Today, I questioned religion.

Yep, you heard me right. I questioned religion. Now, this has been quite typical of me in the past. But today, I truly looked at religion and was impressed by how much damage a single institution can deal to humanity. Yell at me, tell me I will burn in Hell, see if I care.

Imagine a world without religion.

Would it be a better place? Would it be worse? Who is to say? I believe that the majority of major wars since the years of Christ have been motivated partially or completely by religion. The Crusades? European Christians wanting to take back the Holy Land from the Muslims. The Age of Exploration? European Christians believed it was their divine right to destroy the nonbelievers (Native Americans) and take the land they were 'entitled to'. Without religion, would there still be strife in Palestine? Would there be controversy over gay marriage and abortion? And, i'm even going to pull the big one:

Would the September 11th attacks have occured?

Nobody can say for sure. Although it can be argued that religion was the motivation for the terrorists, it can also be argued that other factors played into it as well.

However, I must respect the idea that if religion all of a sudden disappeared, the majority of the world would be lost. But if religion was never there in the first place? Would all the world turn to science to explain both the everyday and the extraordinary?

Now, this post has definitely offered more questions than answers. The truth is, I am still pondering the questions I asked. Some of them are beyond me. But I have one more question to pose: Are we addicted to religion? If Christianity, for example, was unquestionably disproved, would it's followers abandon it? Or would they reject reality for the better world they imagine, as a drug addict would?

To finish this one off, I have a song by British trio White Lies (formerly known as Fear of Flying). This track has fantastic instrumentation as well as killer lyrics. From their debut album, To Lose My Life, this is "Fifty On Our Foreheads".