Religion is a force for good in the world.

It is my first time using this site, so I hope it will be an interesting and informative experience for both of us. Now, onto your premises, First premise: When I said religion, I was primarily referring to the "Big Three": Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. However, since I did not specify this in my initial argument, I will accept your restriction and only argue against Christian religion. This leaves open the Catholic church, the Church of Latter-Day Saints, and any other sects of Protestantism. Second premise: This goes hand-in-hand with your first premise, and I will also accept this on one condition: please do not use this to create escapist arguments. In other words, pointing out an atrocity that the Catholic church is responsible for should not warrant a response from you that goes anything like, "Well, Catholics aren't really Christian, so this doesn't count. " Otherwise, it's fine. Third premise: I simply cannot accept this. Such a condition would make your argument unfalsifiable. It would allow you to say that any criticism I bring up is just an example of corruption in a particular area and does not count. Forth premise: I assume this will be the foundation that your next argument is built on, so I will await a more detailed and specific argument in this area in the next round. Now, given that your first argument consisted only of premises, I am assuming that you were just "setting up" for a more detailed argument in the second round. Again, I am new to this site so I'm not really sure if there's an understood or "accepted" format, but that is conclusion that I have drawn. That being said, and since I initiated this debate by prompting someone to prove to me that religion has caused more good than bad, I would normally end my argument here. But considering this is already starting into the second round, I will go ahead and start an initial argument to support my original assertion. Religion is, without doubt, responsible for more death, suffering, misery, and torture than almost any other institution in the history of the world. Examples here are endless, and I'm sure most readers could fill in these gaps for themselves; but I don't want to be accused of lacking substance in my argument, so here are a few examples (staying within the realm of Christianity): The Crusades The Inquisition The forced conversion of indigenous peoples around the world The persecution of the Jews and the accusation that they are responsible for "deicide. " The oppression and mistreatment of women (half the human race) Slavery in the United States and largely in Britain The burning (and other forms of torture) of "witches," "heretics," "dissenters," and anyone else the church saw fit The psychological torture of children through the threat of eternal punishment in hell The systematic rape and torture of young children by the Catholic church The Pope forbidding the use of condoms in Africa and other less-developed countries Manifest Destiny These are a few examples. In order for me to concede that you have won, you will need to show that religion has someone outweighed all of these acts of evil with acts of good. Considering the untold millions of people that these events have had an effect on, I think you may have a hard time doing that. But I await your response and, again, thank you for accepting this challenge.