Religious beliefs have no place in a modern society.

I. IntroductionResolution: Religious beliefs have no place in a modern society.In order for Pro to uphold the Burden of Proof he must show that religious beliefs have NO place in a modern society. Therefore in order to negate the resolution I must show that religious beliefs do indeed have a place in modern society, no matter how small.II. Rebuttals My opponent's argument goes onto say that he does not believe in religious beliefs in society because religious beliefs are close minded, never debated and refuse rights to others based on a simple teaching and not on common sense or logic. However, most of these arguments are patronizing in that they paint religious people as simple minded and 2D figures who blindly obey God's will with no thought of their own, which in short, is wrong.There is constant debate between adherents of the same religions (Sunni/Shia, Catholic/Protestant) as well as debate between separate religions (Islam/Judaism/Christianity) so when my opponent says " These traditions and beliefs are not contested or debated, they are adapted and shared, indoctrinating children at a young age to rot their critical thinking skills. it is simply a statement made out of ignorance. The beautiful thing about humans and their cognitive ability is that they can refuse to reject teachings they don't agree with as well, so saying that these people are brainwashed and cannot think for themselves is insulting. For example, in the Lutheran church, young adults are encouraged to seek information about their faith and then if they decide on their own after research and contemplation to continue in the faith they confirm their beliefs. Such searching and learning is encouraged in this instance to form your own opinions and truths out of given material.A big point my opponent makes, is he pins the entire gay marriage opposition movement on Christians, which again, is short sighted and ignorant. The institution of marriage pre-dates recorded history [1] and therefore is not an institution associated solely with Christianity or even a single religious belief. In fact, some people might be defending traditional marriage on say, tradition and not a religious belief.The next segments of my opponent's argument break down into an emotional rant against religion. He makes claims that classrooms are damaged by religion but gives no specific examples at all except to site one or two vague topics. (In fact, in the modern classroom evolution is taught exclusively and Creationism has no place.) He similarly claims Islam has damaged science in the world but again, gives no reasoning or evidence. He also, patronizingly, claims Christians do not solve problems but rely on emotions and anger to prove their points, with no evidence.There are men like William Lane Craig who defend Christianity and a belief in God very rationally and debates extremely intelligently the subject. To say Christians are devoid of thought and cognitive skills is truly insulting. Many people's belief in God comes from logical thought (such as William Lane Craig) or personal experience, which can be a powerful piece of evidence. Therefore, saying "because God says so" has a deep meaning for these people because they believe in this God and what He says.III. Arguments A. BeliefThe most simple argument for a place in society for religious beliefs is this: people believe them. As irritating as it may seem to people such as my opponent who disagree with these beliefs, they are still adhered to and whole heatedly believed by a large group of people. Therefore, these beliefs have a place in modern society in the fact that they have a place in these people who belong to society. You cannot ban everyone's beliefs because you do not agree with them. As long as there are religious people functioning in society, their beliefs then in turn have a place in that society. You cannot say insult billions of people by saying that they cannot think for themselves and then ban their beliefs from society, as long as they believe, they will be part of said society.B. Examples Next, I am going to give a few examples of how religious beliefs do have a place in society and can do good. First, I want to point out that my opponent dismissed the entirety of good created by religion based on the fact that he does not see their motives as pure. He claims, if Christians aren't truly altruistic, the good they do is useless. But how can that be? Religion places a large part in charities across the world. Therefore, these beliefs have a place in society in charity. You can't discredit giving and good because you don't agree with the motives, the money still helps people etc.Religion can also give people hope and strength in times of adversity. By clinging to beliefs, many have traversed hard times and gained hope. Would you deny someone the comfort in prayer next to a hospital bed? Would you deny someone the comfort of a Bible as they laid in the trenches of war? How about the child who asks if they will ever see their deceased mother again? Do you deny them the comfort of prayer or the idea of an afterlife? Religion does hold a huge place in the emotional aspects of society. Even if you don't agree, it holds a place to many people. There are no atheists in foxholes, many turn to religion in emotional times to give them comfort. In this way, these beliefs hold a place.Ironically, my opponent sites religion as something hindering morality when the basis of much of Western culture and morality is based on religion. Honoring of the dead and burial rites came from ancient pagan religions, the emphasis on honesty and humility comes from religious texts. Not just Christian but multitudes of religions. In fact, the adherence to a religion can actually promote morality. Honesty is encouraged in children and in adult church goers for example, people who thing "What Would Jesus Do" are checking their want for a certain action against the morality of the action to decide a proper moral course going forward. Science and God do not conflict. Morality and religion don't conflict. Belief in an afterlife doesn't hinder or damage the lives of those who do not believe in such a thing. IV. ConclusionIt is perfectly fine to disagree with religious beliefs and it is even fine to say that they wish they did not impact society in some areas as much as they do, however, it is completely illogical to say that religion has no place in a modern society. Religion builds communities around churches, encourages charity and giving, gives hope and faith to those in emotional strife, gives people something to believe in and encourage morality. In a vast majority of cases, religious beliefs do not harm people. There are billions of people who believe in God yet modern society survives and even thrives. Unless my opponent can somehow show that these beliefs do not hold a place for the people that adhere to them he has lost the debate. Just because he doesn't agree, doesn't make the beliefs worthless to everyone."I feel that they [religious beliefs] are the cause of so much excused bigotry and an unwarranted moral superiority." I find this quote hilariously ironic in that throughout the entire debate my atheist opponent as shown bigoted thought and moral superiority over his religious counterparts... Just an observation.