I don't know. Humans that don't believe in a God tend to take up other issues in a religious way. Whether it is politics or animal rights or vegan vs omnivore, etc.

Well duuhhhh..

Yes, in the abstract. Is the world ready to go cold turkey on religion? For the most part no, so taking its pacifier away would result in a catastrophic temper tantrum.

Because of this I think we're a long way from religion becoming peripheral and fringe rather than central to most societies and cultures. Maybe another thousand years.

However I think the moderation of religion, a trend away from fundamentalism to liberal, loosely-held religion, toward positive incentive to good works rather than negative disincentives to bad works, towards leading with empathy rather than with dogma -- all these things could neuter most of the worst effects of religion within the next few generations, perhaps even the next couple. I think it has partly happened already.

The open question for me is, are we witnessing the death throes of fundamentalism right now, a desperate clinging to power as they see their grip inexorably fall away? Or are we in the midst of the Great Regression, and we'll therefore retun to some semi-dystopian Murky Ages for quite some time?

I think so.

But I also think that we needed to "live through" religion. What I mean is that religion is an old technology that is now obsolete. We needed it in the past - mainly for comfort in dealing with dead loved ones or as answers to our curious brains.

We don't need it anymore.

What a rediculous question !!

It seamingly would be but I don't know.

So many reasons this is the case. Most important to me is the blind following of texts written so long ago as to not be relevant or remotely in tune with today.

I agree that we'd find some other reason to fight, but history shows us that most wars are fought over religions. Thereby making the world a better place.

That is an ambiguous question. If you're asking would the world be a better place if religion never existed, I would definitely say no. It provided a sense of community and cohesiveness in times of chaos and upheaval, like the Middle Ages. It also helped preserve knowledge.

If you're asking would it be a better place today if religion were eliminated, then yes, I would agree with that. I have grieves that have great accomplishments, like overcoming addiction, and they believe they didn't make it happen, Jesus did. It runs many people of owning both their successes and failures. It creates an environment that encourages animosity because every religion thinks they're better than the other. Most importantly, many of the philosophical ideals people claim make religion a positive influence were co-opted from previous pagan philosophies. I see no value other than subservience.

I can’t imagine any concept that would have stifled our advancement more than religion…

It is my opinion that the world would be a better place without religion because Religion always has to have an oppressed people. It always has to have rules that would damn you for not being in servitude. It has always been used to control people and still is. The countries in the world with the lowest rate of 'religious' people have the lowest crime rates and the best livi8ng conditions. That is not to say communism with a forced no-religion stance is correct - those people try an make themselves God.

The ONLY truly useful thing I see about everyday religion is its effect in a court of law. I would say that the average outlaw isn't the brightest star in the sky and when he is asked to swear on a bible he immediately thinks back to all that stuff about going to hell for lying.

My goal in life is to rid the world of religion.

I wanted to say yes, but I realize that religion can do some good in the world. Not everyone is cut out to handle things on their own and they need some sort of deity to go to for help. Whether we believe in their religion or not is irrelivant to them. I used to practice witchcraft, although, I don't now, at the time, I got what I needed from it. Sometimes it's the lessons we learn that help us along the way. If we never had religion in this world, then yes. But in my opinion it was man made for reasons. Perhaps that's some sort of survival of the fittest debate lol. So ultimately undecided.

Totally, it would stop the wasting of vast resources, spread human rights and bring new levels of social and judicial justice.