humanity would have been better off without religion

"We can see right off the bat that my opponent has no desire to discuss the morality and the intentions of religious organizations. This is because the real purpose of religion is to help people deal with their life, suffering, grief and insecurities. " The reason I do not wish to discuss the intentions of religion is because the intentions usually aren't clearly stated in religious texts and are very much so open to interpretation. "the real purpose of religion is to help people deal with their life, suffering, grief and insecurities. " An irrelevant opinion. The purpose does not matter. It's the results that matter and based on the results, it doesn't appear to have completed it's "purpose", considering that religion led to lots of loss of life, lots of suffering and grief, and lots of insecurities concerning divine punishment. 1.Taiping Rebellion: Sure it may be true that the political state of China at the time played a huge role in the rebellion, but it still doesn't change the fact that religion intensified the conflict. "If they are not practicing their religion with their actions then that could be interpreted as personnel fanaticism and not caused by any religious theology." Shall we look back at the definition of religion we agreed on, back in round 1. Religion- a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Although, the religion practiced by the God Worshippers Society is not Christianity, it is still a religion as it is a institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices. 2.The Inquisition "No one can deny that the actions during the Inquisition was not of any Christian or Islamic value nor its theologies." I can, Luke 19:27 "But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me." Surah 9:123 "O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers and let them find in you harshness. And know that Allah is with the righteous." Thought I cannot prove that these quotes are meant to be taken literary, you cannot prove these quotes are to be taken figuratively. This is why I wished to not discuss the morality of religion. "Where does the Christian Bible claim to kill people for not believing in Christianity?" Deuteronomy 17:2-7 2 "If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. 6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you." Considering that only about 10% of the accused were executed by the Inquisition, I would bet that not very often will 1 witness get you killed. So, the Inquisitions followed the standards stated in the bible quite clearly. Sources: http://www.biblegateway.com... http://www.biblegateway.com... http://quran.com... 3.The Crusades: "This can arguably be just as much about suppressing the Arab-Muslim power as much as a religious campaign. The people who suffered during the Crusades were for a mixture of religious, economic, and political reasons." What convinced the majority of peasants to fight in the Crusades was very much so religion. 4.The Holocaust "We further need evidence that Hitler would have not killed Jews or any other group if religion did not exist." Evidence? It's common sense! If everyone who ever lived was an atheist and the concept of religion didn't exist, there would be no Jews. Therefore, millions of lives are quite likely to be spared. As for the other groups, they are still likely to be persecuted. I never said anything about them. A1. "All religions preach peace." So you're saying that the religion of the Aztecs, which believed in human sacrifices, preached peace! You must be out of your mind! "It is human nature to combat and separate into groups. These impulses are present in all individuals, so wars or conflicts can not be attributed to any one specific institution like religion." I agree, I don't blame these conflicts on just religion, but I think it's undeniable that religion contributes quite greatly to the conflicts. A2. "Religion has always had authorities who have sought to control its followers." If religion didn't exist, maybe we wouldn't have so many of these kind of authorities. "In no way does the actions of these select few paint the picture that religion itself seeks harm and over-all causes more pain than it heals." Who said they were "select few". All those peasants that fought in the Crusades were definitely not "select few". The rebels in the Taiping Rebellion were not "select few". There was a whole lot of them! And, they were responsible for the deaths of millions of people. A3. Sure there are some positives in religion, but the negatives clearly outweigh them. "The religious are more likely to stay married and less likely to get divorced." Divorce is not always bad. If you have an abusive husband who beats you, you are more likely to divorce the douche bag if you are an atheist, rather than putting up with it and "praying" it gets better. May I also point out the mistreatment of Muslim women in the Middle East due to religious views. "Religious belief and practice contribute substantially to personal moral and sound judgment." I'm guessing your idea of a moral and sound judgement is driving a plane into a building.