Well said. Kill off the old. Also, it might help racism, at least in the USA because old people seem to be the most racial, perhaps because the lived through the period when racial discrimination was really strong.

It's interesting to me, I don't think intelligence has anything to do with believing. Only about half of the best scientists are agnostic-atheist. The remainder are Christians and Jews, etc. Dr. Francis Collins, the scientist that headed up the Human Genome Project at MIT, wrote a book about why he is a Christian. I can't see why he wouldn't believe in evolution, but who knows? Maybe there is a gene that causes one to be a believer?

@Grecio I used to wonder why there were smart and stupid religious people, and smart and stupid non-religious people. I came to the conclusion that people compartmentalize their brains. They can think scientifically on the job, but on Sunday morning they switch to unscientific, blind faith.

@BestWithoutGods Well put, my friend.

@AkEyHeAdAkE I believe you meant, To God BE the glory?

And the Government as well especially with 45 behind the screen. Big Bucks for the Pharma's and the Stock Market let alone the Insurance Companies who will be raising the premiums and lowering the coverage which is what they specialize in. Grocery Chains are honing in with a dozen eggs going for $5.

Exactly!

Well said, my friend.

Why do you write that?

@Grecio Because viruses don't give a fuck about religion. Just like the honey badger,

I guess, when people suffer from conditions from which they have no control, like the Coronavirus, the only thing to do do is ask for God's help. We are like rats in a maze as far as living is concerned. It's true but in a way is sad, because we cannot live forever.

@Grecio I guess we could take preventative steps to slow the spread of this virus and take further steps to treat those who become seriously infected. That sounds like a much better plan than praying to some imaginary holy moly and acting like helpless children. I don't want to live forever but today was a pretty good day for the most part and I would like to wake up tomorrow and be pleasantly surprised by whatever comes my way.

@Surfpirate I guess, for most but not all living is fun to at least some degree. Maybe, any life is better than no life at all. I dunno. There is so much suffering in many peoples lives. I'll bet there are numerous that suffer so much that they don't see the point. I guess that it hurts really badly to fall so low that one wishes to die. Imagine the parents of children in Syria that get bombed most days and have no shelter. When factions can't get together enough to stop killing of innocent children, that is a really bad mark on the human race.

@JohnnyQB Non-sequitur. Meaningless response with no actual content.

@JohnnyQB No.

And I'll go with Fernapple

There is perhaps no solid evidence, because it is a subjective issue, but there is a strong concensus of opinion that the Black Death helped to undermine the medieval church, and kick started the renaissance. If only because deaths were higher among priests and monks who attended the sick, and that lowered the quality and number of clergy serving in the next generation. While the economic boom which followed, generated a much better educated secular class, with more economic power.

@Fernapple The Black Death was almost 700 years ago....do we have any data a bit more recent to hold up as an example?

@Marionville No and I don't think that they have much. But your comment did not include a time limit.
It is however plain that the discovery of the biological origin of infectious disease , by people like Pasteur, did kick away one of religions best props during the nineteenth century.

@Fernapple But that is the result of science, not disaster.

@Fernapple, @Marionville I suggest the flu pandemic of 1918, which killed more people than were killed, on both sides, during this high fatality war. (50 million!)
How did that affect religion, one way or the other? I reckon @Marionville is probably right.

@Petter. Exactly my point...there is no evidence that any catastrophic event affects a belief in god to any significant degree.

@Marionville Not necessarily. The 1755 earthquake in Portugal, where worshipers in Churches died, destroyed hindreds of people's blind faith in god.

[en.m.wikipedia.org]

@Petter Not in significant enough numbers to affect the majority belief in Catholicism though, so I’d call that negligible effect.

@Marionville But it profoundly shook people's belief and led to investigation of natural phenomena, thus undermining religion's foundations. The results of the Lusbon quake manifested themselves decades later. Hence, perhaps our answer should be "Yes, but not immediately."

@Petter My point is still... not significantly. So I’d say “Yes, but not immediately or significantly. The majority of Portuguese people still believe in god, and are still practising Roman Catholics almost 3 centuries later!

@Petter How can you have a science of disease, without disease ?

@Petter, @Marionville People rarely change overnight, but each new blow knocks away a little confidence. Slowly tap, tap, tap over time.

@Fernapple Very slow...snails’ pace!

@Marionville Yes but look how far we have come, at that pace. Two centuries ago an atheist/agnostic would have been put in prison to reform. Six centuries ago you would be burned. Ten you would be thought mad.

@Fernapple Like I say...snail’s pace.

@Marionville But only 19% of Portuguese attend church every Sunday, a tremendous drop in attendance. It is nowadays far from being the most most religious nation in Europe, although Spain is even less so, with a huge atheist population.

@Petter Yes,, that’s good...and maybe in a generation or two the majority will actually no longer say that they are Catholic..but we’re not there yet are we? It has been a long slow marathon...not the 100 metres sprint!

@Marionville I love it here when I post a comment on FB, poking fun at religion. As soon as any christians object they are "shouted down" by hordes of atheists.

@Marionville You never know we may get a sprint finish.

@Fernapple You never can tell!