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Religion can stifle growth in a society and culture, the Arab world made advances in medicine, mathematics, and other fields that made Europe look primitive. But the rise of fundamentalist Muslims stifeld that growth, and the Arab world got lagged behind the European civilizations.
Lets not forget the burning of the Great Library of Alexandria by first the Christians, and then the Muslims. Or was it the other way around? Either way, much history and who knows what else was lost because of ignorant fanatics.
The fuedal system held Europe together after the post-Roman Empire era, and ,good or bad, the church played a part in that system.
One thing I've noticed is how some religious people can't understand how the non-religious can have any morals? It's like they think that knowing right from wrong and having morality can only be based on religious beliefs. I have to wonder what some people would be like if they didn't fear eternal damnation? Would they act like savages?
Eternal Damnation bugs me, too. What do you learn by suffering in the fires of Hell? Either you'd go insane or get used to it. Is there no redemption in the afterlife? Shouldn't "sinners" be made to understand why their behavior was evil, and the effect it had on others?
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