Americans are abandoning religion in droves.
In the two years leading up to his death this past February, the legal and political philosopher Ronald Dworkin was completing a slim volume with a weighty title. Religion without God, which began as a series of lectures in 2011, set a lofty goal: to propose a “religious attitude” in the absence of belief. Dworkin’s objective was not just theological. The book, he hoped, would help lower the temperature in the past decade’s battle between a group of scientists and philosophers dubbed the New Atheists and an array of critics who have accused them of everything from Islamophobia to fundamentalism to heresy.
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Amarasiri / September 24, 2013
Americans are abandoning religion in droves
Why?
What about Europeans? Others?
Still about 25% of Americans and Europeans believe the Sun goes around a Stationary Earth. Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler, sorry, we are not there yet, wait another 500 years!.
1. People are becoming informed, reason and investigation is over-coming myths and brainwashing done from infancy by the Priests, Monks, Mullahs, Ulama, Clerics and others.
2. In the USA, they have separation of Church and State, like in France and Turkey. Religion should be a private matter, like entertainment,and let those who believe in after life myths, practice it, based on the brainwashing carried out by the Priests, Monks and Mullahs. The all night chanting of Pali, Sanskrit, Arabic, Hebrew, Greek or Latin verses from the scriptures will only make the believer feel good and give employment and maintain the hegemony of the Priests,Monks and Mullahs.
3. No religion means, one less reason to hate and kill the other fellow humans. who may be your neighbor or the citizen of the next country.
4. The core problem in Sri Lanka is Sinhala Buddhism and the Monk Hegemony. It is Ethno-Religious racism. This has nothing to do with Buddhism and the Tipitaka. Can you turn all the Sinhala Buddhists and others into Atheists, to have an Egalitarian Sri Lanka and dump the Monks, Priests and Mullahs. Then the problem of the BBS Monks, Child abuse by Monks and Priests will go away.
5. Buddhism is foreign to Lanka. There were Jains, Animists and Hindus before Buddhism. Ravana was Hindu. However, Sinhala Buddhism has become the culture. However, Buddhism is not needed for the Sri Lanka Civilization, any more than Buddhism is needed for the Chinese or Korean Civilization, but part of its history.
6. There is no question, Sri Lanka needs to follow the Singapore model, and be part of the world community. If the Sinhala Buddhist racists follow this correct Mara-ism, more and more Buddhists will leave Buddhism and will seek refuge in other faiths or in Atheism with no Nibbana, Nirvana, Rebirth, Samsara and Kamma etc.
7. A brief history of religion. An excerpt from Zeitgeist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3gJh0l2iSs
“So this basically says all the big religions are nothing but ancient tales through different cultures, based on nothing but astrology…? Is there a God then? What is the truthful religion to follow?”
“If there is a god, it doesn’t relate to any human religion. I don’t think there are any ‘Truthful Religions’. Buddhism probably comes the closest. It doesn’t have any deities or miracles or heaven, but it has other unproven thoughts on Nirvana, Nibbana, Samsara, Rebirth and Kamma”
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Goraka / September 24, 2013
If there is no religion, we only have to eat and drink and live like wild animals. We don’t have to fear telling lies, rob, or fear committing adultery. We can marry our own children and also our own parents. Men can marry men, and also animals. We don’t have to be faithful to our company and rob them dry, because we don’t fear punishment of after-life. Without religion, we only live to earn, eat, and drink. And when we die, who cares.
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Javi / September 24, 2013
“Without religion, we only live to earn, eat, and drink. And when we die, who cares.”
Religion is an emotion. You must first be able to say “I” before you say I love you. The Chinese are objective and say there is something that created it all but it is beyond our power to conceive it.- rational ethics. Then some schemes or dreams only I saw (a lie)and fools follows. Humanities is taught mainly at home then at school not necessarily through religious classes.
When I die I hope to go to heaven whatever the hell that is.
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man-animal / September 25, 2013
when all tell lies; no problem.
we all know where we stand then
we are animals and thats not bad
this human supremacy is a problem
thats why primitive societies have less problems
the problems are us deforesting & encroching
religion makes people better at lieing !
hijacks their loyalties !!
the dumb will follow
the smart will abuse
the wise will detach
the kind will help
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Amarasiri / September 26, 2013
Goraka,
“If there is no religion, we only have to eat and drink and live like wild animals. We don’t have to fear telling lies, rob, or fear committing adultery”
Let’s see what happens with Religion.
