I often see the argument posed by theists, and some atheists, that humanity somehow requires religion to keep from imploding on itself, and taking away religion would lead to widespread chaos and eventually doomsday.
I tend to strongly disagree.
This is a list of ways I think humanity could very likely be better off without religion now (specifically the Abrahamic religions and others with similar doctrines), supported by evidence I've come across.
Without religion:
1. Humanity could get along better. Tribalism is the blanket term to describe the innate human tendency to form alliances and groups against one another. More and more research is showing that tribalism can be overcome, and peace amongst people of different groups can be achieved, the more people are able to see a like-ness in one another. A "you are human just like me, I accept you, I feel comfortable around you".
Religion is a direct obstacle to achieving this like-ness, and it shouldn't be hard to imagine why. Religion teaches millions of people, usually via childhood indoctrination (brainwashing), that because the so-called "creator of the entire universe" said so, they are better, more "holy", more valuable, more moral than other groups of people. This is a perfect recipe for unnecessary tribalistic tendencies. And we see this type of religious tribalism unfolding all over the world, often violently.
Don't get me wrong, tribalism can and does exist in many other forms (racism, imperialism, even people with different tastes in music can form alliances based on that). But what sets religion apart is the fact that it rests upon a firm foundation of fear (of hell), and shielded from criticism in a way other forms of tribalism aren't, making it much harder to overcome.
2. Humanity could better understand the world & universe around us. Since the dawn of scientific & empirical thought, religion has been in direct opposition to a vast amount of scientific progress. No honest person can deny this. When Galileo discovered the earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around, the church wanted him killed because it contradicted the picture the gospels painted of our place in the world. The same goes for the anti-evolution nonsense that still goes on today. People are actively against the foundational theory uniting all biology, for no other reason than that it contradicts the religion they were taught.
Religious indoctrination installs cognitive biases in peoples' minds, causing strong feelings of resistance, anger, hostility and paranoia once they are confronted with certain scientific (& sometimes philosophical) topics that call into question the religious worldview they were indoctrinated with. The anti-intellectual, anti-science mindset that religion births is causing billions of people across the globe to remain centuries behind on a huge chunk of human knowledge. Thus, impeding the scientific & intellectual progress of humanity as a whole.
According to surveys, the countries with the lowest populations of religious people have the highest rates of quality education. It's not always accurate to imply causation from correlation, and the relationship might flow both ways, but it's quite obvious that the more religious someone is, the more unwelcoming of science they're likely to be.
3. Humanity could understand ourselves better. It is true that humans have innate biological insticts that drive much of our behavior. These insticts, as science continues to find, aren't magical but evolved. They helped our species survive, just like every other animals' insticts help it survive. Rather than helping us understand and best navigate our human instincts (like our emotional reactions & sexuality), religion demonizes and mystifies them. It manufactures a ridiculous amount of shame around simply being human.
Religion also, in it's ignorance, has stamped mental disorders with labels like "spiritual invasion" or "demonic posession". Instead of people getting the psychiatric help they need, people are sent to exorcists and other phony religious leaders for "deliverance". Not only does this put lives & minds in danger, but it generates an unnecessary sense of fear and panic around treatable medical conditions, causing people to fundamentally misunderstand their own mental health.
4. Humanity could be more proactive & prosperous. Rather than relying on prayer, which is essentially talking to yourself, people could be more likely to take action towards solving their problems if religion were not a factor in their lives. Again, we see that the most prospering and forward-moving countries have smaller percentages of people who think religiously. Because their societies are based in reason and evidence-based thinking, they are quicker to find workable solutions to economic, political, health, and other issues. Much of the law in the developed world is based on our current understanding of these issues according to research. NOT religious books, which were written by people 2,000 years ago who were quite ignorant in these areas.
5. Humanity could be happier. The biggest reason of all that people give for why people need religion, is that it gives them comfort and hope. When going through a rough time, praying helps people cope. When someone dies, the promise that you'll see them again is soothing. Although I don't deny that religion can serve as an emotional bandaid, or even a vessel for truly healing practices (ex. "giving your troubles up to god" could have the same cognitive effect as "accepting what you can't control and doing your best" ), it is NOT, imo, the only way, let alone the best way, for us to achieve happiness and peace.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, the areas of Neuroscience and Psychology are making some incredible discoveries as of late, uncovering long-awaited answers to our mysterious psyches and how to navigate them. Recent studies show that happiness, contentment, and compassion for onesself and others can be learned & practiced as skills; healing from grief, sorrow, and trauma can be achieved through evidence based psychiatric techniques (including self-directed therapies); and life's obstacles can be surmounted by tapping into proven resources (like a nurturing social environment).
In other words, very good answers to how to be happier, how to get over struggles, how to find peace, are out there. In this day and age, the internet, libraries and bookstores are swarming with this information. With some research into these resources, it should become clear that religion has outlived it's usefulness in this area as well.
So, to conclude, I think that humanity could not only survive without organized religion like the Abrahamic faiths, we could thrive. The children who are raised without the religion across the globe, in areas like the Netherlands, Japan, the Czech Republic, and Iceland, yet become healthy, happy, and functioning members of their societies, are evidence of this. At this point I feel like humanity is clutching on to religion like a child to it's stuffed animal. We don't need it anymore, we just think we do.
