What are the biggest problems facing the world today?

[Beloved]

I believe religion is one of the worlds greatest problems. I am not saying all religions are bad, but allow me to explain why I view them as a problem.

First and foremost, the two most common reasons for war are territory and religion. These two often go hand-in-hand, since each religion tries to stake a claim into whichever territory is around them. When two opposing sects or religions meet, the followers do not seeker cohabitation, but instead annihilation, simply because one side does not want to believe they are wrong in their beliefs, or that anyone could think differently than them.

Second is that a lot of the persecution in today's world is based on religion. In Russia, you have the Orthodox Catholic Church working behind the scenes to oppress homosexuals, lesbians, transgenders, and bisexuals, going even as far as secretly backing violent attacks on them. In Uganda, the Christian extremists are, again, subjugating the same people to their will, going as far as killing those who break their "laws". Beyond that, you have the constant fighting in the Middle East where multiple religions clash and extremists try to oust each other.

Following this, you have the unabashed fanaticism many religious folk possess for their sacred texts, as if it solves all the questions people have, and is infallible, despite the fact that they are all flawed. Such blind devotion is dangerous to society as a whole, because these zealots will willingly seek out those who do not believe as they believe, and attempt to "convert" them. If unsuccessful, they will go as far as harassing the other party, discriminating against them in every way possible, and then claim that they are doing their deity's will.

Along this same line of reasoning, each sect then feels like it is their right to discriminate against whoever believes differently or does not agree or abide by their tenants, and once they are faced by the insurmountable backlash from others, claim they themselves are being discriminated against, and that they were doing nothing wrong. They then try to bend the government to their desires so that they can freely do as they wish without any repercussions.

Add onto all that the fact that most fanatic acts resembles the symptoms of psychosis and insanity, and it is easy to see why religion is a huge problem. In fact, I personally believe that a lot of fanatics and zealots are suffering from psychosis of some kind, which is only made worse when their religion idealizes their behavior.

The easiest way to make religion less of a threat is to remove it from the governments altogether. Allow the people to still practice it as is their right, but draw clear and precise lines on what the government will and will not accept. An example of an amendment could be: No law shall be passed that allows for the discrimination of anyone, regardless of religion or creed. And one for a law could be: Any discrimination in which religion is used as the reason or base, it shall be deemed a hate crime, regardless of tenants held by that religion. These two things would just be stepping stones to curbing the discrimination from religion, opening the way for greater legislation to be passed that will still allow the freedom of religion, but protects everyone equally. Since religion could then no longer be used to pass bills or enforce asinine laws, the government could then move onto bigger issues.

 

[Sopheria]

White people. Seriously, think about it. Major global conflicts, mass surveillance, over population, pollution, extinction of wildlife and plants, diseases, My Little Pony, paedophillia, racism, world hunger, obesity, poverty, slavery, fatophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and every other phobia. The list just goes on and on, and they all can be attributed to white people.

That's not really fair to all the white people who aren't taking part in any of that, nor is it right to excuse all the non-white people taking part in it just because they're not white. And besides, I like My Little Pony.

 

[LoudSilence]

White people. Seriously, think about it. Major global conflicts, mass surveillance, over population, pollution, extinction of wildlife and plants, diseases, My Little Pony, paedophillia, racism, world hunger, obesity, poverty, slavery, fatophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and every other phobia. The list just goes on and on, and they all can be attributed to white people.

Unfortunately this mentality keeps racism alive by assuming it's the fault of white people rather than people who happened to be white. It's true a lot of problems have stemmed from faulty ideas of racial superiority, but if you think it's just a "white" problem you perpetuate the perceived difference where there shouldn't be one.

I believe religion is one of the worlds greatest problems.

Hegemony is fought over even in today's largely secular world though so you can't really claim that.

Religion, like skin colour, nationality, and so on, have always been used as scapegoats when in actuality it's just horrible men looking for ways to justify their vices.

 

[Beloved]

Religion, like skin colour, nationality, and so on, have always been used as scapegoats when in actuality it's just horrible men looking for ways to justify their vices.

I understand that, however I am talking about how some organized religions actually demand that those who do not believe as they believe be slain, or that those who go against the "natural laws" of their deity be put to death. Many see this as a reason to discriminate against said people, and that is the problem that has plagued most religions. Hegemony is a part of that, as is the use of terrorism.

