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US Politics 8w
when someone asks me for one of my hot takes but i cant say “i think religion is a cancer to society and that most problems in the world today and throughout history are a direct or indirect result of religion” so i just say that i like pineapple on pizza
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Anonymous 8w

I think that this is an overly simplistic view of human history. Religion has flaws and boons, and historically it had many social uses, which is why it persisted. It was a tool for social organization, for education, for economic activity, and for community cohesion. Of course this came with flaws, such as holy wars, coalescing of supreme power, and religious persecution. But it’s a mixed bag.

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Anonymous 8w

I’ve personally found pineapple to be better in a calzone.

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Anonymous 8w

Idealist detected

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Anonymous replying to -> #3 8w

I think we as a society have progressed past our need for religion, but that doesn’t mean it had no positive uses historically.

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Anonymous replying to -> #3 8w

Religion is essentially just most cultural belief systems prior to secularized science, it’s very broad.

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Anonymous replying to -> #3 8w

I think that’s a naive view of human history. Religion has always been a tool for power first and foremost. It has named leaders and led righteous conquests. It’s the oldest tool of state propaganda

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Anonymous replying to -> #4 8w

Religion is simply how pre-enlightenment cultures view the universe. From Aboriginal Dreamtime stories to Catholicism, it’s an extremely broad umbrella. And yes, it can be used as a tool for hierarchical organization and control. That can be good or bad. The primary engine of the distribution of goods and long distance trade in Mesopotamia was the temples. And across the world, religion and education (including writing) were usually very closely tied.

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Anonymous replying to -> #3 8w

And I am only using the term enlightenment to refer to the secularized historical period of Europe called the enlightenment, not like all “enlightenment” as a whole. In India the idea of enlightenment is very religious

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