| Majora said: I wish I was around to see what this planet looked like with no religion... |
I'm an atheist, but it really depends on the religion. They are not created equally and thus, there's a spectrum for how harmful they can be. Buddhism, for instance, is rather peaceful. Sidhartha Gautama left his home after seeing suffering and reached enlightenment in exile. The Dalai Lama even acknowledged that Buddhism is not for everyone. Of course, it is not entirely harmless. For example, Buddhists don't view sexuality that postively. And there are such thing as extreme Buddhists exists, though the higher authorities are not. Similar thing applies to other peaceful religions like Jainism and Sikhism.
And then, there are religions that can cause harm. The caste system in Hinduism is one good example. The idea that your fate is determined from birth and you cannot work your way up the ladder sounds crazy to the liberal/secular-minded. Thankfully, India's government is not run by a Hindu theocracy. And we know how bad the Bible is in Christianity. However, the religion has gone through crucial reformations like the Protestant Reformation and the Renaissance. The majority of Christians do not interpret the Bible literally and Christian-majority nations are not run by a theocracy (well, with the exception of The Vatican).
Islam is an entirely different beast. Like the Bible, the Qu'ran and Hadiths teach some really horrific things, some of which are even worse than what the Bible teaches such as the condonement of sexual slavery and killing apostates. The actions of Jesus and Muhammed also contrast starkly. The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah is one such example that highlights the differences between the two figures. I wouldn't consider Muhammed a good role model, but about 1.5 billion people in the world do. In addition, much of the muslim-majority countries are run on Islamist rule. Female genital mutilation is mostly endemic to muslim-majority countries and a Pew Research study in 2013 shows that vast majority of muslims in these countries hold rather regressive views. In comparison, another Pew Research study on evangelicals, albeit only leaders, show that lower percenages of them hold the same views.
The key takeaway is that religion is harmful, but not all harm is equal. Some are merely a static shock in a dry winter day, others a shock from a cattle prod, and there are those that are a lightning strike to the head.
