I'm a subject of Her Majesty, but that doesn't mean I'll always agree with whatever she says.  And this latest speech of hers, in which she defends religion as an important force for good in the world, annoys me no end.
www.ibtimes.com/articles/299626/20120216...

Why is it that whenever somebody takes it upon him/herself to 'defend' religion, the person never stops to take into account all the misery, suffering and death caused by religious beliefs over the centuries?  A short list would, for instance, have to include all those religious wars described in the Old Testament, the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the religious wars of the Middle Ages, the witchcraft trials, and the Nazi Jewish Genocide.

As well, there have been genocides in Africa inspired by believers in Islam, not to mention Islamic jihads.

Throughout history, religion has been used as an excuse for some of the worst atrocities imaginable, or, to quote Thomas Paine:

The most detestable wickedness, the most horrid cruelties, and the greatest miseries that have afflicted the human race have had their origin in this thing called revelation, or revealed religion.     

As Richard Dawkins has been quoted as saying: Religious faith is not only a major force for evil in the world.  Its very foundations are undermined and denied by scientific logic.  

     
 

Religion is  an expression of the hopes of Mankind, religion is made of optimism .  A religion of faith  goes beyond science , beyond life, beyond what is and can be known.   Faith looks for some better in humanity, better for humanity and  the ultimate end of evil and badness.  Atheism is the religion of skeptics, and hopelessness; hopelessness because without religion or faith, this is as good as it gets.

Just as deities and eternity can never be proved , it also can  never be proven to not exist.  Negative are improvable and what is beyond life is improvable

The   crusades, the inquisition s the religious persecutions, the killing in the name of a  religion and god prove the evil that dwells in humanity  and the need for hope.  

In modern times more people have been killed in the name of communism than anything else.

For some people atheism is a religion and people have actually killed for that.

Feb 16, 2012 -- 6:22PM, solfeggio wrote:

....As Richard Dawkins has been quoted as saying: Religious faith is not only a major force for evil in the world.  Its very foundations are undermined and denied by scientific logic. 

That's what happens when people care more for a malefic god then for their fellow humans and the other species we share this planet with.

Feb 17, 2012 -- 10:13AM, fodaoson wrote:

“No, it is not. Atheism is nothing more than a lack of belief in gods. Why is that so hard for you to understand? “ You have posted thousands of posts on several threads about nothing? .....

I have not. Because you do not wish to understand what Atheism or Secular Humanism is all about means the problem is not mine.