And since the poster was asking our opinion, it is well within my rights to claim what i have claimed, and I have given my arguments on it as well. Just because you do not believe as I believe does not invalidate my own opinion.

 

[LoudSilence]

I understand that, however I am talking about how some organized religions actually demand that those who do not believe as they believe be slain, or that those who go against the "natural laws" of their deity be put to death. Many see this as a reason to discriminate against said people, and that is the problem that has plagued most religions. Hegemony is a part of that, as is the use of terrorism.

Ah, but then this comes down to whether or not you believe in the validity of the religions to begin with. Couldn't you say those rules about killing heathens/heretics were just written by people who wanted to quiet dissent, keep others under their control, to gain power?

And since the poster was asking our opinion, it is well within my rights to claim what i have claimed, and I have given my arguments on it as well. Just because you do not believe as I believe does not invalidate my own opinion.

Um, I'm not sure why you're clarifying this; I never said anything to the contrary ~_~

In D&D, we respond to each other as well as the main topic.

 

[Beloved]

Ah, but then this comes down to whether or not you believe in the validity of the religions to begin with. Couldn't you say those rules about killing heathens/heretics were just written by people who wanted to quiet dissent, keep others under their control, to gain power?



Um, I'm not sure why you're clarifying this; I never said anything to the contrary ~_~

In D&D, we respond to each other as well as the main topic.

In your statement about hegemony being fought today, you claimed I could not claim what I had. Sorry if I misinterpreted that part.

And the problem with religion isn't if I find validity in it, but if others do. I am not someone who follows things word for word, but there are those out there that interpret every passage as how life needs to be for all, and any resistance is seen as their divine evil working to ruin their lives. These people then froth at the mouth with demands that they want from the government and all others in order to force their own beliefs upon all others, despite the fact that in most places, we are free to choose what to believe and what not to believe.

These fanatics are what make it necessary to limit the amount of control any religion has over society. The best example I can think of how not having control will hurt society deals with my home state, Ohio. You see, right now in Ohio, a few Senators are trying, with the backing of many Christian and Catholic Churches, to pass an act that they call the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. What this bill would allow is the completely freedom to discriminate against people using religion as the sole reason. I could be fired simply because I have found love with another man. I could be harassed simply because I do not find women appealing. I could be beaten and left to die, simply because some religious text says so. And it is not just me, but anyone who has opposing views from those who are against their religion. Acts like these are nothing more than a way to legalize unabashed, unintelligent hatred towards anyone who does not follow your creeds and/or tenants.

Look at the situation in Russia, where the Orthodox Church has control. Putin can claim all he wants that the recent laws against "non-traditional" sex is not religious in nature, and that he is trying to protect children, but in the end, his arguments fall short of the truth. In places where religion is not restrained by laws, the dissent and hatred is almost palpable. Look at Pakistan and Israel. Two religions clash on a daily basis, and neither government is willing to demand restraint. There are many other factors to their long standing conflict, no doubt, but the biggest one is the difference in religion.

Long before technology, yes, the laws in the religious texts might have had something to do with controlling dissenters, but today, when that control is no longer possible, those that try to enforce the old laws do so simply because they believe it is what their deity wants.

 

[acatfrommars]

The top problems in the world are:

1.) Terrorism / Armed Conflict
2.) Poverty
3.) Hunger/Thirst
4.) Pandemics

Terrorism breaks families apart, and starts riot in nations. People aren't satisfied with themselves so they want others to suffer. They hate a country so much that they want to destroy everything about that country. Emotions such as hate run rampant in society today and it causes terrorism. People are brought up to be terrorist and fight. It happens everywhere, specifically in the regions of Africa and parts of Asia. Israel and Palestine have been fighting for ages over religion. A religion!! So man lives have been lost it is ridiculous.

A lot of these are intertwined. Poverty is hurting the world. Our economy in America is so high above the majority of the world that we are greedy. Poverty kills people because they can't afford food, throws people in jail because they get caught stealing to help their families. People will do anything for money. Terrorism, people will become terrorists for money.

Hunger/Thirst is because of poverty. Many countries are either overpopulated or simply don't have the resources to feed their people. It's sad. Poverty and lack of resources also can connect with pandemics. It seems that throughout Africa pandemics spread and more and more people die each day. Without the medical resources more and more people will die and it is a very sad, and alarming thing.

People aren't focusing on the main issues, they all want to be the best. It seems the rich only want to be richer, and the poor seem to get poorer.