The Positives of Religion

For the sake of challenging myself, both as a writer and as a complainer, I thought it would be interesting to discuss the positive traits of religion. I’ll try to talk about the good religion has done, instead of ridicule it like I normally do. Now, keep in mind, religion is still asinine, but today, I’ll try to limit my objections and focus on the positives.

First off, the Catholic Church pretty much single handedly saved education in the Middle Ages. I would even argue that this is by far the greatest thing any religion has done for society ever. At the time, only the elite were educated. There were no public schools, let alone a government mandate that children attend school. Fathers taught their sons skills. Mothers taught their daughters how to cook and clean. The town or village taught the children social cues. This was education. The average person didn’t need the “three R’s” of “reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmatic”.

Side rant: Am I the only one that things it’s quite oxymoronic that when talking about education two of the three “R’s” DON”T START WITH A FUCKING R? I mean seriously. I get that it’s catchy, but it’s painfully wrong. Is it supposed to appear cutsie? Because it comes off as uneducated.

Anyway. Higher education, and by “higher” I mean “any”, came from the religious orders. Royalty, the rich, and the soon to be religious (those three, by the way DO start with “R’s”) would travel to a monastery, convent, or seminary. In some occasions, the local priest would visit and tutor some children, but again, this was usually for princes and princesses. Over time, however, this changed. Religious orders started opening schools, and soon, more and more children were educated. This eventually led to the Enlightenment.

Another important thing Catholicism did, was preserve books. See, back then, books were hand written. I’m talking before and even a little after the Gutenberg press. Each manuscript was hand transcribed, usually by monks. But when a house burned down, the books were lost to history. Luckily, the monks spent most of their days doing nothing but copying books. Over and over again. That way, if a copy was lost, the local monastery had plenty of backups and were able to reproduce them as needed.

Now for orphanages, I give the Catholic Church half a point. On one hand, they helped feed and shelter a ton of children over the centuries. On the other hand, they did it to convert the children. It’s easier to get a child to believe your nonsensical sky fairy than an adult. Adults ask those pesky question thingies. That’s why every time a missionary traveled to a new “uncivilized land”, one of the first things built was an orphanage. Brain wash the children, and soon they grow up and brain wash their own offspring. So while the end result might be good, the motivation was bad. Half a point for that.

Islam, did amazing things in the aforementioned Middle Ages. Many scientific advances were made. First, they transferred a wealth of Greek literature into Arabic. This meant that anyone who could read Arabic was able to learn. Plus, at the time, Islam was ruled by the caliphate, so the knowledge spread from North Africa to India. Large academies sprouted up all over. Trade was doing amazingly well, so ideas from as far as China came in to the Middle East. Math, astronomy, and especially medicine made huge leaps forward during this time. Now here’s the catch. Did the religion of Islam have any affect on this? Some scholars say that the scientists did it to please Allah. Others point out that humanity was making advancements in this era anyway, regardless of religious view.

Another, more nuanced thing religion does, is give members a sense of belonging. You can meet like minded individuals and discuss common interests. If a loved one is sick or dying, you have a support network. Granted, they’ll just pray to their imaginary friend, instead of help with your bills, but it’s the thought that counts. When you meet your soul mate, provided it’s of the opposite gender, you have a group that can stand by you and support you as you take that huge step into your future. If you’re lonely, you can socialize at church. If you’re religious, you’re not alone. You always have people that can help.

Us atheists just have coffee shops. And libraries. And school.

The big question is “have the religious people in history, and the religious people now, done good things because of their religion, or because they are good people?” I don’t think nearly enough people ask this question. If you’re a good person, religion shouldn’t get the credit. You should. If you’re inspired by religion, or if you religion commands you do good things, then by all means, religion should get the credit. Though, that would mean that there is something wrong with you. I mean, if you don’t do good things for people unless you’re told to, you’re kind of a prick.