I tend to strongly disagree.
This is a list of ways I think humanity could very likely be better off without religion now (specifically the Abrahamic religions and others with similar doctrines), supported by evidence I've come across.
Without religion:
1. Humanity could get along better. Tribalism is the blanket term to describe the innate human tendency to form alliances and groups against one another. More and more research is showing that tribalism can be overcome, and peace amongst people of different groups can be achieved, the more people are able to see a like-ness in one another. A "you are human just like me, I accept you, I feel comfortable around you".
Religion is a direct obstacle to achieving this like-ness, and it shouldn't be hard to imagine why. Religion teaches millions of people, usually via childhood indoctrination (brainwashing), that because the so-called "creator of the entire universe" said so, they are better, more "holy", more valuable, more moral than other groups of people. This is a perfect recipe for unnecessary tribalistic tendencies. And we see this type of religious tribalism unfolding all over the world, often violently.
Don't get me wrong, tribalism can and does exist in many other forms (racism, imperialism, even people with different tastes in music can form alliances based on that). But what sets religion apart is the fact that it rests upon a firm foundation of fear (of hell), and shielded from criticism in a way other forms of tribalism aren't, making it much harder to overcome.
2. Humanity could better understand the world & universe around us. Since the dawn of scientific & empirical thought, religion has been in direct opposition to a vast amount of scientific progress. No honest person can deny this. When Galileo discovered the earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around, the church wanted him killed because it contradicted the picture the gospels painted of our place in the world. The same goes for the anti-evolution nonsense that still goes on today. People are actively against the foundational theory uniting all biology, for no other reason than that it contradicts the religion they were taught.
Religious indoctrination installs cognitive biases in peoples' minds, causing strong feelings of resistance, anger, hostility and paranoia once they are confronted with certain scientific (& sometimes philosophical) topics that call into question the religious worldview they were indoctrinated with. The anti-intellectual, anti-science mindset that religion births is causing billions of people across the globe to remain centuries behind on a huge chunk of human knowledge. Thus, impeding the scientific & intellectual progress of humanity as a whole.
According to surveys, the countries with the lowest populations of religious people have the highest rates of quality education. It's not always accurate to imply causation from correlation, and the relationship might flow both ways, but it's quite obvious that the more religious someone is, the more unwelcoming of science they're likely to be.
3. Humanity could understand ourselves better. It is true that humans have innate biological insticts that drive much of our behavior. These insticts, as science continues to find, aren't magical but evolved. They helped our species survive, just like every other animals' insticts help it survive. Rather than helping us understand and best navigate our human instincts (like our emotional reactions & sexuality), religion demonizes and mystifies them. It manufactures a ridiculous amount of shame around simply being human.
Religion also, in it's ignorance, has stamped mental disorders with labels like "spiritual invasion" or "demonic posession". Instead of people getting the psychiatric help they need, people are sent to exorcists and other phony religious leaders for "deliverance". Not only does this put lives & minds in danger, but it generates an unnecessary sense of fear and panic around treatable medical conditions, causing people to fundamentally misunderstand their own mental health.
4. Humanity could be more proactive & prosperous. Rather than relying on prayer, which is essentially talking to yourself, people could be more likely to take action towards solving their problems if religion were not a factor in their lives. Again, we see that the most prospering and forward-moving countries have smaller percentages of people who think religiously. Because their societies are based in reason and evidence-based thinking, they are quicker to find workable solutions to economic, political, health, and other issues. Much of the law in the developed world is based on our current understanding of these issues according to research. NOT religious books, which were written by people 2,000 years ago who were quite ignorant in these areas.
5. Humanity could be happier. The biggest reason of all that people give for why people need religion, is that it gives them comfort and hope. When going through a rough time, praying helps people cope. When someone dies, the promise that you'll see them again is soothing. Although I don't deny that religion can serve as an emotional bandaid, or even a vessel for truly healing practices (ex. "giving your troubles up to god" could have the same cognitive effect as "accepting what you can't control and doing your best" ), it is NOT, imo, the only way, let alone the best way, for us to achieve happiness and peace.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, the areas of Neuroscience and Psychology are making some incredible discoveries as of late, uncovering long-awaited answers to our mysterious psyches and how to navigate them. Recent studies show that happiness, contentment, and compassion for onesself and others can be learned & practiced as skills; healing from grief, sorrow, and trauma can be achieved through evidence based psychiatric techniques (including self-directed therapies); and life's obstacles can be surmounted by tapping into proven resources (like a nurturing social environment).
In other words, very good answers to how to be happier, how to get over struggles, how to find peace, are out there. In this day and age, the internet, libraries and bookstores are swarming with this information. With some research into these resources, it should become clear that religion has outlived it's usefulness in this area as well.
So, to conclude, I think that humanity could not only survive without organized religion like the Abrahamic faiths, we could thrive. The children who are raised without the religion across the globe, in areas like the Netherlands, Japan, the Czech Republic, and Iceland, yet become healthy, happy, and functioning members of their societies, are evidence of this. At this point I feel like humanity is clutching on to religion like a child to it's stuffed animal. We don't need it anymore, we just think we do.