Is religion curse to SE Asia

[Hulk]

After analyzing how religion impacts decision of people of South East Asia, I am wondering if religion was actually a curse to this region.

I am not against religion, I just feel most of us does not understand what it is all about. As I understand the main idea behind religion was to impart moral values to the society and bring unity within people. Religion preaches people to love each other, be truthful, contribute to society, have respect for others etc. In addition some religion gives examples of how one should perform common functions of life. So basically objective of religion is to make you well behaved citizen.

Now what exactly is happening in this region is religion is used in a way it was not meant to be used. The majority of people who are following religion does not really understand it. The people responsible to impart religious training to society often twist to serve their political goal. So instead of telling what religion actually preaches they preach their own version and brainwash people to believe it. The people on the other hand just do not do enough to find out what exactly are the teachings of religion. I guess 95% have no idea what their in the books. So are we following religion really? I do not think, in fact most people I have met who claim to be religious, just use religion the way they would want things to be. Now let me come to some examples.
Some from Hindus.
Our religion teaches forgiveness and it is one of the core principles of Hinduism. Now let's see how forgiving we are.
Ayodhya issue, do you Ram would have done something we did, will he ask people to kills others just to get a temple created. IMO he would have gifted the land instead.
Gujrat same thing, while people who did Godhra should have been Punished but by law not by civil movement.
We use loudspeakers to play religious songs at the time of various festivals, I was personally victim of this, few people started the music and went home which was out if reach of those speakers. On the other hand I could barely talk to my wife because of music. When religion was created there were no loud speakers, plus what's the point when you follow nothing listed in religion.
Now comes Muslims
Jihad needs know introduction, people following are they really following the religion.
In Bandra people pray on roads blocking the way for people to reach station, even if someone is in emergency they will not give way. So not helping people in their need an emergency but following fake religious practices.
I did not find this issue with Christianity.
Feel free to add your thoughts.
Note:- take it on right sprit.

Please do not ask for link, this is my thought.

 

[New Shivaji]

I have to agree with you - Too much religion is bad, they become too narrow minded and think their own religion is the best and every one else is wrong.

 

[Nemesis]

Yes, personally i don't give two figs about religion - any religion. It is an outdated superstition that has no place in rational thought of a 21st century individual. All the problems in South Asia - nay, all the major problems of the world, have their roots in religion. Call me an extremist, but i would have no problems if religion is outlawed. We don't need it.

 

[ek_indian]

Well.....IMO it is not religion itself but mixing religion with politics. The "holier-than-thou" approach is root of all evil. Because of this we use to have fake natioanlism. There is similar thread on this forum about why SA is behind. I was advocating the same thing on that. This so called ultra-nationalism shun the rational thinking and thus we tend to left behind.

I am not saying religion is not necessary. As per me, it is way to live life with moral ethics. Now there are certain path to achive this. One can opt for any one of them it is his/her personal choice. When this is used for pity things and being politicize all hell breaks out.

The most effcient (in my view) way to avoid this to adopt secularism. I had a chat long ago what actually is secularism? Is it giving equal importance to all religion in state matters or giving no importance to any. I think India opted for second path which is infact better choice as I believe.

Though any of this religion is not confined to SA yet we, south asain, are one who only suffer the most. The reason is same as I mentioned above. We put religion is those things also where it is actually not necessary.

Lastly it is not religion actully but surely it plays a major role in creating false ego.

 

[graphican]

^^^^^^^
WAAAAAOOOOO, 4 secular guys are speaking about religion..

Religion might be a curse for you people and your territory but for us, its our assert and we are proud to be Muslims. We are citizens of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and we are proud to be Muslims and we thank God that we are not among athiests, non-believers or secular.

 

[notsuperstitious]

Religion can be good in moderation just like wine.

Whether religion is a curse for this region, seriously, are there any doubts? How has it helped anyone here except those who market it and benefit from it materially?

 

[pak-yes]

@indianrabbit

This religious Bad thing is not right.SA is cursed?Agreed?Responsible who?religion?no?then who?People who interpret religion wrong?any way to correct it?Most of the extremists are illiterate.give ppl education and this will vanish.All the Hate in SA is due to ignorance and lack of education.

