Religion has had a positive effect on society on balance.

My case:I. Multiple historical atrocities have been performed in the name of religion. This is perhaps the important point, of which that will include many historical events. Just to name a few: the Holocaust, Multiple events by Al Qaeda, Witch burnings, Charlemagne beheading 9,000 saxons, ISIS, etc etc etc. . . Besides Al Qaeda and ISIS, there have been numerous other recent events that can be seen as unacceptable The Holocaust, as stated by Hitler himself in Mein Kampf: “Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.” (1) Hitler’s religious aspects may not be the sole cause of the Holocaust. But certainly, it plays a big role of his unspeakable atrocities. Al Qaeda’s motive for terrorist attacks was heavily influenced by their religion extremism. Mohammed Atta, the leader of the 11 September hijackers, acted because he felt, with absolute certainty, that he had no option but to wage a jihad (holy war). (2) Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, was motivated by a belief that U.S. foreign policy has oppressed, killed, or otherwise harmed Muslims in the Middle East. He called on Americans to "reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling, and usury", in an October 2002 letter. It is safe to say that Bin Laden’s acts were heavily influenced by his twisted views on his religion, further causing him to commit terrorism. (3) Massacre of verdens was a massacre of 4,500 captive rebel Saxons in October 782. During the Saxon Wars, the Saxons rebelled against Charlemagne's invasion and subsequent attempts to christianize them from their native Germanic paganism. 4,500 people were beheaded due to rebellions of forced attempts of christianizing. (4) Other atrocities of christianity alone can be found on this site: http://www.truthbeknown.com... II. Strips our basic right “Do not allow a sorceress to live.”-Exodus 22:18 (5) This tells us that christians are expected to kill wiccans, despite their impact on society. “If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.-”Leviticus 20:13 (6)Now, gay marriage may be illegal in certain states but you are expected to kill a homosexuasl. That means, homosexuals do not have the right to live solely based on sexual orientation “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.”-Exodus 35:2 Well, killing a person who works on Sunday may seem impractical. But, the Bible does state not to work on a Sunday. You cannot lie, as said by the 10 commandments, which clearly strips of our right and is impractical. III. Recent unacceptable acts inspired by religion 13 year old girl kicked was kicked out of her house by her parents because she was Atheist. . .(7) This does not just display the disgusting acts that are done by religion, but how religion can shape humanity in the modern days. A biological spouse, who is expected to be loved by her parents was kicked out of her house. Not by doing drugs, killing someone, or even disrespecting her parents. But simply having a different belief can make modern day parents kick their own child/teen out of their house. The story of “Grappling Ignorance” -Grappling Ignorance is a school teacher, who wanted to make a big difference in a community that was stricken by poverty, gangs, and violence (while churches remain glamorous in prosperity, taking in the locals' money) But, he nearly lost his job making a video of a possibility of there not being a god. He did so in the privacy of his own home and he was then harassed. How dare he make a video in the privacy of his own home, while exercising the freedom of speech, with an intent to make a difference in a twisted society. . . (8) Rebuttals: ->” With no religion, there would have been only rulers and the ruled, and resources” Well. . .Not exactly. My opponent gives no evidence for his claim, and America’s government was inspired under the Enlightenment, not religious aspects. (9) ->”Because religion was there, saying that all men are equal, and that the poor will be first and the rich will be last” Our government protects the right of “all men being created equal” not religion. Religion has nothing to do with the government. ->”. It offered ceremony, rights of passage, community gatherings and gave people a sense of understanding and unity in the mysterious world they live in” I believe my opponent meant “rites”? Please do correct me. But, religion gave us those ceremonies, and who says those are beneficial? My opponent gives no evidence that ceremonies are beneficial. Recall the witch burnings stated earlier? Those are a type of ceremony too. ->”Religion has acted as an entity, above kings, that humbles their authority” Again, if you are referring to America, it is the government that got rid of kings and queen, and it was thought up during the constitutional convention. (10). ->”Religion is mankind's institutionalised consciousness. It's the 'good' part of us,” Recall the atrocities I had listed earlier in the name of religion? “Religion is the only thing that says to do good in the world, up until the 1700's” Actually. . . The Massacre of Verden occurred 782, and the multiple christian atrocities took place far before the 1700s. I will list the dates in the following round if my opponent wants me to. Sources: 1. http://en.wikiquote.org... 2.http://www.theguardian.com... 3. http://en.wikipedia.org... 4. http://en.wikipedia.org... 5.http://biblehub.com... 6.http://biblehub.com... 7. http://www.addictinginfo.org... 8.http://rationalwiki.org... 9. http://www.articlemyriad.com... 10.http://en.wikipedia.org...(United_States)