What about religion is bad for society in general?

[BFM4L]

I'm doing a debate in school about religion and atheism. I have listened to a few speeches from others and numerous atheists have said they believe religion is bad for society. But none of the speeches I have witnessed have said in what way it is bad, or in what way it holds us back. One of them mentioned that it holds us back technologically, but nothing else. Can anybody tell me what other ways religion may be bad for society?

 

[BillKAtheistGoodfella]

All tax paying citizens are not afforded the same rights under law (gay marriage issue).
Medical advances are being stifled due to the stem cell debate.
Scientific advances have historically been stifled by the church (read up on Galileo).
Attempts are made to stifle education by forcing faith based ideas into science classrooms (Intelligent Design movement).
The Catholic Church's political influence and power over the centuries (including Vatican City being an autonomous nation).
9-11, terrorism, and religious extremism.
The religious conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.

To name a few...

 

[ChristopherB]

I can give you a few recent examples:

Hindering scientific advancement in stem cell research, and organ regeneration
Dictating what is taught in school so that religion is included sided by side with science
Attempting to outlaw a women's right to choose the outcome of her pregnancy

Oh, and that little 9/11 thing...

If you want some a little less recent - I may need a couple of pages.

 

[lifelover]

Many families are torn apart by different and intolerant beliefs.
The amount of money being spent on medical research vs the amount of money being tithed to churches is staggering. You might check out those figures.
There are laws in some states that prohibit an Atheist from running for political office.
20 % of all privately owned land is owned by churches. Churches do not pay property taxes.
The world would be much better off if people prayed at home and donated their money to actual charities instead of building bigger churches and bigger parking lots for them.
2 hand working is worth more than 1,000 clasped in prayer.
Some religions restrict the learning potential in there adherents. In many cases, women are not treated fairly.
Wars between competing religions is a daily problem that has existed since religion began.
Good luck with your research.

 

[bestonnet_00]

The ultimate problem with religion is faith, the belief of something without or even despite evidence (and it isn't just religion that is affected by this, but that is the worst such manifestation of the use of faith).

You could try http://www.smartsociety.org/ which has a lot of information on how religion is harmful.

 

[m†brwnsugr†m]

Ideologies always get warped by people with agendas. Any ideology can and has been used as a tool to control the masses. Think about politics, do you think either major party really cares about us? The typical objections to religion are on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage, the holding back technology debate is mainly about embryonic stem cell research (which is legal but not publicly funded). Religion is an inextricable part of Western culture. Some may say it's the foundation Western culture. Most classical works of art, ancient architecture, ancient philosophy, classical music, etc... was imagined by religious people and their work was often a tribute to God...

I digress, but it's true that religion has been wielded as a weapon throughout history, but to say that means religion is at fault is an oversimplification imo. Religion is not bad for society. Bad people are harming us and they use all sorts of ideologies or motives to do so.

 

[LhaBho]

The whole "I'm Saved. But You Are Going To Hell."

And the whole "Lack of Proof is Proof of No God"

Thing.

 

[boom]

Nothing is really bad about religion except for its extremists. For a lot of people in the world, religion offers hope. In contrast to one of the answers above, several religious organisations (particularly the Catholic Church) are among the most scientific organisations in the world and contribute HUGELY to scientific research.