Thinking of the good things religion brought to the world (Challenge)

[Bluewind]

The first random thing I could think of that was caused or invented by religions was various types of martial arts. For example, Shaolin Kung Fu was invented by Buddhist monks.

[marom1963]

Might seem like a satirical thing to think about, given how we all find so much shit that comes from religion as a result of its influence on human kind. But after watching some cookery program about certain christian followers and the meals they bake at easter time, it made me wonder what could be made of the good things that came from religion, when looking past all the wars and bloodshed, human slavery, withholding of human rights and so on, there might be a few things we can think of that benefited the rest of the world, and not just themselves but things that benefited those outside of religion.

Think of this as a challenge.

Like I say, watching a cooking program made me think of this, and despite not being religious, I've always enjoyed certain foods from around the year. Hot cross buns at easter time, as well as all the chocolate. Pancake day or shrove tuesday giving an reason to eat pancakes for dessert, pumpkin pie as halloween (all hallows counts as something religious), and of course all the christmas trimmings and excuse to drink and eat rich food in december.

One could argue that the plague improved the standard living for the poor because the rich had to pay the few remaining workers higher wages after the plague had wiped out so many workers that, for a change, the workers had the upper hand.  You can always find a silver lining in every dark cloud. Religions do do charitable work - yes - but at what price? They feed people, true, but they also try to cram their beliefs down throats, on top of taking in huge amounts of non-taxable income that may or may not exceed what they are putting out feeding the poor. So, sorry, asking me to come up w/the good in religion is like asking me to see the good in syphilis.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Sorry for not reading all the pages, but I was wondering how much of what religious gave us was non-exclusive? (Something credited to religion could have been given us by other means if religion hadn't co-opted them?)

[Mike Cl]

Sorry for not reading all the pages, but I was wondering how much of what religious gave us was non-exclusive? (Something credited to religion could have been given us by other means if religion hadn't co-opted them?)

I wonder the same thing.  And I cannot find anything that only religion could have supplied to society.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I wonder the same thing.  And I cannot find anything that only religion could have supplied to society.

Bimbo! Churches only ever co-opt things that already exist and then claim they couldn't exist without churches.

On the griping hand churches frequently happy to support whatever group is in power no matter what their program. When the Great Stalin opened the churches during the German invasion of the USSR in 1941 the people flocked back to hear the words of the Russian Orthodox priests, and those words were, in part, "trust your leaders!"

[stromboli]

Bimbo! Churches only ever co-opt things that already exist and then claim they couldn't exist without churches.

On the griping hand churches frequently happy to support whatever group is in power no matter what their program. When the Great Stalin opened the churches during the German invasion of the USSR in 1941 the people flocked back to hear the words of the Russian Orthodox priests, and those words were, in part, "trust your leaders!"

^this, that the religious choose to ignore. Putin has done the same thing. Stupid he isn't. The only thing I can think of is that monk dude with the genetic thing and the peas, but other than that nothing. But that, same as Isaac Newton, has more to do with socially challenged geniuses given a cloistered environment to work in.