It doesn't keep people in line. There are some moral values we have because of it but people these days ignore church.

thats not the religions fault. its our's. im just saying it doesnt say in the bible to kill people who dont believe in the bible, cant blame it for peoples violence.

The reason for the Soviet Union's collapse was to a very high level of certainty _not_ atheism as the state's religion.
I consider atheism itself to be yet another kind of religion - "classical" religions are based on one or more gods; prophets or similar entities. Atheism is the exact opposite: Atheists belive that there is/are no god(s).

A world without "religion" would be rather agnostic ("we can't prove that there is a god, we can't prove that there is no god")...

Although I’m agnostic, I have nothing against the idea of religion and God as a whole. In fact, I respect others’ beliefs as I feel that everyone is entitled to practice their religion and worship their respective Gods.

I have mixed feelings about the question. There is, in essence, nothing wrong with the concept of religion. It allows many people to find solace, gives them something to believe in, provides them with hope, establishes the guiding principles of life to live by…

The problem, as I see it, is interpretation.

Too often, religion is used as a scapegoat; an excuse for the world’s problems. Religion can be a very subjective thing and (as extreme a comparison I might be making) like books and movies, have different meaning to different people.

Problems arise when people fail to admit their problems and shift the blame. Rather than look inward, they displace outward and religion then becomes the vehicle to disseminate their problems. Hence, the whole “these are my actions because it is what the *religious document* told me to do”. Religion when ‘misinterpreted’ by people in positions of power is even more tragic.

I believe it was Karl Marx who once said “Religion is the opiate of the masses”.
I’ll end my post on that note.

A failed coup by yeltsin and Gorbechev's Democatization plan sealed the fate of U.S.S.R. according to Encyclopedia Armericana.

My point with Soviet Russia was the fact they opressed rights. That didn't set in too well with the people.

tetraca: oh, ok...

dreus: too true, I would have written something alike if I had taken the time for it

you're right with that quote of Marx, though I'd add Lenin's version of it to the thought: "Religion is the opiate for the masses"...

--if there is someone among us who does not get the difference between what Marx said and what Lenin said later, I'll be happy to explain it. The difference in the words is small but the difference in the meaning is huge...--

it was only a few hundred years ago that the romans thought of zues and other gods to be gods and now they are fairy tale jokes that no one worships.. millions of people worshiped these gods and now they're taught as a history lesson only. the simularitys are endless in all religions. believe in a "god" and do exactly as he says and you will go to a magical place otherwise you will go to another magical place thats really bad.

religion is good as a small form of orginisation, but we don't need a magical creature that no one has ever seen to tell us killing innocent people is wrong.

this really seems to fit from boondock saints rent it, download it whatever just watch it.

I've heard mad (large in amount) stories about rapists, killers, and whatnot that converted into a religion, and are now living peaceful lives, no longer hurting anyone, but helping everyone. I wonder what would happen if religion never existed; I can only guess from Biblical past-times: pure chaos.