Buddhism The Great Evil — Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNOfTGSADdY
Buddhism The Great Evil — Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clcs2PSze0I
Child Abuse by a Monk in Habaraduwa- Taught Better Morals!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNSC93mPs4I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaUxC0WO9rA
Catholic Child Abuse – Breaking The Silence (BBC Documentary)
Published on Nov 19, 2012
In 2009, over a hundred former pupils from two Catholic prep schools in England and Tanzania were reunited via the internet. Chatting in cyberspace, they discovered they had all suffered terrible abuse at school: mental, physical and, in some cases, sexual. As young children they were frightened into silence by their abusers.
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Goraka / September 26, 2013
Amarasiri, religion did not teach to do wrongs. When people do wrong, we blame the religion he or she is identified with.
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Kabi / September 26, 2013
So you behave yourself because you fear of punishment. Otherwise you would kill, rob rape any women including sisters or mother. What world you live in??? We behave ourselves because of our civilisation. The change in our thought process. Not from the fear of GOD.
There are millions of Atheists who do not believe in god. Do they kill, rape rob than those who themselves believe in god and do all nasty things??
Atheists are well behaved people in the world. The religions based on GOD theory has created all mess up in the world.
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Kabi / September 26, 2013
My message to GORAKA
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Dodo / September 24, 2013
This is very interesting – and the away to go! Today religion (all religions) are a political project and young people in the US have realize this, but in backward South Asia, and Sri Lanka religion is dogma used by politicians to build up vote banks among the poor and uneducated folk.. We could also talk of religious military business complext
In context, I would like to know what game the news paper owned by that clown Tiran Alles Ceylon Today is playing?
While pretending to be progressive, Ceylon Today it is giving HEADLINE COVERAGE to the awful Ravaya Balaya and stoking and encouraging Gota’s divide and rule policies, rather than ignoring and commenting critically of Sinhala Balu Nationalism.. Tiran is a dirty tricks man and so too is his newspaper which should be boycotted.
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gamini / September 24, 2013
This is not peculiar to America alone, it is a world wide trend although many countries may not like to admit due to pressure from the Religious bodies and also due to losing the grip on the masses. From time immemorial Religion has provided to the Rulers of Countries a platform for them to govern provided both parties were willing to scratch each other’s back. However with all the Boast of those Islamists that Islam is the fastest growing Religion, Islam is no exception to this modern trend of thinking out side Religion. It is a matter of time where all Religions will lose the present grip on the masses.
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Pasel / September 24, 2013
In Sri Lanka monks are abandoning their religion and become Thugs
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Dinuk / September 24, 2013
Very True! Buddhist monks are becoming POLITICAL THUGS with Gota the Goon’s backing. The Saffron mob should be banned from politics..
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Cyril / September 25, 2013
[Edited out]
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Native Vedda / September 25, 2013
Cyril
Well said, thanks for your contribution.
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Sumith / September 24, 2013
US may have come to certain level intellectual in darwinian evolution that absence of religions don’t make people to go towards cults, abracadabra to find solutions for day today life problems.
They also attained a certain level of self imposed ethics within the in the absence of religions.
Imagine if our politicians become atheists and had no sense of religious rules, ethics to govern them. We would be doing devil dancing….-:)
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Ravin / September 24, 2013
I really doubt if that would be worse that the religious thuggery we see; Case in point- BBS! We atheists lack a belief in an all powerful God. Doesn’t mean we lack ethics or empathy!
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Amarasiri / September 26, 2013
Ravin.
“Case in point- BBS! We atheists lack a belief in an all powerful God. Doesn’t mean we lack ethics or empathy!”
The Capuchin monkeys have better ethics and morals than BBS monks and BBS monkeys.
Here is the Proof.
Capuchin monkeys reject unequal pay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKhAd0Tyny0
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Goraka / September 24, 2013
Imagine, as John Lennon sang, a country with no religion. Then, we don’t have to fear telling lies, can marry our own daughters and mothers, we can kill with no fear of after-life. We can cheat and rob and pretend we are good people. Oops! sorry, I am talking about Sri Lanka.
