impressive for what in 1844 was an obscure movement in the Middle East. One slogan you probably have not read yet because it is one I coined just a few days ago is, "Time for World Peace? Time for the Baha'i Faith!"

Answer 14

Assuming that there is a God - He allows evil to exist, so...true.

Answer 15

well, maybe not all but the cause of quite a few bad things yes - I mean the church didn't make the h bomb and they didn't drop it on japan...so you can't really say of all things...

Answer 16

A) There are 2 kinds of "evil" in the world. One is nature. Call that one "naughtiness". An earthquake is naughty because it does not create destruction with deliberate and malicious intent. It's just what moving tectonic plates do when they move against one another.

B) The other stems from man's misuse of his gift of free will. Call that one "evil". A person is evil when he/she decides to cause harm to another, to him/herself, to any part of the natural world or to try to cause harm to God.

C) Committing murder is evil. Getting killed in an earthquake is sad.

That being clarified, the answer to your query is FALSE.

Human nature, fallen and UNredeemed due to free rejection of the option, is the cause of "evil".

And to "Happy Human",  who castigated Mother Teresa for trying to "convert" Hindus. She didn't do a blessed, blasted thing except love them totally. And if that "converted" 'em well, that's gravy on the roast.

Answer 17

False.  Religion is the direct cause of very few evils.

It just makes them worse -- tribalism, ignorance, egoism, rationalization of selfishness.

Answer 18

Completely True: Study you're history to know the truth, religion kills.

Answer 19

False. Religion and the 10 Commandments make you aware of the evil, but Religion itself doesn't cause evil.

Answer 20

False. "Evil" is a relative term and depends on the view point of the person using it. Religion has been a cause of many positive cultural changes and has also been a cause of much destruction and suffering. You're looking for a blanket statement of fact on a subject that is based primarily on opinion and viewpoint.

Answer 21

False. Evil can't create evil.

Answer 22

True-YES-Because-RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY

Since the ‘dawn’ of Man, he has asked questions such as, “Why am I here?” and “Where did all that surrounds me come from?”

In order to define the feelings that provoke such questions and ultimately discover their origin, thereby arriving at some sort of answer, he has tried to become re-connected to the source of all things in the hope of understanding the creative force of the Universe, That which is called ‘God‘.

The Latin root of the word ‘Religion’ suggests ‘re-binding’.  Religion (defined by the Oxford Dictionary as ‘a particular faith or system of worship’) in this sense is often confused with Spirituality, the one not necessarily involving the other.  History has shown us that religion has little to do with spirituality when it is wielded by men as an instrument in the attainment of autonomy over others. The power and wealth attained is used, not solely for the benefit of their followers and the needy, but to maintain their own ‘sovereignty‘.  

This is not to say that Religions, both those described on this website and many others, do not provide the means for people to reconnect with ‘God‘, and when Religion leads to an attempt to reconnect at both physical and metaphysical levels to the Cosmic Energy of Creation through love and purity of intent (meaning no harm to anything or anyone), it has everything to do with Spirituality.

Religions offer a set of values to communities, often involving adherence to codified ritualistic practices based on beliefs that have an inseparable connection with a community’s ancestral and/or cultural background.  This can involve both personal practices related to communal faith, and group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.  It often represents a cohesive, collective system of beliefs focusing on the philosophy that an unseen being, person, force or object exists that is considered to be supernatural, divine and sacred.  So it can be said that Religions have practices, values, institutions, traditions, and rituals that are traditional and are associated with a core belief which may encourage or even dictate a way of life.

Spirituality, however, is usually a deep and profound ‘personal’ experience associated with an individual's private quest to re-discover his or her own essence and discern who he or she really is.  This quest invariably involves entering into some form of holotropic state, (‘holotropic’ derives from Greek and means ‘a journey toward wholeness‘).  This state, whether it is consciously sought or is spontaneous in its origin, usually brings about life-changing spiritual developmental processes associated with that person reconnecting with the Creative Principle of the Universe, or God!  

'Reconnection' has no external counterpart in everyday human experience, so few people who attain it ever talk about it.  For this reason I have written my book “Flight of the Mystic Eagle” as I feel that ‘reconnection’, once encouraged, can be attained by anyone who is so hearted  

Answer 23

false, religion attempts to define things as good or evil but does not cause them.  some evil is created through the hate of one religion against another - so in that sense it is true

Answer 24

Matt Murray killed four people at two New Life Church facilities in Colorado. Murray said he hated Christians and that they were the "cause of all the problems of the world."

Is it?

It seems that you know nothing about God to ask that.

God love you!

Answer 25

Absolutely TRUE

Answer 26

false politics and society are the greater evil. god will always love you not other people.

Answer 27

false,

we are.

simple as that.

Answer 28

-Man is the cause of corrupt religion or false religion, rebelleus" not something spooky' with a devil a pitch fork red with horn in his head. Religion mean bond and practice or believe of a higher being. Thats why prophets were sent to every nation or raise to guide people to the right path of God and bring unity. Man also deviate from that path, and went against God prophets" that why u have divided sects, add their on ideas how to worship the supreme Being. all prophets of God came with the right religion which is (human nature) really is nature of God created all human beings,  the essence of the originator of the heavens and earth" our nature is (become) Gods like him' through (process) of purification of our faculties(spirit).

Answer 29

Definitely False Let me break it down... Religion > ppl just need something to Reli >Rely< gi  on >On< !!!

Answer 30

False, man's idea of what "religion" should be causes evil.

Answer 31

False - it's probably one of the leading causes, but there's also greed, envy, pride, and the other so-called deadly sins, which cause issues all on their own.