Quote:
Originally Posted by elphenor
Idk why you're so glued to the idea of religion being the root of evil
While that would be convenient it's a simple answer for a problem way more complex
Because again, your culture determines how you will interpret The Bible not the other way around
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I didn't say it was the root of evil. As an atheist that would be pretty dumb, since anything "good" or "evil" would be the result of people and their actions and beliefs, including relgion. But both the best and the worst parts of humankind are expressed through religion to the Nth degree, and since religion is an excellent way for people to justify their own preconceived notions (especially those preconceived notions implanted in them by religion) then religion is brilliant at magnifying violence and intolerance (and peace and tolerance when people can be arsed).
Like, I don't think that religion invented homophobia. I think that evolutionary psychology can put forth some good justifications for homophobia. Alpha males are supposed to be the strongest Y chromosome on the block, but if that alpha male takes control of a pack/herd/etc but has no interest in mating with all the females he has just taken control of then that is not desirable. Or if a male/female gay animal that puts itself outside the breeding paradigm shows stereotypical signs of the gender that it isn't then it might put negative associations in the minds of its species (even though not all gay animals would show these traits).
But whatever homophobic tendencies that might evolve in a species would then be expressed in that species' religion, where it then becomes codified and moral, as opposed to simply being instinctual. And is then an influence long after that species' culture has evolved past the point at which that instinct became written down, which gives weight to that instinct even though there may be no other rational justification.