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gamini / September 24, 2013
Goraka, why display your ignorance to the world. Do you seriously believe people tell no lies who believe in a Religion? What has Religion got to do with marriage? Marriage is a social function and not a Religious function. Socially, incest is not allowed in a civilized society for your information. You state, ‘We can cheat and rob and pretend we are good people. Oops! sorry, I am talking about Sri Lanka’. Precisely is it not happening now in over Religious Sri Lanka? In Sri Lanka people are fanatically Religious, see the Houses and cars, all are displaying their Religious leanings. All what you say that will happen without a Religion is already a malady in this country.
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Goraka / September 24, 2013
Gamini, so called “civilised society” laws are borrowed from religious laws and modified. Because of religion, people fear of consequences. Without religion, who CARES! Religion is perfect, people are not. Too often, religion is made a scapegoat!
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DYK / September 25, 2013
wrong ..religion borrowed good and bad from the society.
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Goraka / September 25, 2013
Wrong. Religion was there from time immemorial. Written laws came after.
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DYK / September 26, 2013
Agree, . Written laws came after. What I am saying is people were able to differentiate good and bad even before religion. My dog knows good and bad up to some extent. I don’t think he follows any religion. More brainer humans were able to define good and bad in more complex manner and continuously doing so; means today good and bad is more complex than few thousand years ago. Religions borrowed it from respective societies they emerged.
Today religious good and bad is so outdated and whole civilization is under constant threat due to the followers who takes those religious teaching literally.
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Goraka / September 26, 2013
DYK. “My dog knows good and bad up to some extent. I don’t think he follows any religion.” You are not a dog, so lets not substitute your thoughts into a dog’s brain.
“Today religious good and bad is so outdated and whole civilization is under constant threat due to the followers who takes those religious teaching literally.” You mean when men marry men and women marry women. Or, bribery, corruption, adultery, robbery, lies, deceit. I guess they are outdated too?
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gamini / September 26, 2013
Goraka, Goraka, Goraka, The present day Religions are only a couple of thousand years old whereas the Indus Valley Civilization, Nile Delta Civilization, Harappa and Mohenjandharo Civilizations and the Greek civilization are much much older.
I know so many who do not practice any Religion as myself and our families and offspring have no problems whatsoever and we lead better quality lives without committing the vices you Pious Hypocrites commits that you have mentioned. Try to live by your conscience and you will have no problem, because you know what is right and what is wrong. Simple as that.
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Kabi / September 27, 2013
This is what Professor Richard Dawkin had to say about religion and morality;
“If you actually look at the moralities that are accepted among modern people, among 21st century people: we don’t believe in slavery anymore, we believe in the equality of women, we believe in being gentle, we believe in being kind to animals. Theses are all things which are entirely recent. They have very little basis in Biblical or Quranic scripture. They are things that have developed over historical time through a consensus of reasoning, sober discussion, argument, legal theory, political and moral philosophy. They do not come from religion.”
Anyone would agree that these did not come from religion….
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Sumith / September 26, 2013
that is because people don’t follow religion properly. -:)
When they pass the exam of start implementing 5 percepts, 10 commamndments etc. etc. they are not qualifed to become atheists. -:)
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DYK / September 25, 2013
Goraka ..
1. I don’t have a religion and I don’t do anything you have mentioned above. And I lived in sri Lanka.
2. John Lennon’s song is about the beauty of a peaceful world without all types of stupid things people killing each other including religion.
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Goraka / September 25, 2013
John Lennon was singing about a unreal world. Get your head out of the sand, bro.
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DYK / September 26, 2013
It is unreal until people like you cease to exist.
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Sahana / September 24, 2013
CT this is a sweeping statement that generalizes the issue quite weakly. Perhaps this might give a better understanding of the subject at handhttp://religions.pewforum.org/reports
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JimSofty / September 24, 2013
Christianity began disappearing in Europe in 1700s, I heard. US South is known as the bible belt. US schools do no t Evolution because it is against the theory that God created every thing. So, in that sense, US kids are dumb. That is why they need immigrant children to fill that gap.
