Religion's Impact on Society: Debunking Myths and Promoting Understanding

Christianity: 2.1 billion Islam: 1.5 billion Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion Hinduism: 0.9 billion Chinese traditional religion: 394 million Buddhism: 376 million primal-indigenous: 300 million African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million Sikhism: 23 million Juche: 19 million Spiritism: 15 million Judaism: 14 million Baha'i: 7 million Jainism: 4.2 million Shinto: 4 million Cao Dai: 4 million Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million Tenrikyo: 2 million Neo-Paganism: 1 million Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand Rastafarianism: 600 thousand Scientology: 500 thousand

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Seven great myths of organized religion: A closer look Over the centuries, billions of people have fallen prey to religion run amok. How many Jews and Gypsies suffered in Nazi concentration camps while churches in Germany turned their heads? How many people were murdered in the Crusades during the middle ages–in the name of God? Some religious leaders seem to tell us that we’re not smart enough or good enough to discover God on our own. Who says? If God is good and perfect, why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? How can anyone rely on the Bible for answers, if it’s just a loose translation of ancient myths anyway? How can we trust a religion that has advocated slavery and the subjugation of women throughout history?

Archbishop - Education based only on reason is incomplete Monday 21 September 2009 As part of his week-long visit to Japan for the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Anglican Church in Japan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has today given a lecture to students and academics at Rikkyo Gaukin University, an Anglican university in Tokyo. Hidetsu Ohashi presents the Archbishop with an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Humanities) In his lecture, the Archbishop said that the recent record of the purely rational and secular approach to intellectual and academic life is problematic: "...the sober testimony of the twentieth century is that the rationality of secular thinking is no guarantee of universal understanding and reconciliation. A rationality that has brought us into the age of nuclear weaponry and global economic meltdown invites some sharp questions, to put it mildly ... As the Pope has argued several times in recent years, the drift towards relativism and pluralism is not the triumph but the defeat of reason ..."

Pope Links Liberal Democracy with Fascism, Attacks Secularism Tuesday August 23, 2005 Pope Benedict XVI continues his assault on secularism and liberal democracy by connecting them with fascism. Benedict learned from his youth in Nazi Germany that the best defense against an authoritarian state is a church that teaches members to submit to an authoritarian institution. Right, that makes sense. Drawing on his own experience of the rise of Nazism, the pope links contemporary liberal democracy with fascism. He argues that when liberals believe in nothing, fascism is not far behind. Goebbels, Hitler's chief propagandist, said as much when he wrote in his diaries that without objective values, there is only power and the sole proof of having power is to break all taboos and transgress all limits in order to better demonstrate supremacy. [International Herald Tribune] The Pope told the crowds there were dangers in people finding their own religious routes. "If it is pushed too far, religion becomes almost a consumer product," he said. "People choose what they like, and some are even able to make a profit from it. But religion constructed on a 'do-it-yourself' basis cannot ultimately help us," he said. Roman Catholicism Catholicism News Pope Benedict XVI Comments (3) See All Posts Share Prev Next Sponsored Links Leave a Comment Comments July 21, 2008 at 1:56 pm (1)seamus breathnach says: July 30, 2008 at 9:43 am (2)Seamus Breathnach says: August 7, 2008 at 2:08 pm (3)Seamus Breathnach says:

