Criticism of religion
[1] Historical records of criticism of religion go back to at least 5th century BCE in ancient Greece, in Athens specifically, with Diagoras "the Atheist" of Melos.
[3][10][11][12] In his work De rerum natura, the 1st-century BCE Roman poet Titus Lucretius Carus wrote: "But 'tis that same religion oftener far / Hath bred the foul impieties of men.
"[13] A philosopher of the Epicurean school, Lucretius believed the world was composed solely of matter and void and that all phenomena could be understood as resulting from purely natural causes.
Despite believing in gods, Lucretius, like Epicurus, felt that religion was born of fear and ignorance, and that understanding the natural world would free people of its shackles.
[23] Dennett and Harris have asserted that theist religions and their scriptures are not divinely inspired, but man made to fulfill social, biological and political needs.
[30][31] Given current understanding of the physical world, where human knowledge has increased dramatically, Dawkins and French atheist philosopher Michel Onfray contend that continuing to hold on to these belief systems is irrational and no longer useful.
It is the opium of the people.According to Karl Marx, the father of "scientific socialism", religion is a tool used by the ruling classes whereby the masses can shortly relieve their suffering via the act of experiencing religious emotions.
Therefore, as long as the public believes in religion, they will not attempt to make any genuine effort to understand and overcome the real source of their suffering, which in Marx's opinion was their capitalist economic system.
[36] Some people have criticized the idea that "God" and "Faith" are viruses of the mind, suggesting that it is far removed from evidence and data" that it is unreasonable to extract certain behaviours solely through religious memes.
[39] Sam Harris compares religion to a mental illness, saying that it "allows otherwise normal human beings to reap the fruits of madness and consider them holy".
[40] According to a retrospective study (2011) of Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and the Apostle Paul, they may have had psychotic disorders that contributed inspirations for their revelations.
Psilocybin from mushrooms affect regions of the brain including the serotonergic system, which generating a sense of strong religious meaning, unity and ecstasy.
[54] In his book Why People Believe Weird Things, Michael Shermer theorizes that emerging mankind imposed made-up explanations and bizarre rituals for natural phenomena which they did not and could not understand.
[56] Philosopher Auguste Comte posited that many societal constructs pass through three stages and that religion corresponds to the two earlier, or more primitive stages by stating: "From the study of the development of human intelligence, in all directions, and through all times, the discovery arises of a great fundamental law, to which it is necessarily subjective, and which has a solid foundation of proof, both in the facts of our organization and in our historical experience.
The law is this: that each of our leading conceptions – each branch of our knowledge – passes successively through three different theoretical conditions: the theological, or fictitious; the metaphysical, or abstract; and the scientific, or positive".
[74] In early 2013, the Iranian parliament published an official report about excluding stoning from the penal code and it accused Western media of spreading "noisy propaganda" about the case.
[78][79] Male circumcision is a painful process and can lead to bleeding and in some cases severe side effects including penile dysfunction and even death.
[93] Bertrand Russell and Richard Dawkins cite religiously inspired or justified violence, resistance to social change, attacks on science, repression of women and homophobia.
John William Draper and Andrew Dickson White argued that when a religion offers a complete set of answers, it often discourages exploration of those areas by suppressing curiosity, denies its followers a broader perspective and can prevent social, moral and scientific progress.
[109][110][111][112] Despite that, conflict theory remains a popular view among the general public[113] and is limited to a few sets of controversies such as creation–evolution, stem cells, and birth control.
[113][117] These historians cite, for example, the Galileo affair[118] and the Scopes trial;[119] and assert that these were not purely instances of conflict between science and religion as personal and political factors also weighed heavily in the development of each.
[120][121][122] Some historians contend that many scientific developments such as Kepler's laws[123] and the 19th-century reformulation of physics in terms of energy[124] were explicitly driven by religious ideas.
Not all religious people subscribe to the idea that religion and science are mutually exclusive (non-overlapping magisteria) as do some atheists including Stephen Jay Gould.
[26] Albert Einstein stated that "A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary.
[155] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints eliminated underaged marriages in the 19th century, but several branches of Mormonism continue the practice.
[179] K. K. Ruthven argues that the "legacy of Christian misogyny was consolidated by the so-called 'Fathers' of the Church, like Tertullian, who thought a woman was not only 'the gateway of the devil' but also 'a temple built over a sewer'".
[181] In the Middle Ages and the early modern period, Christian religious figures were involved in witch trials, which were generally held in order to punish assertive or independent women such as midwives since witchcraft was often not in evidence,[182] or activists.
[190] Muslims are only allowed to eat meat that has been prepared according to Sharia law and they say that the Islamic form of ritual slaughter is designed to reduce the amount of pain and distress that the animal suffers.
[197] The African American Review sees as important the role Christian revivalism in the black church played in the civil rights movement.
[200] Schaeffer's views influenced conservatives like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Tim LaHaye, John W. Whitehead and although they represent different theological and political ideas, dominionists believe they have a Christian duty to take "control of a sinful secular society", either by putting fundamentalist Christians in office, or by introducing biblical law into the secular sphere.
