Is religion still relevant in modern society?

[Runa216]

FinalEvangelion said:
It is still relevant in today's society whether we like it or not.

I see more harm in it than good, though. There are some people I know that got into religion and probably turned their lives around and they haven't tried to push it on me or anything.

However, I see organized religion as an authoritarian institution in its nature. You give up thinking and finding what is right and wrong yourself and let someone else do it for you. It also seems to be a catalyst for intolerance and self-righteousness, as others in this thread have pointed out. Finally, the way it tries to impede scientific advancement (evolution studies and stem cell research) annoys me to no end.

I grew up going to church, but I've always been an atheist deep inside. My way of thinking could never allow me to accept that there is a supernatural god that can break the natural laws of the universe. Living in the Southern United States, I've had to put up with a lot of shit and have had to hide this belief of mine all the time. Many people don't consider a real person because of this.

I also respect people that don't lie, steal, kill, or cheat because they know on their own that it's the wrong thing to do - not because they are worried about being watched by some god.

I'm in a similar boat.  I was born and raised christian, and I even spent most of my life believing in God (in fact I even thought that it was the most ignorant thing to not believe).  Luckily I grew out of that by the time I was 16 because I realized how stupid it was.  The problem was that I live in a very religious community, and my mother was quite offended when I told her I didn't believe in God.  her exact words were "where did I go wrong?"  

It's not as bad as your story, but I have to say, it's still pretty stupid. 

And as I grew up, I saw more and more the dichotomy of Religion.  the good religious people were some of the best people I knew, the kindest, most generous people in the world.  Sadly there's another side to the coin, and the ignorant religious people are making life a living hell for nonbelievers and skeptics (while failing to substantiate their claims.)  Now all I see is terrorism, judgement, hatred, intolerance, arrogance, and ignorance.  I know the good is still there, but it's being overshadowed SO much by the bad. 

My assertion is that Religion shouldn't be relevant.  We don't need religion to bring us together like we used to, we have the internet for it.  we don't need religion to answer all our questions about the universe, Science has been filling in many of the gaps.  We don't need religion to tell us to be good to others, we have laws that ensure that (most of which are pretty rational.)  The only blank thing Religion still helps with is that depressing realization that one day your existance will cease, and it honestly is helpful to think that the spirit carries on. 

WE don't need religion anymore.  We never really did, but it served its purpose.  Time to grow up and stop believing in Santa Clause.