Should Religion Be Updated?

Religion is outdated, it hasn;t developed as society did. women can't be priests in nearly every christian religion and definitely cannot be a part of the higher church echelon. confoms sexuality, marrige. On all of these topics the church and christianity seems to be out of date with normal world opinions. in my view the chuirch needs a haulover.

One thing is strange thought... numbers of members of protestant churches have been on the increase in the states and more young people are getting married! ca it be that society has become so fragmented that people cannot deal with thier own individuaity anymore and have to resort to moralism and the church... to find an opinion for themselves. I do not understand this trend.

I agree with you that religion is outdated, but I don’t think it needs to be updated. I am now living in an Asian city where over 90% of the population has no religion. People here live a fruitful and meaningful life without the burden of religion. People are really much more open minded without religion. I think it is sad that some people simply cannot live without other people telling them what to do with their lives. One of the commonest misunderstandings is that the ancient people had “wisdom”. But I think the only place you can find wisdom is in science, the only field where knowledge can accumulate to become wisdom.

Modern people (probably except the Americans) have much boarder exposure in a globalized world and I don’t think those crappy ancient texts can ever tell us anything about how to deal with modern lives. My comment is: Don’t bother with updating religion. Scrap it.

Religion is most definately not outdated! In all of the communities I've lived in, Religion has played a key part. Whether it's Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, they've all been a huge part in shaping our societies as they are. Why ditch religion when we've traveled so far with it? When I'm feeling down and out, I go to God for help. Knowing that he's there helps me through my problems. Go ahead, say that I'm using a figment of imagination to help me through my problems, but I believe He's real. Woman can't be priests in most religiouns, and that's a bad thing for them, but they should've been raised knowing the fact that they can't be one, hence they shouldn't make a big deal about it.

I am agnostic, as I can see arguements for and against the existance of an all powerfull being of some sort, but I do not think religion needs a huge overhaul. There are some things that maybe could be changed and modernised, but nothing drastic needs to happen.



Is it not the basis of numerous religions that people of all ages, genders and backgrounds should be treated equally? With a homosexual bishop in Britain, it is high time that women were allowed to become priests.

How can religion be outdated?
That's what's an individual thinks and what that individual thinks is what he/she believes in...
So, it's still down to individual perspective...

I agree totaly with you Joannespw, religion is outdated , and for its own sake if not anything else, it must be updated. Ok I'm first to say I'm not exactly the most relligious guy on the planet, and am in fact fundamentally opposed to ALL organised religion ( but thats not the point here). I personally find it hard to take a moral lesson from any organisation that so clearly descriminates against woman. I definatly do not want to offend anyone with this following statement. (Please read that last sentance at least five times). In my oppinion it is the Catholic Church who are worst for this, I mean they actually told Africans dying of AIDS that condoms ,the undisbuted best way of stopping HIV spreading(I dont care what counters you may have to that, I am viewing it personally as a fact), helped to spread HIV, now I definately find taking any for of morality lesson from an organisation which would openly oppose something that could save at least thousands of Africans. If I have offended any Catholics (or indeed any religion) I can only apoligise if my oppinions offend you.

Religion is the practice of belief, worship, and traditons. You are right, there are a lot of religions that will not allow a female priest, but this is not all relidions. Since religion is mostly based on traditions, it may take time before women are fully allowed to be priests. In the U.S., there has never been a women president before, should we abandon the democratic system or just wait until the day a women is finally made a president? Likewise, should we abandon religion because of its traditional beliefs, or wait to let it take its course?

Its true that women are allowed to be priests in some religions (e.g. anglican church), but they are still not allowed to be bishops. The fact that there has been no female president in the US should only be of a minor consequence to this debate. organised religion in the way we are talking about it should not have anything to do with politics.

However I do get your point that traditional values need to shift since it is traditionaly been men who have been religious leaders. In think this really has to come down to people's preceptions and how much change they are willing to accept. I hope that they will be able to accept more.

It still seems to me that religion is outdated and needs updating, if only because it already functions as thje guideing spirit of so many people. Maybe if religion changes it can bring about that great change in societies that it has done so in the past.

Just like a civilisations need to innovate and reinvent itself to stay alive i believe a religion should adjust itself to the needs of its followers and not the other way around.

I strongly believe that politics such as the presidency and religion are similar for this debate. If you would replace "religious" with "political" in your quote you have the reason as to why we have never had a female president before. Hopefully, it will be accepted in the near future. The foundation of both religion and politics does not change a whole lot because people are not willing to accept change of the basis of which they were formed.

I still stongly believe that religion will change. Yes, it may be more slower moving than civilization in general, but it is my belief that religion will change to gain more followers and to reach out to more people.

I so agree that you are right - in the arguementational sense only. and I feel you do have a valid point. however the reason why I say it would be better to take the societal perspective and leave out the political one (and again i think it is a valid point you are making) is because organised religion has its own politics ad does generally not bend to political leaders.

I also am of this opinion because I thinkw e should stick to societies views rather than political views. Even though the analoy with the us president is correct, I would leave it out because it opens up with discusion to politics and religion.