Organised religion is a force for evil and the world would be much better off without it.

Rebuttals:"Religion offers no evidence to support the extraordinary claims it makes."-This is an entire debate in itself. It is also irrelevant to this specific debate. Whether or not a religion offers evidence to support its claims does not determine whether or not it is a force for evil."Organised religion stunts progress. By this I do not mean to say it stunts scientific progress, though it most certainly does..."-It most certainly does not. Gregor Mendel was a priest working religiously for a church when he discovered genetics. He soon became known as the father of genetics and established the laws of heredity, which we still use this very day. [1] A man in Florida recently invented cordless Christmas lights, an invention inspired by Christmas, a Christian holiday. [2] Ancient Muslims had to build large fancy mosques to pray and honor Allah. If they didn't have religion, they wouldn't have to build these large buildings. And to make sure these large buildings are secure and firm, they needed to advance their maths, thus inventing early Algebra. Furthermore, they have contributed to the science of architecture. As a matter of fact, religion contriubuted to architecture quite a bit. Religion inspired the Egyptian Pyramids and the Mesoamerican Pyramids, which were very tall. Without this knowledge we surely would not be able to create large skyscrapers like the 101 in Taiwan. "t stunts our moral progress"...Religious people and the societies they hold hostage are forced to live under the static tyranny of a morality they cannot question."-I knew a guy who was a huge jerk. He was self-centered, arrogant, and mean to everyone. His family was incredibly Christian, and one day he told them that he didn't believe in God and left home. He traveled through Asia and the United States and when he returned to his parents, he decided that he wanted to be a Christian. And eversince, he's been a completely different person. Now he's kind and he does volunteer work, including helping at fundraisers to raise money for orphans. This shows that religion doesn't stunt our moral progress, but improves it."Religious people and the societies they hold hostage are forced to live under the static tyranny of a morality they cannot question."-This isn't neccessarily true, depending on the religion and the branch. There are some religions that are open to people questioning and challenging it. Therefore the contention does not account for all religion.-Furthermore, how does this show that religion is evil? This clearly shows that the intentions of religion are not for evil but for good. It is analogous to if you had a very strict father. He is strict to you and you must obey and follow him. Yet he is strict to you because he genuinely loves you, does this make him evil?"How is it that in the 21st century homosexuals are still treated like second class citizens? Religion has made it impossible for people to question their own bigotry and is creating a very intolerant world."-Again, this does not account for all religion. And it is not mainly because of religion either.-They are not treated as second class citizens. I live in Thailand, where the dominant religions are Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Yet there are so many homosexuals here, and they are treated equally regardless of religion. -Religion isn't even a main contributor to homosexual discrimination. People just discriminate on homosexuals in general. There are several unreligious people who discriminate against homosexuality. -Again, this can be analogous to having a strict father. If your father discovers that you are homosexual, he might be upset. But this doesn't make him evil. "People, merely because their love is deemed to be the wrong kind of love by ancient holy books, are not aloud to marry the love of their life."-I personally have nothing against homosexuals. Heck, I even have a bunch of actively sexual gay friends here in Thailand. But I am against homosexual marriage, and the "ancient holy books" that deem this wrong aren't just the Bible or the Qu'ran, but the dictionary. The term "marriage" by definition states that it must be between a man and a woman. Therefore, by definition, no matter how strong their love for each other, two people of the same gender cannot marry, and if they do, it's not called marriage because the dictionary states that it is between man and woman. Therefore, unless the definition is changed, it is not possible for homosexual marriage to occur. Religions that are against homosexual marriage are not against it because they are against homosexuality, they are against it because the word "marriage" is a very holy word and they must follow its definition. "These rates rise even higher again, to a disturbing eight times the usual rate, if the gay child has homophobic parents. I'm sure you'll agree with me these are grotesque figures and it is the first of many examples of how religion literally murders people."-Pro has committed a fallacy. Pro claims that suicide rates in homosexual children rise if they have homophobic parents. Then Pro claims that it is because of religion. According to Pro's statements, homophobic parents are the cause, not religion. -Not all homobphobic parents are religious, and not all religions are homophobic. Buddhism for example, is not homophobic at all."From the obscene bullying in high schools to the denial for gay couples to adopt children and raise a loving family."-I can name a few religions that would very much approve of gay couples adopting children. Buddhism for example, and believe it or not, Atheism (is now considered a religion by the way). [3][4]"The devout are still, in the modern day of science and enlightenment, attempting to deny women the right to chose what happens to their own bodies."-Again, Pro is cherry-picking examples. As established in Round 1, Pro must account for all organised religion. And this is hardly true for any of the religions Pro is addressing. Christianity supports women liberation. In the begininning of the bible it said that "God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." implying that men and female were equal."How many women have had to die from unsanitary and dangerous abortions because of the preaching of these archaic and fanatical religions?"-Christianity is against abortion. So are many others religions. "How many teenagers have had to feel demonised and immoral because of the sinister Catholic prohibition of masturbation?"-And how is prohibiting masturbation evil?"People should be allowed to have as much or as little sex as they want without feeling judged and guilty."-I completely agree. But it's not religion judging them, it's society in general. Regardless of religion, if a woman has sex 5 times a day with different guys, people are going to judge her. Are you claiming that everyone who judges a woman who has sex with 5 different guys a day are religious? "Sharia Law"-Irrelevant. The Sharia Law is outdated and hardly anyone follows it. It prohibits muslim women from driving cars. My best friend is Muslim, and his mom drives him to school everyday. -Again, Pro is cherry-picking examples. I can simply counter this with the ideals of Buddhism, which is against all pain and suffering. Addendum:-Pro has not met his BOT. He cherry-picks examples to support his case, but it does not account for all religion.-Atheism is a religion. I have provided sources that proves why it is a religion [3][4]. Unless Pro proves that Atheism is not a religion, Pro must also account Atheism under his resolution.Sources:[1] http://www.dnaftb.org...[2] http://www.prweb.com...[3] http://www.strangenotions.com...[4] http://creation.com...