Here's my list of "why NOT religion" that certainly isn't a satire of the nonsense of the OP (and equally true):
- Religion might cause you to ask questions about the meaning of your life, the universe and everything. It is ill-suited for anyone who is unprepared to use reason, logic, critical thinking, creativity, and emotion in their day to day lives.
Simple curiosity, or an intellectual desire to know and understand new things can lead to those very same questions, and in fact, do far more often than religion, which always assumes it already knows the answers. And let's be honest here, when you already know all the answers, what need is there for reason, logic, critical thinking, creativity, etc.?
Nearly all religions have nuanced and differing views on sex and sexuality. Therefore, if you are challenged by diversity of opinion, you should avoid actually studying religion at all costs.
But what do the "nuanced and differing views on sex and sexuality" held by "nearly all religions" have to do with anything? Sex and sexuality are not religious expressions. Almost never done in church any more, so I understand.
Humans die all the time. In fact, all humans die. If you don't like thinking about death and dying, avoid religion. It will make you think about it and find positive ways of coping with the inevitable demise of yourself and everything you love.
And do you suspect that those without religion are unaware that we all die, or that we don't think about it? Trust me, we do, but the difference is that, rather than carry on doing whatever we're doing now while hoping for something better after, we understand dying to mean an end, and that leads us to think about NOW, and about LIFE, and about how it should be LIVED when it's all you've got.
Humans engage in body modification for a wide variety of reasons. If you are uncomfortable with this, you'd better avoid all religion entirely in spite of the fact that very few religious traditions actually practice this these days compared to the number of folks getting boob jobs and tummy tucks.
The point, however, is that no religion proposes body art and tummy tucks, but ever since Abraham (then Moses, with a little help from the wife) redesigned his own manhood as a "sign of the covenant," several religions, comprising a very large portion of humanity, have been doing it. And some have gone on to suppose if it's good enough for the boys, then why not the girls. Barbarism is as barbarism does.
If you are already a devout worshiper of Science!™you need to avoid religion like the plague. The non-scientific interpretations of various phenomena that other cultures find meaningful and useful will have no such benefit for you.
A challenge for you: tell me one "non-scientific interpretation" of an actual phenomenon that is more generally useful...and correct...than a scientific one. I do not mean, of course, some supposed miracle or other which has never been demonstrated to have happened, and cannot be reproduced, because that cannot accurately be considered an "actual phenomenon."
If you are afraid of engaging in fellowship with people on the basis of shared culture, you should avoid having any culture (including religion) as much as possible. This will require you to live in total isolation from other humans.
Even you must see that this is ridiculous. Culture consists of a great deal more than shared religious belief, though of course that's a part of it. Culture, in a very gross oversimplification, is the stories we tell ourselves that allow us to see ourselves as connected. And there are a great many stories that don't require magic and nonsense that can do the job.
If you are uncomfortable with sex education or using sex in religious ritual, definitely avoid religion. You can't chance running into one of the many religions that do this sort of thing, yeah?
Nor can you easily avoid the religions that try to make sex (and sex education) into some great and potentially evil mystery that would probably be better avoided anyway (see Saul of Tarsus aka Paul).
If you are uncomfortable with women being powerful and respected, stay away from religion. There's just too many of them that worship goddesses, revere motherhood, and respect women's right to choose.
Name one, existing today, that does all of that. Provide evidence. And ask
@Ken, who cheered your post, if he agrees on a woman’s right to choose.
If you hate art, religion is art hardcore. Creative expression has been grounded in religion throughout human history and arguably was the initial impetus behind the entire field. Even if it wasn't, art is everywhere in religion. Art haters beware!
Total rubbish! I spend a great deal of my life in art galleries, in theatres, in museums and concert halls. I revere art, which, as I pointed out earlier, is just a part of how we shape the stories that unite us. And while there is admittedly a great deal of art with religious themes, there is also a great deal without. And as religion is being more and more questioned, the latter is catching up. The only reason that there's so bloody much religious are is because in a religious age, that's all the church (which had a big say, and paid for a lot of it) would accept.
If you hate fiction and stories in general, avoid religion. And probably all human culture just in general. There's a chance you might be offended by a certain story, even if there's at least an equal chance of finding ones you love. Better to jsut avoid it all.
Yes, we've been through this. I might mention that there are a great manyh stories and fiction that do not concern themselves with religion. Although, if you're not much of a reader, you may never have noticed.
If you can't stand receiving help after suffering from a natural disaster, avoid religion. A lot of those dumb religious people help those who have been impacted by these, and they should all just shut up and leave you alone in your misery.
Now you are just being silly. May I remind you that Doctors Without Borders carry no sacred texts with them as they do their thankless work all around the word. May I also mention that Mother Teresa and the Sisters of Charity refused pain medication or even actual treatment for dying people, because they thought their suffering to be a "gift to God." You want suffering and misery, they gave it to you wholesale. And don't even get me started on all the missionaries who went around the world and decimated (in what can only be considered genocide in some places) whole cultures, all in the name of bringing them a "god" who never actually thought of coming to them himself! Is there anything more wicked than that, I wonder?
