I'd like to see the evidence.
Ask any true believer what they'd do if there was no God. Try thinking about it a bit.
Religion is the moral compass for many of the world's population.
there doesn't seem to be any significant difference when you compare religious vs. secular communities when it comes to things like crime.
Crime is a measure of law, not ethics. Try looking further (suicides, relationships etc.).
Also, most people who claim to belong to a religion are actually so shallow on it they might as well not be counted.
Actual religious people are less than 1% of the 1%.
I'm unaware of any case in which there would be a distinction between "faith" and "blind faith." Feel free to give me a specific example if you want, but I doubt the conversation is worthy of our time.
Faith: "I believe, since my instincts tell me, and there is enough anecdotal evidence, that there exists a spiritual world".
Blind Faith: "I believe (religious) leader X when he says red haired people are possessed by the demon and should all die".
, let's cut out the religious cancer and leave the good parts.
For atheists, since you are fated to nihility after death, what is the point of living?
The answer will always be: for oneself, one's personal will.
The method will usually be either to indulge in any self-advantageous behavior or to try and leave a legacy, good or bad.
There is evidence for their existence, and the evidence is repeatable.
I said "when they first popped up".
There are plenty of contradictions in the Bible.
The Bible was created by the religion. It does not dictate the religion, it is not above the tradition (correct interpretation and what actually defined "what is a bible") and it does not contradict it. It's not open to free interpretation - that is what gave rise to thousands and thousands of protestant cults.
Once again: there is no contradiction when correctly interpreted by those who actually defined that the Bible is the Bible.
The Bible is clear that nonbelievers go to Hell, for example.
And the religion, which is above a random bible citation, is clear on stating that good people will not, regardless of belief. It's also clear that the safest way to reach Heaven is through such religion, which is why it exists.
A belief can be irrational even if the claim hasn't be disproved. A belief is irrational if it is unsupported by evidence.
I get your point.
Even the "pastafarian" postulate that the universe is rewritten every thursday, as absurd as it sounds, could be true since it's not contradictory, but there is not an ounce of evidence it is, which is why we tend to dismiss it.
Since there is no evidence, we claim it to be irrational.
There is no empirical evidence for the religious beliefs we are discussing.
Now tell me, how are the 10 commandments, for instance, a bad thing for humanity?
You, Lacius, are a bona-fide skeptic. In my opinion, that's great. Critical thinking is essential to humans.
You only believe what has been proven with strong evidence.
You'd need something strong to shake that world view.
If you ever find the spiritual path, you will be a great religious person.
That said, believing with no evidence is indeed stupid. But there is evidence for the spiritual world.
Just not based on the scientific method. It's almost always an individual experience. I can't explain why to you.
As a final tidbit of thought: If religion was completely irrational, it would have died out already, don't you think?