Mollie Carroll Professor Suzanne Ingram English 1103 30 October 2012 The Downfall of Religion Religion has had

quite a hand in raising humanity from its roots. Promoting morals, explaining nature, and giving reason to the world, religion was very important in creating humanity. But do we still need it? In modern society, people are independent, accepting, and believe in personal freedom. While religion was once necessary to provide stability and harmony between people, it seems now it only creates conflict. I believe religion is no longer necessary in this world; the ideas are dated, discriminative, and hold back human progress. In recent times Christianity has been losing favor with much of the younger generation. In a recent study people were presented with twenty specific Christianity-related images, ten of which were positive, ten of which were negative. Among non-Christians nine out of the top twelve images were negative. Even among Christian groups many of the negative images received a significant amount of interest. In fact, half of young churchgoers said they perceive Christianity to be judgmental, hypocritical, and too political. One-third said it was old-fashioned and out of touch with reality (A New). Its not surprising either, when you consider many passages in the bible. For example, in the book of Leviticus, the same book that bans homosexuality, is this verse: For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him (Leviticus 20:9). Along with homosexuality, there are many other acts that Leviticus bans: wearing clothes made of more than one fabric (19:19); cutting your hair (19:27); blind and lame people going to

an altar of god (21:17-18); fraternizing with women who are menstruating (15:19), among many others. Most modern Christians say these passages are from a different time and should be overlooked, although Deuteronomy 12:32 reads: Whatever I am commanding you, you must keep and observe, adding nothing to it, taking nothing away. This passage states that you met take every verse for exactly what it is, even the ones that seem so primitive to modern society. Christianity is not the only religion with outdated laws and customs, nearly every major religion can be cited. An example of a primitive practice comes from Judaism. In Judaism, a mothel is an appointed circumciser and foreskin remover. In the rite of the periah metsitsah the mothel is to take an infant boys penis, cut around the prepuce, and then take the childs penis into his mouth, sucking off the foreskin and spitting out the flap, along with blood and his own saliva (Circimcision). In 2005, it was discovered that one New York mothel had, through this practice, given genital herpes to multiple infants, and to have caused the death of at least two. You would think, in this modern society, an act of this sort would be forbidden and denounced. However, Mayor Bloomberg overrode reports warning of the dangers periah metsitsah and ordered the health care bureaucracy to postpone their verdict against the mothel. The most important thing, Mayor Bloomberg claimed, was to be sure that the peoples freedom of religion would not be infringed (Hitchens). This is only a small example of horrific acts preformed in the name of religion. For example, Jehovahs Witnesses have refused permission for their children to receive blood transfusions. The Shia fundamentalists have lowered the age of consent to nine, perhaps in admiring emulation of the age of the youngest wife of the Prophet Muhammad (Hitchens). Although it is important that people are able to practice their religion freely, I believe there must be restrictions placed when the rights and sometimes the lives of others are in jeopardy.

It seems more than anything the Christian churchs views discriminatory views are what have turned off many young Christians. In a 2007 study conducted by Barna Group centered on Americans age 16-19 found that anti-homosexual was believed to be the most predominate trait of modern Christians. The study showed ninety-one percent of non-Christians and 80 percent of Christians in this group used this word to describe Christians (Marcotte). The founder of Liberty University, Reverend Jerry Falwell, claimed AIDS is not just Gods punishment for homosexuals; it is Gods punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals (Dawkins). Although he may be on the extreme side of Christianity, he is not the only one who thinks in this manner. My question to people who are so strongly against homosexuality: Why? What do you find so fundamentally flawed in a private relationship between two consenting adults? Nearly all people condemn it because their religious doctrine forbids it. Several bishops in the Anglican Church claim homosexuality is unnatural because it does not happen in other species (Hitchens). But even these claims can be proved false just by watching the nature channel for a short amount of time. Some 1500 species of animals participate in types of homosexual sexual acts or relationships. From Apes, birds, crabs, killer whales, to the mighty lion, which holds much biblical favor, all engage in homosexual acts (1500). Does this make these animals sinners? Should they be put to death as the bible commands for homosexual partners? Claims that homosexuality is unnatural are completely unfounded and, more importantly, false. Finally, I believe that religion impedes science and holds back the progress of the human species as a whole. The debate over embryonic stem cell research, for example, is hindered by religious beliefs. Many pro-life Christians believe that life begins at conception and thus abortions, embryonic stem cell research, or anything that otherwise harms or kills a fertilized human egg is

a sin. Ignoring the fact that the Bible never suggests that killing human embryos, or even fetuses, is equivalent to that of killing a human, what many people do not realize is that these embryos are cultured in vitro (they were not taken from a womans body) and only consist of around 150 cells. To put this into perspective, a fly has 100,000 cells in its brain alone. Within those 150 cells is a small group of around 30 embryonic stem cells: the cells in which scientists are so interested in studying. These cells are able to reproduce through cell division for a long time and they are also pluripotent- meaning they can become any specialized cell in the human body (Harris). Their cell division properties make them viable research candidates for finding the workings of cancer and birth defects, both of which are caused by abnormal cell division. Their pluripotent properties make them incredibly useful for injuries or diseases that affect the brain and spinal cord. The issue, however, is the destruction of these 150 cells. Sam Harris explains: There is not the slightest reason to believe, however, that such embryos have the capacity to sense pain, to suffer, or to experience the loss of life in any way at all. What is indisputable is that there are millions of human beings who do have these capacities, and who currently suffer traumatic injuries of the brain and spinal cord. We know that embryonic stem cells promise to be a renewable source of tissues and organs that might alleviate such suffering Stem cell research only one of the many scientific studies that religious activists have blockaded. Science is not the only human exploration to be impeded by religion. Nearly every type of human creation has been limited under the judging eyes of religion. In the early 1500s, Pope Paul IV began the fig-leaf campaign in which the Catholic church covered nudity in art with fig leaves (Ide). From ancient statues, to the works of Michelangelo, few genital representations were spared. A more modern example involves Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Although the Quran does not explicitly state that depictions of Muhammad are forbidden, most Muslims adamantly

protest them. Just in September, a film called The Innocence of Muslims caused violent protests throughout the Arab world, escalating in the murder of the US Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens (York). It is a sad fact that many religions, often created to promote harmony in people, have reached a point where much of what they do is create conflict. Although I believe that people are entitled in their beliefs, I do not think they should be able to infringe on others rights. I believe that religion, although once necessary, now only creates discord in this world. While it is not necessary that we abandon religion all together, it should be given less power over our lives. From its dated ideas, like those found in the book of Leviticus; to its discriminatory teachings; and its ideals that hold back human progress, religion has become a burden to the human race. I believe Stephen Weinberg perfectly explains my sentiments: With or without religion, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing bad things, but for good people to do bad things, that takes religion (Dawkins).

Works Cited

"1,500 Animal Species Practice Homosexuality." News Medical. N.p., 23 Oct. 2006. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. "A New Generation Expresses Its Skepticism and Frustration with Christianity." The Barna Group. N.p., 24 Sept. 2007. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. "Circumcision." Circumcision. In: The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion. Ed. R. J. Zwi Werblowsky and Geoffery Wigoder. Oxford Dictionary, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 2006. Print. Harris, Sam. The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004. Hitchens, Christopher. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. New York, 2007. Ide, Frederick. "Fig Leaves, Popes, And genitalia." Arthur Frederick Ide's Blog. N.p., 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. Marcotte, Amanda. "How the Christian Right's Homophobia Scares Away Religious Young People." Alternet. N.p., 16 May 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. York., Rick Gladstone; "Anti-American Protests Flare Beyond the Mideast." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Sept. 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.