"Is religion necessary?"

[-CarelessMemories-]

I have to write a speech for English and I have chosen to speak on the topic of religion. I'm not entirely sure if it's a controversial subject and frankly I don't really care. If my English teacher doesn't like it, then he can go ******** himself.

That aside, I want to give both sides of the argument and my own opinion. I was wondering if anyone could give me any helpful points.  

[God of lunchboxes]

There are almost 700 members here. They all seem fine to me, so no it isn't.  

[Tenth Speed Writer]

You know, I said the same thing about my teacher without considering that the administration was on her side.

I got a C on my final paper. I put that the words "under God" were added to the pledge in the 50's, and said some of the founding fathers were Deist. :]  

[Baron von Turkeypants]

I went to a Catholic school and wrote a paper for abortion for my Ethics class. I got 100% on it, but there were red marks full of the teacher's rebuttals. It was pretty funny lol  

[ProjectOmicron88]

Anyone here will tell you it's not. But it is natural. As human beings, our instinct dictates that we fill in blank spots in our knowledge. Consider the Roschach inkblot test. Given bits of information, the human mind will automatically try to piece it all together to come up with something feasible. Religion not only helped ancient civilizations understand what science at the time couldn't find out, it also gives a good set of moral imperatives for parents to teach their kids (although this can also just come from good parenting). It's natural to want an explanation for everything. It was only with philosophers of early days that the notion came about of the futility of ultimate knowledge. Is it necessary? Hell no. But it comes from that very human desire to know everything, so at the very least, it's natural.  

[Pmyi]

I'm irreligious, so no, I don't think religions are necessary. I think the world is better off without religions. But people need something to believe in. I guess.  

[Baron von Turkeypants]

Necessary? Is it necessary for me to drink my own urine? No, but I do it anyways because it's sterile and I like the taste.  

[Pmyi]

Oh jeez. xD That's from Without a Paddle, isn't it? I love that movie.  

[Lethkhar]

Obviously, my opinion is that it's not necessary:

The top three most religious prosperous developed countries:
1. United States
2. Portugal
3. Ireland

The three least religious prosperous developed countries:
1. Japan
2. Sweden
3. Germany

18 Countries Total:

The more religious a society the higher the homicide rate.
Highest homicide rate: 1. United States, 2. Portugal, 3. Switzerland
Lowest homicide rate: 1. Spain, 2. Norway, 3. Japan

This correlation holds true through all countries.


The more religious a society the higher the abortion rate.
Highest abortion rate: 1. United States, 2. Australia, 3. Canada
Lowest abortion rate: 1. Denmark, 2. Sweden, 3. Great Britain

This correlation holds true through all countries.

Furthermore if you dig deeper, agnostics & atheists commit the least crimes, have the least abortions, have the least number of early pregnancies.. in fact they are all around less dysfunctional.

Despite the best effort of “pro-life” Americans, abortion rates are much higher in our Christian nation, than the lowest in relatively secular ones such as Japan, France, and Scandinavian countries. In general higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortions.


As for pro...You could take the cliche stance that it's necessary for morality, but I think I just pretty much debunked that... sweatdrop  

[Baron von Turkeypants]

Pmyi

Oh jeez. xD That's from Without a Paddle, isn't it? I love that movie.

Actually, Dodgeball, but Without a Paddle is in itself an awesome movie. "Assume the fetal position!" ... "ABORT THE FETAL POSITION, ABORT THE FETAL POSITION"  

[Sho-NUFF!]

Thats why there are so many STD's in the US. Most religions are againts condoms or safe sex...its pretty sad.  

[Tenth Speed Writer]

Sho-NUFF!

Thats why there are so many STD's in the US. Most religions are againts condoms or safe sex...its pretty sad.

That's not the reason.

The reason is that, politically correct statements aside, the United States has a high concentration of idiots and a low gross public level of common sense.



Not everything has to be blamed on religion just because it can be.  

[Becka Minato]

Religion was necessary, but now adays, its not needed.
When Rome fell, Europe fell into hell. The only thing keeping peoples ethics, and moral was the church. The church gave shelter, food, and hope to those who needed it most. It literally kept Europe from collapsing in on itself.  

[Theophrastus]

Lethkhar

Obviously, my opinion is that it's not necessary:

The top three most religious prosperous developed countries:
1. United States
2. Portugal
3. Ireland

The three least religious prosperous developed countries:
1. Japan
2. Sweden
3. Germany

18 Countries Total:

The more religious a society the higher the homicide rate.
Highest homicide rate: 1. United States, 2. Portugal, 3. Switzerland
Lowest homicide rate: 1. Spain, 2. Norway, 3. Japan

This correlation holds true through all countries.


The more religious a society the higher the abortion rate.
Highest abortion rate: 1. United States, 2. Australia, 3. Canada
Lowest abortion rate: 1. Denmark, 2. Sweden, 3. Great Britain

This correlation holds true through all countries.

Furthermore if you dig deeper, agnostics & atheists commit the least crimes, have the least abortions, have the least number of early pregnancies.. in fact they are all around less dysfunctional.

Despite the best effort of “pro-life” Americans, abortion rates are much higher in our Christian nation, than the lowest in relatively secular ones such as Japan, France, and Scandinavian countries. In general higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortions.


As for pro...You could take the cliche stance that it's necessary for morality, but I think I just pretty much debunked that... sweatdrop

Interesting statements that agree with my own research into the matters. But be careful how you pose the abortion issue; it would almost assume that you consider murder and unethical behavior to be the same as abortion.

Alternately, though, one could say that your statement is just making clear that people aren't having sex so carelessly in the first place in more secular places, which in itself isn't a bad thing at all.  

[Vedun]

Because we are imperfect we lack motivation sometimes to do the right thing. It doesn't matter what your religion/belief is. Some people look for that motivation in religion, some like the Atheists do not. They are able to motivate themselves to lead the life like they want to without having a priest or something like that telling them what to do. So while religion is not necessary, humans will never drop religion because they need the motivation and somebody telling them how to lead their life. That is basically what religion does.