Pope Benedict's challenge to the status quo • By Phillip Blond and Adrian Pabst • Published: Friday, August 19, 2005 • Sign in to Recommend • Twitter • Sign In to E-Mail • Print • ShareClose • Linkedin • Digg • Facebook • Mixx • MySpace • Yahoo! Buzz • Permalink • Rumors of the death of Christianity in Europe appear wildly exaggerated. The World Youth Day events this week in Cologne are a powerful reminder of the mobilizing force of mainstream Christianity. More than a million young Catholics, predominantly European, will have assembled when the six-day celebrations end on Sunday. It is hard to imagine any political party or celebrity concert managing to gather numbers anything like these. • The ability of Catholicism to mobilize young people indicates the continuous importance of traditional religion and bodes well for the future importance of the church in Europe. Not all of those attending the World Youth Day will be fervent Catholics. Nor will they all agree with every single dictate of the papacy. But all will share a critique of contemporary Western society and endorse a higher religious vision about what is possible for humanity. • The new pope is commonly held to be reactionary, old-fashioned and authoritarian. If Benedict XVI is so out of touch, how can the church muster so many hundreds of thousands of young people to its cause? What is often ignored in liberal criticism of the papacy is that Western society can be seen as practicing and licensing a nightmarish culture of pornography, abuse and death. As such, the Catholic critique of modern culture is not unpersuasive. On issues like abortion, the erosion of marriage and the dissolution of the family, many of the young reject the secular values of their parents. • Before he became pope, one of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's primary points was the indictment of a "value-free" democracy. Speaking of the "dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires," he cogently argued that a purported respect for all things is in fact a respect for none. On the contrary, a genuine regard for the diversity of difference means that you value some things more than others. For the pope, a life without a hierarchy of values is a nihilistic endorsement of everything and nothing. • Drawing on his own experience of the rise of Nazism, the pope links contemporary liberal democracy with fascism. He argues that when liberals believe in nothing, fascism is not far behind. Goebbels, Hitler's chief propagandist, said as much when he wrote in his diaries that without objective values, there is only power and the sole proof of having power is to break all taboos and transgress all limits in order to better demonstrate supremacy. In part this helps to explain why Catholicism under Benedict XVI will try harder than ever to reinforce taboos against killing and exploitation - a radical alternative to the contemporary "totalitarianisms" of capitalism and liberalism. • In order to bear faithful witness to this alternative, Benedict XVI even envisages a break with the prevailing power structures of the state and the market. He imagines a consequent separation of the church from modern society. What mobilizes the young people in Cologne this week is this genuine idealism that permeates contemporary Catholicism. • Benedict XVI's pontificate will not be judged by the perspicacity of his critique but rather by the inclusiveness and transformative effects of his alternative. The challenge for this pope is nothing less than to oppose the violence of secularity in the name of a universality that is open to all. Meeting this challenge, however, requires a profound transformation of the papacy and the church. • First, the new pope must resist the temptation of further centralization, which is the definitive mark of modern Roman Catholicism. Centralized control, which is profoundly modern and secular, denies local autonomy and diversity. An increasingly authoritarian church risks imposing a secular "ideal-type" of blindly obedient believers. As such, it will fail to persuade others of the validity of Catholic beliefs and practices - precisely what conversion is all about. • Second, Benedict XVI has tended to uncritically equate democracy with relativism. This ignores democracy's potential for civic participation, which is crucial in resisting totalitarianism. Nowadays the challenge is to combine a model of inclusive democracy that is compatible with a hierarchy of values - exactly what Christian Europe needs in order to offer a genuine global alternative to the status quo. Such an alternative is both progressive and conservative because it seeks to preserve what is good and promote its radical extension.

Pope warns against 'DIY' religion The Pope dismissed secularism and consumer-style religionPope Benedict XVI has warned of the dangers of secularism and of "do it yourself" religion, on the final day of his visit to his native Germany. He urged an estimated 1m young people at an outdoor Mass near Cologne to hold fast to the core values of their faith. Young Catholics should point people towards Jesus Christ in a Europe turning away from God, he urged. In a key speech later, he set out a blueprint for the Church's future, acknowledging the problems facing it. "Wrinkles and shadows" had obscured the face of the whole church he told about 80 Catholic bishops, an apparent reference to the scandals caused by paedophile priests. HAVE YOUR SAY He is beginning to put his own personality's stamp on the Papacy David Irby, Dingle, Ireland Send us your comments In pictures: Celebrating Mass He told them he acknowledged the dramatic shortage of priests in Germany. Catholic morals and ethics were in constant decline, he said, urging a future where the Church remained truly young in spirit while not pandering to youth. The BBC's David Willey in Cologne says it was a basically optimistic yet unusually realistic vision for the future of the Church. Dangers At the earlier Mass, held on the Church's World Youth Day, crowds stretched back as far as the eye could see, the BBC's Jane Little reports. Many had camped out all night. Hundreds of thousands of young people gathered to celebrate Mass with the Pope Enlarge Image The Pope told the crowds there were dangers in people finding their own religious routes. "If it is pushed too far, religion becomes almost a consumer product," he said. "People choose what they like, and some are even able to make a profit from it. "But religion constructed on a 'do-it-yourself' basis cannot ultimately help us," he said. "Help people to discover the true star which points out the way to us: Jesus Christ." The Pope has said he hopes his trip will help to kick-start "a wave of new faith among young people". Earlier in his visit he demonstrated his emphasis on cross-faith relations, by addressing Muslim leaders and visiting a synagogue. Pope Benedict flew out of Cologne airport on Sunday evening, ending his first foreign trip since becoming Pope in April. The World Youth Day festival, started by the late Pope John Paul II, is held in a different part of the world every three years. The next one will take place in Sydney, Australia, in 2008, the Pope announced at the end of the Mass.

Religion's Impact on Society: Debunking Myths and Promoting Understanding