The topic that I'll be putting up for discussion is whether or not the United Nations would oppose organized religion. I'll put up my thoughts in the OP, and I hope I can start some discussion. This debate is not intended for whether or not god exists, but whether or not the principle of religion should be protected in it's current form. It is also not to propose any specific plan to overturn current legislation, and is not about the logistics of how much money you'll spend on changing the system or how you'll get outreach, but whether or not in principle organized religion is good or bad.
What's The Problem?
Religion has historically caused the largest wars in the world, led to the mistreatment of people, and one that has manipulated political choices to the utmost degrees. The topic at hand is not of destroying religion all together, but all organizations of religion, stemming from churches to the Vatican. While it's perfectly fine for a few friends to look at a religion together, a church is hierarchical and tells people what to believe.
The first large problem that I've identified with organized religion is that of large scale conflicts. Religious conflicts happen frequently, and in this modern day and age, Al-Qaeda is the perfect example of that. In the past, it's caused even larger conflicts, such as the Holy Crusades. It's unavoidable to have conflicts over religion and we can see conflicts all over the Middle East, specifically the murder of Christians due to the head of hierarchical Muslim organizations, be it political such as the Muslim Brotherhood or idealist such as Al-Qaeda. These conflicts are stemmed by religious groups, and largely religious groups who misinterpret what has been in their religion, such as jihad, something that has been seen by Muslims all over the world as giving Muslims a bad name, and furthermore, not even being part of their religion. We have been left to mitigate these issues, and surely enough, religion will cause more conflict internationally in the future as well.
The second problem that is seen with organized religion is persecution. Because religion has such a political influence, especially in countries like the United States of America, Middle Eastern countries and African countries, we see legislation that actively persecutes minority groups, such as the LGBT community, to Jews, not just in WW2 but today as well. This persecution leads to society ostracizing these groups, and even worse, can lead to death by law in countries such as Uganda. In a country like the United States of America, one that publicly declares itself as secular, religion destroys secularism and causes legislation such as banning gay marriages, or banning abortion. While I think that it's alright for a government to make it's own choices, when those choices are influenced by religion and by something that is intrinsically not meant to be part of the government system in that country, I see a major problem with allowing organized religion. Organized religion has the most influence in the world, and can pull the ear of any government. If a government is consistently listening to religious lobbyists, how are proper choices being made in government?
Lastly, I see the problem damaging their own religious groups. Organized religion causes some of the worst domestic crime possible, such as cults where they imprison the woman and force them to be impregnated by the cult leader. The problem lies intrinsically from the layout of any religious group; hierarchy. There is always a leader of a religious group and cult, and that leader tells everyone what to do, and what to think. Aside from cults and ****, there is a larger scale issue; religion can only be interpreted one way in one church. Religious groups tell people how their spiritual book should be interpreted, not letting them interpreting it themselves. Some people believe that gay marriage's are alright, but they are religious, so they oppose it on a spiritual level. Other people interpret homosexuality as a non-issue within religion. The problem with organized religion is that it tells people how to think about their religion when people should interpret religion themselves. Once you enter a religious group, however, it's almost impossible to leave it; the consequences are of being ostracized, by not only your family, but your friends who are based around those religious groups. More often than not, the worse a religious group is, the more your life will be centered around it, such as in cults.
So I've shown my personal opinion about organized religion in three different points; firstly, that of major conflicts, secondly, that of persecution and secularism, and lastly, that of how religious groups are harmful to individuals within the religion.
What's The Problem?
Religion has historically caused the largest wars in the world, led to the mistreatment of people, and one that has manipulated political choices to the utmost degrees. The topic at hand is not of destroying religion all together, but all organizations of religion, stemming from churches to the Vatican. While it's perfectly fine for a few friends to look at a religion together, a church is hierarchical and tells people what to believe.
The first large problem that I've identified with organized religion is that of large scale conflicts. Religious conflicts happen frequently, and in this modern day and age, Al-Qaeda is the perfect example of that. In the past, it's caused even larger conflicts, such as the Holy Crusades. It's unavoidable to have conflicts over religion and we can see conflicts all over the Middle East, specifically the murder of Christians due to the head of hierarchical Muslim organizations, be it political such as the Muslim Brotherhood or idealist such as Al-Qaeda. These conflicts are stemmed by religious groups, and largely religious groups who misinterpret what has been in their religion, such as jihad, something that has been seen by Muslims all over the world as giving Muslims a bad name, and furthermore, not even being part of their religion. We have been left to mitigate these issues, and surely enough, religion will cause more conflict internationally in the future as well.
The second problem that is seen with organized religion is persecution. Because religion has such a political influence, especially in countries like the United States of America, Middle Eastern countries and African countries, we see legislation that actively persecutes minority groups, such as the LGBT community, to Jews, not just in WW2 but today as well. This persecution leads to society ostracizing these groups, and even worse, can lead to death by law in countries such as Uganda. In a country like the United States of America, one that publicly declares itself as secular, religion destroys secularism and causes legislation such as banning gay marriages, or banning abortion. While I think that it's alright for a government to make it's own choices, when those choices are influenced by religion and by something that is intrinsically not meant to be part of the government system in that country, I see a major problem with allowing organized religion. Organized religion has the most influence in the world, and can pull the ear of any government. If a government is consistently listening to religious lobbyists, how are proper choices being made in government?
Lastly, I see the problem damaging their own religious groups. Organized religion causes some of the worst domestic crime possible, such as cults where they imprison the woman and force them to be impregnated by the cult leader. The problem lies intrinsically from the layout of any religious group; hierarchy. There is always a leader of a religious group and cult, and that leader tells everyone what to do, and what to think. Aside from cults and ****, there is a larger scale issue; religion can only be interpreted one way in one church. Religious groups tell people how their spiritual book should be interpreted, not letting them interpreting it themselves. Some people believe that gay marriage's are alright, but they are religious, so they oppose it on a spiritual level. Other people interpret homosexuality as a non-issue within religion. The problem with organized religion is that it tells people how to think about their religion when people should interpret religion themselves. Once you enter a religious group, however, it's almost impossible to leave it; the consequences are of being ostracized, by not only your family, but your friends who are based around those religious groups. More often than not, the worse a religious group is, the more your life will be centered around it, such as in cults.
So I've shown my personal opinion about organized religion in three different points; firstly, that of major conflicts, secondly, that of persecution and secularism, and lastly, that of how religious groups are harmful to individuals within the religion.