In North america, Atheists and Agnostics are are increasing day by day. there are women priests and One in ten or six priests knows t least one other priests who has AIDs. In other words, 20% of the Priest population is known to be Homosexual.
Church is not living the reality. They live in their won world.
West is screwed up and they want others also to get screwed as they did.
In the west, some people are becoming Atheists, Agnostics and buddhists. they are eager to follow meditation while another group like Hip-hop which degradate women and use women as sexual objects. Islam is also spreading fast.
think about when white people become hardcore Islamic fundamentalists. they might blow up the whole universe.
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Goraka / September 25, 2013
JimSoftly, from which world are you from? Your stupid claim only matches your dumb intelligence.
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gamini / September 26, 2013
This Bugger Jim Softy is suffering from a Phobia against all Religions thinking they are all there to destroy Buddhism. Hence his ire which he displays in ample measure on these columns. Jima kohomada Kiss eka?
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Rationalist / September 25, 2013
The Dalai Lama has encapsulated all these thoughts in his Book, ‘Beyond Religion’. It is about a Code of Ethics that a Human can follow without harming Oneself or Others. The concept of a God who is considered to respond to Prayers, is what creates Dissension in this World, each Theist Religion believing that their God is Supreme, and must be imposed on everyone else.
As a Wise Man once said; “Man was not created by GOD in His Own Image; GOD was created by Man, in his Own Image”
We are still living with this Myth created by MAN!
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Amarasiri / September 26, 2013
Rationalist,
“As a Wise Man once said; “Man was not created by GOD in His Own Image; GOD was created by Man, in his Own Image”
We are still living with this Myth created by MAN!”
500 years ago. Akbar the Great got the religions to debate each other. and concluded the religious people and followers were bigots. So he formed a new religion and a new capital Fatehpur. Unfortunately, the religious people went back to their own ways, and own self-interest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akbar
Akbar, as well as his mother and other members of his family, are believed to have been Sunni Hanafi Muslims.[111] His early days were spent in the backdrop of an atmosphere in which liberal sentiments were encouraged and religious narrow-mindednness was frowned upon.[112] From the 15th century, a number of rulers in various parts of the country adopted a more liberal policy of religious tolerance, attempting to foster communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims.[113] These sentiments were earlier encouraged by the teachings of popular saints like Guru Nanak, Kabir and Chaitanya,[112] the verses of the Persian poet Hafez which advocated human sympathy and a liberal outlook,[114] as well as the Timurid ethos of religious tolerance in the empire, persisted in the polity right from the times of Timur to Humayun, (the second emperor of the mughal empire), and influenced Akbar’s policy of tolerance in matters of religion.[115] Further, his childhood tutors, who included two Irani Shias, were largely above sectarian prejudices, and made a significant contribution to Akbar’s later inclination towards religious tolerance.[115]
When he was at Fatehpur Sikri, he held discussions as he loved to know about others’ religious beliefs. On one such day he got to know that the religious people of other religions were often bigots ( intolerant of others religious beliefs ). This led him to form the idea of the new religion, Sulh-e-kul meaning universal peace. His idea of this religion did not discriminate other religions and focused on the ideas of peace, unity and tolerance.
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Lankan / September 25, 2013
Oh, Softy the troll is here.
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I am no Budhist but Muslim / September 26, 2013
to JIM SOFTY, and other please read…
in USA n Europe, after Vietnam War, things changed with the Woodstock style that quickly grabbed and then Illuminati and Anti Christ really took the engine to grab this young people to the wrong side called Athiesm.. actually its coming from 1000 years, now the USA is after the Budhism which they realized that its a fail concept and 70 million of them following that… well there is a nice site called Harun Yahya .com and http://www.darwinism-watch.com/ please brows and see where this bushism is standing…. fail homosexul concept..eating dead animal
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S.Mahalingam / September 27, 2013
My article in Colombo telegraph under the title ‘Afterlife: True or False?’ a few months back suggests that one’s own conscience is the inner voice that should guide us all – not any religion or any other man-made belief like humanism. That alone is the true religion given to us by nature. If you wish to read the article and the comments that followed, please type the above title into ‘google’.
Mr S. Mahalingam
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