Religion isn't true but serves a purpose.

As far as warfare and terrorism go I cannot deny that religion has been used to fuel these things, but I would like to suggest that these would exist independently of religion. Religious extremism is the most common justification of terrorism, but I would argue that resources are the most common cause for any violence. Osama Bin Ladin also stated that his main goal with that attack was to damage our economy(1), which he did excellently. If you pay close attention Allah seems to be more of a rallying cry than an argument for him. And rallying cries are what get you recruits. Religion is an excellent rallying cry saying as more than two thirds of the world fall into one of them(2). Islam in particular makes up around 23% of the world's people and a lot of those people aren't living in very good conditions. You can blame that on Islam, but then you'd have to explain why so many first world countries are Christian when the two faiths are nearly identical. Discrimination and religion are an odd relationship. One of America's worst cases of this relationship is the KKK. They were a protestant group(3). Protestants believe very firmly in the bible, more so than some other sects of the religion(4). The bible condoned slavery in more than one place, but not once did it insinuate that blacks were to be slaves to whites. The only real discriminatory statement was that Hebrew slaves would get better treatment. This means that they were expanding upon the belief and using the religion as a rallying call instead of an inspiration for what they were doing. Shariah Law means something very different to each different Muslim you ask about it. If you'd like to talk about Saudi Arabia's problems then you're issue is theocracy more than it is religion. A secular government should stand even when a religion is strong. The Saudi Arabian people have very little say in the government. It is a Theocracy and a Monarchy(5). The vast majority of the country is Muslim, but that doesn't mean they agree with the government. This is more of a power grab for a few individuals than it is an attempt to further Islam(6). As far as your argument goes for Egypt I feel that their actions go against the Qu'ran. The Muslim's holy book refers to Christians as "people of the book."(7) All people "of the book" are viewed as being relatively good people(8). I have no real rebuttal to your statement of ignorance but my previous argument about how its aforementioned place is certainly not within the government. Religion also provides people with a lot of support. For the time being I would like to discuss how it effects those suffering through addictions. Alcoholics Anonymous was a religious organization, and on some level still is(9). It was originally Christian(10), but doesn't discriminate. Muslims are also frequent walkers of the 12 step program(11). These programs even do their best to cater to an Atheist clientele(12). Religion can be an excellent tool to help those who feel lost beyond help. 1: http://www.cnn.com... 2: http://www.washingtontimes.com... 3: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk... 4: http://www.gotquestions.org... 5: http://www.saudiembassy.net... 6: http://www.reuters.com... 7: http://islam.about.com... 8: http://www.onislam.net... 9: http://www.religionnews.com... 10: http://hindsfoot.org... 11: http://www.millatiislami.org... 12: http://alcoholrehab.com...