 

[bandit]

Yes, personally i don't give two figs about religion - any religion. It is an outdated superstition that has no place in rational thought of a 21st century individual. All the problems in South Asia - nay, all the major problems of the world, have their roots in religion. Call me an extremist, but i would have no problems if religion is outlawed. We don't need it.

Agreed.
Religion is an outdated concept that found usefulness in ancient and medieveal times to create a harmonious society. Now that we are good at it, it does just the opposite.
Living by rules or books framed hundreds of centuries ago is no longer fit. I believe its good to keep it just at temples and churches etc. rather than let it dictate our personal lives and politics.

 

[SiegHeil]

finally some sense. man i was wating for someone to start a thread on this topic so i could know like minded people.i started a thread "the atheist club" but it got closed .anyways it is nice to know you guys.INDIANRABBIT,NEW SHIVAJI,NEMESIS,EK INDIAN,FATEH71 and BANDIT. hope mods will not close this one.

^^^^^^^
WAAAAAOOOOO, 4 secular guys are speaking about religion..

Religion might be a curse for you people and your territory but for us, its our assert and we are proud to be Muslims. We are citizens of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and we are proud to be Muslims and we thank God that we are not among athiests, non-believers or secular.

SIR I AM PROUD OF BEING AN ATHEIST.

 

[Bhushan]

Yes, personally i don't give two figs about religion - any religion. It is an outdated superstition that has no place in rational thought of a 21st century individual. All the problems in South Asia - nay, all the major problems of the world, have their roots in religion. Call me an extremist, but i would have no problems if religion is outlawed. We don't need it.

I am sorry but I beg to differ with your thoughts. Religion is very much important in every bodies life. Religion is just a way of living life, which bond people together socially,mentally,spiritually. There neither anything wrong with religion nor its outdated....be it Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Jainism,........... Not a single religion is outdated.

...Mazhab Nahi Sikhata Aapas Me Bair Rakhana....

Both Indian and Pakistani, Hindu and Muslim forget these lines of Iqbal is not religion's fault.Its our fault. I can be a proud Hindu, somebody can be a proud Muslim, some other can be a proud Sikh,.... but do we practice our respective religions the way they should be?? Have we ever tried to live lives actually our respective religions asked us to live?.....Have we studied our religion thoroughly before calling it outdated? NO NO NO

Instead of studying religion on our own we go to priest, maulavi,.... and absorb their version of religion which most of the times is manipulated by them for their own benefits.

Religion is necessary but people should understand it should not hurt or trouble others.Religion is a personal thing and it should not be forced on others. Religion is not a curse for this region but we made it for our own benefits be it financial, social or political.

 

[Hulk]

^^^^^^^
WAAAAAOOOOO, 4 secular guys are speaking about religion..

Religion might be a curse for you people and your territory but for us, its our assert and we are proud to be Muslims. We are citizens of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and we are proud to be Muslims and we thank God that we are not among athiests, non-believers or secular.

Wish you would have read what I wrote, I am not saying religion is to be blamed, but its implementation.

 

[Hulk]

my sincere request for people who are going to post on this thread.
Please understand it correctly, I am not blaming the religion but its implementation. Also please read before posting, IMO it is important to understand the context before posting.

 

[Red Dwarf]

Religion is not a curse if you rule the religion and not the opposite. I don't understand why many are so religious. What is there in religion is to be addicted to it. I can't find anything. The problem with religion is the restrictions they put forward. Who asked religion to create rules and regulations. Religion is something we decides and not the opposite

 

[SiegHeil]

 

[Hulk]

I am talking about abuse of religion.
Let me elaborate the example I gave in original post.
People often use loudspeaker when their is a religious festival.
what I find surprising in India is most of the time these loudspeakers are playing bollywood songs, there is no respect for people right.
Now if someone approach the people playing the loudspeaker and say, can you reduce the volume please? 90% of the time it will be taken as offense and you will be termed nonreligious, worst iif you belong to other religion, it can start a riot too.
How many people know that 90% of religious riots in India started with something as simple as this one.
Now what do you call this, does any religion teaches you to be intolerant and fight with others, I do not think so. In fact religion tells you to be polite and respectful to others and we do the opposite.